a level computer science tips from a straight a* student

Summary

This video is the third in a four-part series offering advice for A-level Computer Science students. The speaker shares five essential tips for theory-based exams and three tips for coursework. Key tips include focusing on memorization, mastering algorithms, developing a solid exam strategy, practicing focused programming, and staying on top of content. For coursework, the advice emphasizes simplicity, prioritizing documentation over coding, and acknowledging the limited impact of coursework on the final grade. The speaker encourages viewers to prepare thoroughly and offers practical insights for achieving top marks.

Takeaways

• 💡 Focus on memorization for A-level Computer Science, as it's essential to remember the large volume of content and essay-style questions.
• 📝 Practice long-response questions, especially those on ethical topics and major topics like storage and Big O complexity, as they have limited scope.
• 🔄 Familiarize yourself with past exam questions, as some may repeat in similar forms, giving you a better chance to score.
• 💻 Learn key algorithms and pseudocode such as linked lists, queues, stacks, sorting, and binary trees. Memorizing and writing these accurately in the exam is crucial.
• ⏳ Develop an exam strategy: practice taking full-length papers to build stamina and learn time management during the 2.5-hour exams.
• 📚 Object-oriented programming (OOP) is an important focus at A-level, along with HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. Consider learning these before the exam.
• 💡 For coursework, keep your project simple. Complex projects make the process harder without adding marks.
• 🖥️ Prioritize documentation over programming in coursework. Most marks come from documentation, so explaining issues in your code is key.
• 📉 Coursework only contributes 20% to the final grade, so while it's important, your exam performance is critical to achieving a top grade.
• ⚡ Use flashcards to aid memorization and consider tools like Smart Revise to save time when creating revision materials.

Q & A

What is the most important tip for A-level computer science theory, according to the speaker?

The most important tip is to focus on memorization. A-levels are heavily content-based, and success depends on your ability to memorize and recall the material.

How can students maximize their chances of scoring well on long-response questions in A-level computer science?

Students should focus on the limited number of topics that can be tested in long-response questions, such as ethics, storage, and Big O complexity. By practicing essays and making reasonable deductions about likely topics, students can prepare effectively.

Why is it important to remember past exam questions in computer science?

Since A-level computer science is recall-based, questions often reappear in similar forms across different exams. By remembering the correct answers from past papers, students can improve their chances of success in future exams.

What should students prioritize when learning algorithms and pseudocode for the A-level computer science exam?

Students should learn how to manipulate linked lists, queues, stacks, and traversal methods for binary trees and graphs. Being able to write code for these algorithms efficiently can earn them high marks in the exam.

What advice is given to help students build stamina for the long A-level computer science exams?

Students should practice sitting for the full 2.5-hour exam duration during past paper sessions. Additionally, incorporating 2.5-hour revision blocks into their study schedule can help them build stamina and manage their energy levels during the exam.

How should students approach programming preparation for A-level computer science?

Students should focus on object-oriented programming (OOP), as it is new and different from their previous coding experience. Additionally, learning HTML, JavaScript, and CSS will be more beneficial than focusing on Python, as these are key topics at A-level.

What is the recommended strategy for keeping on top of A-level computer science content?

Students should take concise notes during class and regularly use flashcards to reinforce their memory. Using resources like Smart Revise can save time by providing pre-made flashcards for review.

What is the speaker’s first tip for A-level computer science coursework?

The first tip is to keep the coursework simple. Adding unnecessary complexity increases the workload, especially in terms of documentation, which is not required for achieving high marks.

Why should students focus more on documentation rather than programming for their coursework?

Most of the coursework marks come from the documentation rather than the code itself. It's better to submit an incomplete program with thorough documentation than a perfect program with little or no documentation.

How much does the coursework count towards the final grade in A-level computer science?

Coursework counts for only 20% of the final grade. Although the effort put into coursework is significant, it’s essential to complete it because doing poorly can cap the final grade at a B or C.

Outlines

00:00

📘 Introduction and Overview of A-Level Computer Science Tips

In this video, the speaker welcomes viewers to the third video of a four-part series focused on providing specific advice for A-Level subjects. The topic of this video is A-Level Computer Science, where the speaker shares five theory tips and three coursework tips based on their personal experience, including achieving top grades in related subjects. The speaker emphasizes the importance of memorization for theory-based exams and discusses how the exams are largely a test of recall, especially on long-response questions. By strategically focusing on specific topics, such as ethical issues and high-mark subjects like Big-O complexity, students can optimize their study approach. Past paper questions often repeat, so learning from previous mistakes and focusing on accurate recall is crucial.

05:00

🖥️ Key Advice on Memorizing Algorithms and Code

The speaker emphasizes the need to memorize and understand algorithms and pseudocode, such as linked lists, queues, and sorting algorithms, as well as tree and graph traversals. These frequently appear in exams, so being able to quickly write the code is essential. They highlight that A-Level Computer Science exams often include questions that require students to reproduce this code, and because marks are highly competitive, losing points on these questions can significantly impact grades. Students should be prepared to tackle these questions efficiently, ensuring they can complete these tasks rapidly in the exam.

⏳ Developing a Strong Exam Strategy

Here, the speaker offers tips for managing the long and mentally demanding A-Level Computer Science exams. They recommend allocating the full 2.5 hours for practice tests to build stamina and develop time-management skills. It's also important to move on from questions that are too time-consuming to ensure that the entire paper is covered. Additionally, they advise preparing for these exams by maintaining a healthy routine, including proper sleep and nutrition, to help sustain energy and focus throughout the exam duration.

🔧 Focused Programming Practice and New Programming Topics

In this section, the speaker reassures viewers that even if they are not comfortable with coding from GCSE Computer Science, they can still succeed at A-Level. They emphasize that most students start with limited coding knowledge, so it’s common not to feel fully prepared. A-Level Computer Science focuses on Object-Oriented Programming (OOP), along with HTML, JavaScript, and CSS, rather than exclusively on Python. Therefore, students looking to prepare should concentrate on learning OOP and these web development languages, which differ from GCSE content and form the bulk of new programming topics in the A-Level course.

📚 Memorization Techniques for A-Level Computer Science

The speaker shares their memorization strategy, recommending consistent, small doses of revision through flashcards, even though they aren’t typically a fan of this method. They suggest making a large set of flashcards and committing to reviewing them regularly. To save time, they mention an online tool, Smart Revise, which provides ready-made flashcards. This method can help students retain the dense content necessary for success in A-Level Computer Science.

💡 Keeping Coursework Simple and Focused

The speaker’s first coursework tip is to avoid overcomplicating the project. Since the complexity of a program does not yield additional marks, students should focus on straightforward ideas that meet assessment objectives without unnecessary features. They also caution against choosing complex projects, like games, which can be time-consuming and may add excessive documentation requirements. Sticking to simpler projects allows for more manageable work and less documentation, helping students stay on track with their coursework timelines.

📝 Emphasizing Documentation in Coursework

For coursework, the speaker stresses that most marks come from documentation, not the code itself. They recommend prioritizing documentation over perfecting the code, as it’s better to have a well-documented, unfinished project than a complete one without adequate supporting materials. By detailing errors and potential solutions in the documentation, students provide assessors with sufficient material for grading, even if the code has issues.

⚖️ Importance of Coursework Despite its Low Weight

The speaker explains that while coursework only accounts for 20% of the overall grade, doing well on it is essential, as poor performance can prevent students from achieving higher final grades. Although it may seem like a lot of work for a small percentage, students should commit to completing the coursework thoroughly, as falling short can cap their final grade at a B or C. They emphasize the need for resilience in tackling the coursework to maximize overall results.

👋 Closing Remarks and Additional Resources

In the closing paragraph, the speaker thanks viewers for watching and invites them to reach out with any questions via email or Instagram. They also encourage viewers to check out other videos in the series, which cover revision strategies and university topics, for further academic guidance. They sign off by wishing viewers good luck with their computer science revision.

Keywords

💡Memorization

Memorization refers to the process of committing information to memory. In the context of A-level Computer Science, the speaker emphasizes that much of the exam is based on recall. Students are encouraged to memorize both theoretical concepts and practical algorithms, as well as to practice writing long-form essay responses for high-mark questions. This is presented as a key strategy for doing well in the exams.

💡Algorithms

Algorithms are step-by-step procedures for solving problems or completing tasks, especially in programming. In the video, the speaker advises students to learn and memorize key algorithms like sorting (e.g., bubble sort) and searching algorithms (e.g., binary search), as they frequently appear in exams and can be worth a significant number of marks. Understanding and being able to write algorithms is critical for success.

💡Exam Strategy

Exam strategy refers to the methodical approach students take to maximize their performance in exams. The speaker highlights the importance of practicing under exam conditions, managing time effectively during long papers, and building stamina for the 2.5-hour exam duration. By developing a solid exam strategy, students can ensure they allocate their time wisely and maintain focus throughout the entire exam.

💡Past Papers

Past papers are previous exam papers that students can use for practice. The speaker emphasizes their importance, suggesting that students should actively work through them to familiarize themselves with recurring questions. By doing so, students may encounter similar questions in their actual exams, improving their chances of success by recognizing patterns in question types.

💡Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)

Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) is a programming paradigm based on the concept of 'objects' which can contain data and methods. In the video, the speaker mentions OOP as a new concept introduced at the A-level, contrasting it with the procedural programming that students may be more familiar with from GCSE. The speaker suggests studying OOP before the exam as it represents a shift in programming thinking.

💡Documentation

Documentation in programming refers to written descriptions that explain how code works. The speaker stresses that while students may focus on writing code for their coursework, a large portion of the marks come from documentation. Good documentation explains design decisions, errors, and potential improvements, and is essential for receiving full marks, even if the code itself is incomplete or contains bugs.

💡Coursework

Coursework is a practical project completed as part of the A-level Computer Science assessment. The speaker gives advice on keeping the project simple and ensuring that the focus remains on documentation, rather than overcomplicating the programming task. The speaker also mentions that coursework counts for only 20% of the final grade, so while it's important, it should not overshadow preparation for the exam.

💡Flashcards

Flashcards are a memorization tool where information is written on cards to be repeatedly reviewed. Despite expressing a personal dislike for them, the speaker acknowledges that flashcards are useful for memorizing large amounts of content for A-level Computer Science, particularly when brute-forcing small chunks of information each day. They suggest using digital tools like Smart Revise for more efficient flashcard use.

💡Big O Complexity

Big O Complexity is a way to describe the efficiency of an algorithm in terms of time or space relative to the input size. The speaker lists it as one of the key topics students should focus on for long-form exam questions. Understanding Big O is important because it helps students evaluate which algorithms are most efficient, which can be tested in high-mark questions.

💡NEA (Non-Exam Assessment)

The NEA is the non-exam assessment component of A-level Computer Science, often referred to as coursework. The speaker gives tips on how to approach the NEA, advising students to keep their projects simple and focus on documentation rather than complex programming tasks. The NEA counts for 20% of the final grade, so while it’s significant, students are encouraged to not overestimate its importance compared to exam preparation.

Highlights

The first tip for A-Level Computer Science is to focus on memorization. A-Levels are largely a memory game, and this applies to Computer Science as well.

Memorize long response essay-style questions, particularly the ethics topics and key areas like Big O complexity and storage. Practice writing essays for these topics.

When reviewing past papers, focus on questions you got wrong and remember the correct answers, as similar questions may reappear in future exams.

Learn and memorize algorithms and pseudocode, such as manipulating linked lists, queues, stacks, and searching/sorting algorithms. This will help in efficiently answering exam questions.

Allocate the full 2.5-hour exam duration when practicing past papers to build stamina and get used to the lengthy exam format.

Be disciplined with time management during exams. Move on if you're spending too much time on a question to ensure you cover the entire paper.

Programming preparation should focus on Object-Oriented Programming (OOP), HTML, JavaScript, and CSS instead of Python, as these are newer concepts for A-Level Computer Science.

Keep notes in class to aid memorization, and use flashcards to help retain key concepts for your Computer Science revision.

Consider using external tools like Smart Revise to save time on making flashcards, as they can offer pre-made ones tailored to the A-Level curriculum.

For coursework, keep your program simple. Complexity doesn't yield more marks, and adding advanced features increases the workload significantly.

Avoid creating games for coursework unless you have prior experience, as they are complex and time-consuming to develop.

Focus on documentation for coursework. Most marks come from documentation rather than the code itself, so prioritize this over perfecting your program.

It’s better to submit unfinished or buggy code with thorough documentation than perfect code without supporting documentation.

Coursework only accounts for 20% of the final grade, so while it’s underweighted, it’s essential to complete it to avoid limiting your overall grade.

Despite the coursework being underweighted, it is critical to stick with it and see it through to the end to avoid capping your grade potential.

Transcripts

hey guys welcome to the third video of a

four-part series that follows this video

and see to give you guys some more

subject specific a level advice today

we're going to be tackling a level

computer science I have five tips for

the theory based element of the course

and then three tips for your coursework

or Nea for reference I took the OCR a

level computer science exam in the

summer of 2023 and I tent AAR I also

took a level's math further math and

physics and I day stars and all three of

those as well so after you've watched

this video make sure to go and check

those ones out as well but other than

that let's get

going my first tip is always the one

that I think is the most important and

for computer science that would be to

focus on memorization I definitely feel

like the a levels are one big memory

game I think they're testing whether you

can remember this high volume of content

and be able to regurgitate it and so

unfortunately if you want to do well

you're going to have to play that game

aside from remembering the actual course

content itself there are two other

things I think you should look at

memorizing to try and boost yourself

into the top great grade boundaries the

first thing is that between both the

papers there are various long response

essay style questions that typically

between 9 and 12 marks and these marks

do add up very quickly and the catch

here is that there's only really

finitely many topics that they can ask

you about to start with the ethics

questions come from a predetermined list

of topics and so you should definitely

be looking at those mind mapping

practicing essays trying to remember

them in terms of the non ethics based

questions there are again a very limited

amount of things they can milk 12 marks

out of some big ones are storage or Big

O complexity but if you think about it

they're not going to ask you a nine

marker about boole and algebra and so

you should be able to practice quite a

lot of essays by making reasonable

deductions about what topics they can

actually ask you long response questions

on the second point I wanted to make

about memorization is that in computer

science because it's based so much of

recall quite frequently you'll see a

question in an exam that has appeared in

the same or in a similar form in a

previous exam and so when you're going

through and you're doing a past paper

and you're marking it really try try and

be present when you're looking at the

questions that you've got wrong and try

and remember what the actual correct

answer is because there is actually

quite a high likelihood that the

question might come up again in your

final

exam my second tip is that you should

always learn all the algorithms and suda

codes that you've been given these are

things like manipulating linked lists

cues Stacks learning all the searching

and sorting algorithms being able to

Traverse binary trees and graphs all of

these things you have probably shown the

code for throughout your course and you

thought okay cool but you do actually

need to be able to write all this code

for the exam and because there's so much

of it you should definitely start

memorizing as soon as possible and

normally the easier ones like bubble saw

or binary search come up but it can't be

guaranteed and these questions can be

seven or nine marks in the exam and

considering the computer science grade

boundaries are so high you don't want to

be throwing those marks away you should

be in the position where that question

comes up it's a 3 minute job and you've

bagged nine marks ready to go on to the

next question

my third tip is to work on your computer

science exam strategy the A- Lev

computer science exams are 2 and a half

hours long each and that is a very long

time for your brain to be working at

100% And so to prepare yourself for this

I would say when you're doing past

papers try and allocate yourself the

full 2 and 1 half hour slot to just sit

down and do the paper start to finish

and then when you've done that I would

also try and actively put into your

vision schedule the 2 and 1 half hour

durations to sit down and do 2 and 1

half hours of hard Compu future science

Revision in order to try and build up

your stamina the other thing that I

think is tricky about a longer paper is

it's much easier to let the time get

away from you and so I think you need to

be particularly regimented about moving

on from a question when it's taking too

much time to make sure that you are

covering the whole paper the final thing

in terms of stamina is of course the

longer the paper the more energy you're

going to need and so I think it's most

important for computer science that you

sleep and eat well beforehand to try and

stop yourself from dropping off near the

end

my fourth tip would be to practice Focus

programming I often have people Express

to me that they're concerned about a

level computer science because they

didn't do that much coding at GCSE and

they don't think they'll be able to cope

and the first thing I would say is that

literally everyone says this to me and

so absolutely no one at a level has any

idea really how to code including myself

so I definitely wouldn't worry and I

definitely wouldn't expect a level

computer science to be python 2.0

because I actually don't think it builds

that much on what you've done at GCSE

the thing that I would say is that a

level you explore something called oop

or object oriented programming and so if

you want to do some programming

preparation I would definitely look at

beginner courses on that because it's

something that's a bit more abstract and

is actually very different from the way

that you've coded before the other

things that come up at a level are HTML

Java script and CSS and so again instead

of python if you want to do some

programming prep it's probably better

investing your time into those things

because they're

new my fifth and final Theory tip is to

keep on top of content

and this essentially is just the

strategy that I think works best for

memorization I think firstly you should

always be taking notes in class these

don't have to be beautiful or detailed

concise ones will work fine but most

importantly you're more likely to

remember when you're hearing something

and writing it down compared to when

you're just listening now even though

I'm a bit of a flash card hater as we

all know I think that they are the best

tool to use in terms of your a-level

computer science rision I often hear the

strategy often but a little thrown

around and I think that's one that

definitely works the best I think the

way to go forward is to just make

hundreds of flashcards and every day try

and brute force a couple more little

nuggets of computer science into your

mind until you've got them all in there

now even though I think the actual

process of making flash cards can be

beneficial I personally used a website

from Craig and da called smart revise

and you do have to pay for it but I

think if you want to save your time it

definitely is worth the investment they

essentially just make all the flash

cards for you this isn't sponsored but

that's something that I use and it's a

tool that I think really changed the way

that IIs for computer science

in terms of coursework my first tip is

to keep it simple I think people often

forget that there are no marks awarded

for the complexity of your program and

so by making something really Advanced

you only making the process harder for

yourself if you already have an idea of

what kind of thing you want to do I

would definitely look at the assessment

objectives try and match up your plan

and then get rid of anything that's not

necessary for every little complex bit

that you add in you're not just adding

in 20 lines of code you're adding in

extra documentation evaluation another

design mockup more data needs to be

collected from your stockholders

everything becomes a lot more effort and

so I think that the easiest thing to do

is to keep it as simple as possible the

other thing I would quickly say is I

feel like a lot of people resort to

making a game for their coursework

because they think it's going to be the

most fun but unless you have previous

experience in making them they're really

hard and really long to make and so I

would definitely stay away from them

because at the end of the day your

coursework is never going to be fun so

there's not really any point doing a

game because you want to enjoy it

because you're not going to enjoy the

extra hundreds of hours of

documentation my second coursework tip

is to step away from the programming I

think for a programming project it's

very reasonable that you would expect

there to be a high emphasis on the code

but actually almost all of your marks

are going to come from your

documentation and so that's where your

focus should be you should be spending a

very small percentage of your time doing

the programming itself at the end of the

day it's actually much better to sub an

unfinished full of Errors bit of code

that has loads of documentation to

explain what's going wrong and what you

might do to fix it in the future rather

than a fully completed perfect bit of

code that has no documentation because

in the second example they have nothing

to Mark you on and so if it comes to the

point where you have to choose between

actually coding and fixing your code or

writing up some documentation always

pick the second

one my third coursework tip is a bit of

a sad one and it is that the coursework

is very very underweighted and you're

going to put a lot of time and effort

into it and even if you come out with

full marks which you probably won't it's

only going to count towards 20% of your

final exam grade and even more

unfortunately the grade boundaries in

computer science are really high and so

if you don't do well in your coursework

you're going to cap yourself at a b or a

c grade and so it's really important

that even though it might feel like

you're getting mugged off you stick with

the coursework and you see it through to

the end CU otherwise you're not going to

be able to achieve the top grade

boundaries

okay guys that's all I have to say to

you today as always if you have any

questions you can email or message me on

Instagram but other than that very best

of luck for your computer science

revision keep your eyes peeled on the

Yan Channel there's going to be more

Vlogs rision uni stuff so I'll see you

guys soon

bye