I feel the most important thing that helped my success came before I even started studying – that is, my choice of subjects. Pick subjects that you are interested in learning about, and that won’t fill you with dread when you think about studying for them.

Legal Studies

There’s no way around it – in picking this subject you should be aware that it will involve a lot of memorising (of ideas, laws, cases, reports, etc), however, I found that the content was immensely interesting and so it helped me better engage with what I was learning. In achieving success in this subject, you should aim to develop a critical engagement with what you are studying, reading widely – and being up to date on the newest developments. You don’t merely want to display a knowledge of the law, but rather to think about why the law is the way it is, and whether it should, in fact, be like that. A key part of this topic will involve questioning the effectiveness of the law and the possibility for reform, and so you need to go beyond a shallow understanding of the topics.

Modern History

As with Legal Studies, this is a very content-heavy subject. Have a look at past questions, and the syllabus, and see the areas that you are being prompted to think critically about. Attaining high marks in this subject is not just a matter of knowing what happened in history, but arguing about why. Don’t think you have to formulate some brand new insight, however – you are expected to look at other historians who have studied these topics for years, and to engage with their arguments. Make sure you remember, however, that this doesn’t mean just agreeing with them blindly – in fact, it is often better for you to pick historians who may have a different view than you, allowing you to establish your ideas by contrast.

English Advanced

The most important thing for this subject is to have a strong understanding of the concepts in your texts, looked at through the lens of the specific module you are studying.  Your starting point should always be the syllabus, as you look at what specific issues you are expected to engage with. From here, feel free to think originally about your texts, as this will be rewarded. In crafting your essays, you shouldn’t be picking multiple examples that express the exact same point – rather, you want to have a loose thematic concern that you then have several smaller ideas within that work together to create a strong, unified argument that is reflective of various aspects of your text. Don’t think this has to be done with overly flowery language, as communicating your ideas in a simple, concise manner is rewarded.