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Guide and Tips-O Levels

Lady of Heaven

Lady of Heaven

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Thank you so much abby for the help...Im gratefull.......can you tell me about computer and aren't you suppose to make a project .......can explain a bit about that.
 
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republic13

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AbbbbY said:
If you consider the ones which you can do practically in the 6 months you'll have,

Commerce, EM and Computers.
These three will not take more than one month combined if you ask me!
If I were you, I'd take Sociology up there aswell. It's a super easy course, loads of general stuff and shitloads of choice in the exam. Easiest A's, IMO, Sociology, EM, Commerce, Computers, Business, Econ (although bump it up to number 1 if you have the aptitude for it!), Accounts.

Econ Accounts and Business are full length courses and will require more time. Econ will, surely. During my O's my favorite subject was Econ right under Add Math even though I had no real use for Econ in, or after, A levels. That said, it's lengthy and requires understanding, and I feel you wouldn't be able to get a grasp on it in this short time. I know I wouldn't. But, I could very well be wrong. A cousin of mine gave Econ Commerce Business Stats and had A*s in all. She took them 2 months prior to the exams. BUT, these were the only four she gave (November prior to the final deal i.e final set of O's).

Do you have a strong grasp on your primary 8? If not, I wouldn't suggest taking any.
If you do, take EM and Commerce. If you're up for the challenge, take Computers.

HOWEVER, if you plan on taking Math at A Levels, screw Computers and Commerce, take EM and Add Math. You'll need a tuition for AM but trust me, if you have a remote interest for Math, you'll absolutely love this subject. I kept it in February of my exam year (May), and totally loved it. It helped me a lot with A Level Math P1 aswell, and eased out P3 which people who I know who didn't take AM used to flunk in the first few months.
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HI can u please tell me that if i take business studies and sociology 4 months prior to my exams would I be able to get A*s in them? And can an A or an A* be achieved if i study it without any tuition? I gave my commerce, Environmental management earlier and got A*s in both of them :) Please help Asap and do recommend books! :) btw is there similarity in commerce and business studies course?
 
AbbbbY

AbbbbY

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republic13 said:
HI can u please tell me that if i take business studies and sociology 4 months prior to my exams would I be able to get A*s in them? And can an A or an A* be achieved if i study it without any tuition? I gave my commerce, Environmental management earlier and got A*s in both of them :) Please help Asap and do recommend books! :) btw is there similarity in commerce and business studies course?
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I did all my subjects without tuitions, had 10A*s and As. A cousin did 13 without tuitions and had A*s in all.
Point being, it's not like tuitions are necessary to get an A/A*. It's all in your mind. Seeing your peers take them and feel like you need them too. If someone can do it, anyone can do it.

Yes. They're very easy subjects. 4 months is a lot of time. Not boasting here, but I did Sociology in 2 weeks (and was convinced I'd fail till I gave the exam). Studied a week and a half for P1 and a day and a half for P2 (had it with Add Math so did two topics beforehand and did one more coming out of AM. This is the reason I missed out on the star). My cousin did Business (along side Econ, Business and Stats), starting all four 2.5 months prior to the exam (Nov 10 or 11 I don't remember..). She did all four on her own, although had a few papers checked for Business from a teacher to see where she stood, but nothing you can't do on your own. Marking schemes are super comprehensive.

Books;

Sociology: Sociology Alive - Stephen Moore
Business: I don't remember exactly the author, but it's a purple book. I'll confirm the name tomorrow.
 
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republic13

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AbbbbY said:
I did all my subjects without tuitions, had 10A*s and As. A cousin did 13 without tuitions and had A*s in all.
Point being, it's not like tuitions are necessary to get an A/A*. It's all in your mind. Seeing your peers take them and feel like you need them too. If someone can do it, anyone can do it.

Yes. They're very easy subjects. 4 months is a lot of time. Not boasting here, but I did Sociology in 2 weeks (and was convinced I'd fail till I gave the exam). Studied a week and a half for P1 and a day and a half for P2 (had it with Add Math so did two topics beforehand and did one more coming out of AM. This is the reason I missed out on the star). My cousin did Business (along side Econ, Business and Stats), starting all four 2.5 months prior to the exam (Nov 10 or 11 I don't remember..). She did all four on her own, although had a few papers checked for Business from a teacher to see where she stood, but nothing you can't do on your own. Marking schemes are super comprehensive.

Books;

Sociology: Sociology Alive - Stephen Moore
Business: I don't remember exactly the author, but it's a purple book. I'll confirm the name tomorrow.
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Thank you sooo much for the reply...! ...In the syllabus its written for Paper 1:


Candidates answer one compulsory question on sociological research methods and three optional questions on culture and socialisation; social stratification and inequality and power and authority.

I DONT UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS LINE (IN RED) MEANS.... as in can I answer more than one question under one sub-heading...? for e.g. if both question 2 and 3 are under the sub-heading of Culture and Socialisation then can I answer both the questions?
and IN paper 2:

Candidates answer three optional questions on the family; education; crime, deviance and social control and the media.

I have the same question over here also....Can I answer 2 questions from under the same sub-heading?
And I'm using the Ken Browne book...is it okay? And for Business Im using the Purple Book by Peter Stimpson... :) Is it the one ure talking about?
 
AbbbbY

AbbbbY

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Yes. You can.

Each section has two questions in addition to the first question IIRC. Because, I clearly remember doing culture and power + authority and Crime and Education only (that too after a paper). However, just to be safe and give yourself the benefit of choice, I'll suggest doing more if you can. Personally, I found stratification a highly boring topic and couldn't do it more than 15 mins.

__

Ken Browne is okayy but I didn't quite like it. Initially, I bought the Ken Browne book and read it but it was monotonous, highly boring and didn't really follow an 'interesting' pattern. On the contrary, Moore's book did. I've used both books; the former for P1, the latter for P2 and P1 compulsory. I felt I was more prepared for the latter.

Plus, the highlight boxes on the left and right columns are a lovely thing because while skimming you just can't miss it!

Anyway. Your call. Go check the book out. If you like it and think it offers anything over your current set of books, buy it. If not, well, then stick to what you have!
Goodluck!
 
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republic13

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AbbbbY said:
Yes. You can.

Each section has two questions in addition to the first question IIRC. Because, I clearly remember doing culture and power + authority and Crime and Education only (that too after a paper). However, just to be safe and give yourself the benefit of choice, I'll suggest doing more if you can. Personally, I found stratification a highly boring topic and couldn't do it more than 15 mins.

__

Ken Browne is okayy but I didn't quite like it. Initially, I bought the Ken Browne book and read it but it was monotonous, highly boring and didn't really follow an 'interesting' pattern. On the contrary, Moore's book did. I've used both books; the former for P1, the latter for P2 and P1 compulsory. I felt I was more prepared for the latter.

Plus, the highlight boxes on the left and right columns are a lovely thing because while skimming you just can't miss it!

Anyway. Your call. Go check the book out. If you like it and think it offers anything over your current set of books, buy it. If not, well, then stick to what you have!
Goodluck!
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Thanks a lot! :D I find the Ken book pretty okay so I'll be using it... :)
 
F

Farahs

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Enferno said:
Islamiyat:

A very important aspect of this exam is Quranic and Ahadith references. Make sure you learn the quotations, the gist is important. A few words here and there are fine as long as the core of the text remains the same. The Surah name and ayat number, or Surah number and ayat number are preferred, but not compulsory. I wrote perhaps 2 or 3 surah and ayat numbers and –Al Quran in places where I did not remember the number. It’s better to leave the number than to write it. People who say that A*s are impossible without them are wrong. I got A*s in both Paper 1 and Paper 2 without practically numbering the quotes.
-Make lots of notes. The syllabus is lengthy and so I’ll suggest you make notes of the topics. Come in very handy.

Additionally, I have very good notes for Islamiyat. If you need them, please PM me and I’ll be glad to share a copy.

- Again, too lengthy an answer is not needed. Nor is rote study of the books needed. You need to get the gist of the text and events, and be able to quote ANY relevant Quranic OR Ahadith references. The references are a MUST to mention for an A*. Very easy to learn if you do the past papers.

- Don’t do very old past papers as they are vague and have many topics which aren’t to be done. I’ll recommend the past 4-5 years at max.

Mastering O Level Islamiat is a nice book available in the market to study some topics. Enjoyed reading this. Make sure you go through the Caliphs part of this book when preparing. The e-Version will suffice.



Maths and Add Maths:

These two require more than just the basic learning. The more practice you have, the better off you are conceptually. Add Math is usually a dreaded subject because people don’t practice well enough and it’s a big jump from O Level Math to Add Math (not really tbh). It’s very easy, and easier to score in than O Level Math. Make sure you practice loads. Go through ATLEAST alternative questions in all the 4 Math and 1 Add Math book, the standard ones available. Forgot the authors. Will confirm.
Once you’ve done all the books, come to past papers and attempt them honestly. I suggest the past 10 years for these two, though 5 are enough, because the more the merrier. The more you practice, the more you gain confidence, the easier the paper for you to score.

Make sure you don’t omit essential steps, as they are what gain you marks.
Some useful stuff that may come in handy. :
Add Math Formulae
Math key Formulae The logarithm part is not in the O Level Math course though.

Physics, Chemistry and Biology:

-Make sure your conceptual learning is given the 100% and DO NOT rely on rote study. Some part, formulae, names of stuff, bond type etc need to be memorized, but you MUST know what is formed if compound X is added in compound Y NOT because you learnt it from the book, but because you’re analyzing the chain reaction.

- Past papers. The past 5 years x 2 sessions are more than enough.

- MCQs, the part most take for granted and go ‘less’ prepared as they feel are easier, are actually the toughest and decide your grade. A* students should eye nothing less
than 36/40 in this part.

- Chemistry and Physics ATP are the most scoring papers in the trio. Make sure you get 100% in these as it’s literally nothing, and a standardized pattern with different values as such is follows.

Some stuff that may come in handy:
Revision checklist for O Level Physics. This contains a summary of all the chapters you need to cover, and what’s expected from you. Make sure you guys read the official O Level syllabus too, though.
Physics Formulae Sheet
Chemistry Notes. (Not the best, but still decent).

Commerce:

This is perhaps one of the easiest O Level subjects.
-Make sure you read the whole book once.

-Download a copy of these notes and refer to them after reading once through the book. They are the concise and much better form of the book and cover in depth everything.

- Do the past 8 years of Paper 2 past papers and atleast 10 years of Paper 1 past papers since the questions very often repeat from the old papers in Paper 1 and obtaining a high mark in paper 1 is essential for an A grade.


English Language:

- Read up on the recent Medical issues, economical problems (basic), etc. Read the newspaper daily and you'll have no issues answering the Directed Writing part.

- Book reading and general vocab is the obvious answer to essay part. I'll suggest writing the story.

- You must score very, VERY high in the paper 2, comprehensions, to get the best marks and A*s. It's very easy to score in the comprehensions. Do lots of comprehensions as the more the practice, the better you are, despite the older papers not covering the newer requirement of the syllabus. A comprehension is a comprehension afterall, and will enhance your comprehending skills.

If anyone has something else to add to this, please either post it in this thread or PM me and I’ll add.

Thats it for now, Thank you
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send best book physic, biology O level)
 
Nabeel.Ahmad

Nabeel.Ahmad

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Tips and Book for these subjects:

1) Human and Social Biology.
2) Statistics
3) Environmental Management.
4) Sociology.
5) World History
6) Eng. Literature.
 
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