For AQA Economics A-level (specification 7135, 7136) Specification points: 4.1.1.1 - 4.1.2.4 Includes: Economic methodology - positive and normative statements Economic problem - needs, wants, scarcity etc. Choice and opportunity cost Economic sectors and units Factors of production PPF graphs and explanations of shifts Consumer behaviour - utility theory, rationality, imperfect/asymmetric information Behavioural economic theory and economic policies - choice architecture, framing, nudges etc. Evaluation of behavioural economics

Othello AQA English Literature A; Love through the ages (7711, 7712) - I sat my A-levels in June 2018 and achieved an A grade in English Literature Here is a list of scholarly criticisms of Othello, great for using in essays to engage in wider debate (and achieve higher band answers). Includes: Commentary from Godfrey, Leavis, AC Bradley, Samuel Coleridge and various others Critical approaches; post-colonial, new historicist, feminist, marxist Analysis of Othello as a protagonist, themes of justice and revenge, marriage and women etc.

AQA Psychology A-level: Attachment From specification 7181, 7182 - Introductory topics in Psychology (I achieved an A* in Psychology A-level in 2018, across all three papers. I prioritised revision on evaluation, necessary for accessing higher grade!) Includes Caregiver-infant interaction Attachment vs bond, features of attachment and importance of attachment Studies of early interaction and findings Reciprocity, Tronick et al (1979), and interactional synchrony, Condon and Ogston (1971) Attachment development Schaffer and Emerson longitudinal study and evaluation Stages of attachment and evaluation Attachment figures - Grossman (2002) and fathers as primary caregivers, and evaluation Animal studies Lorenz’s geese studies and evaluation - imprinting for survival and critical period Harlow’s monkey study and evaluation, including experiment variations and findings Explanations for attachment Learning theory - classical conditioning and operant conditioning (Skinner) - and evaluation Bowlby’s monotropic theory and evaluation - instinctive attachment, monotropy, internal working model etc. Types of attachment Ainsworth’s Strange Situation (1970) and evaluation of attachment types Causes of individual differences in attachment Cultural variations in attachment - Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) and evaluation Deprivation Bowlby’s theory of Maternal Deprivation and 44 thieves study, and evaluation Romanian orphan study - Rutter et al and evaluation Effects of institutionalisation, disinhibited attachment and evaluation Influence of early attachment Hazen and Shaver (1987) - study for internal working model Evidence for behaviour influenced by internal working model and evaluation

AQA Psychology A-level: Psychopathology From specification 7181, 7182 - Introductory topics in Psychology (I achieved an A* in Psychology A-level in 2018, across all three papers. I prioritised revision on evaluation, necessary for accessing higher grade!) Includes Definitions for abnormality and evaluation of each Phobias - types of phobia, behavioural, emotional and cognitive characteristics of phobias Behavioural explanations for phobias - two-process model, Watson and Rayner (1920) and evaluation Alternative explanations - biological preparedness Seligman (1970)/ Ohman et al (1975) and social learning theory and evaluation Behavioural approach to treating phobias - systematic desensitization, flooding and evaluation OCD -behavioural, emotional and cognitive characteristics of OCD Biological explanations of OCD - genetic basis (candidate genes) and neural basis (neurotransmitters/brain structures) and evaluation Biological approach to treating OCD - drug therapy, SSRIs and SNRIs and evaluation Depression - categories, behavioural, emotional and cognitive characteristics of depression Cognitive explanation for depression - Beck’s Negative Triad and Ellis’ ABC model and evaluation Cognitive approach to treating depression - CBT, Beck’s cognitive therapy, REBT and evaluation

AQ Economics A-level: MACRO Economic performance, specification 7135, 7136 Economic growth Short run vs long run economic growth, determinants of long run economic growth Costs and benefits of economic growth, overall sustainability of growth The economic cycle, trend growth, output gaps and stages Explanations of cycle: multiplier/accelerator cycle, inventory cycle, asset price bubbles, animal spirits, herding etc. Employment Definitions of unemployment rate, participation rate and labour force Measuring unemployment - claimant count vs labour force survey Types of unemployment - cyclical, structural, frictional, classic, voluntary Table of cause of unemployment, impact and supply side policies to overcome Natural rate of unemployment Costs and benefits of unemployment (evaluation) Policies to reduce unemployment - demand side vs supply side (and evaluation) Inflation Measuring inflation with CPI, RPI, PPI Demand-pull inflation vs cost-push inflation, comparison of causes Quantity theory of money Impact of commodity prices/global economy Controlling inflation, demand-side policies vs supply-side policies (and evaluation) Costs and benefits of inflation (evaluation) Deflation vs disinflation - benign vs malevolent deflation Benefits and consequences of deflation Policies to avoid deflation Conflicting macroeconomic objectives Output gaps Phillips curve - short-run vs long-run and implications for policy makers NAIRU explained Overview of potential conflicts arising from economic objectives

AQA Economics A-level: specification 7135, 7136 I sat my Economics exam in summer 2018 and achieved A star (A) grades across all three papers. Here is a collection of some A* grade exemplar essays. Complete written essays included: • Discuss the possible contribution of supply-side reforms to achieving an improvement in the UK balance of trade in goods (25 marks) • Assess the importance of a floating exchange rate to a country trying to achieve macroeconomic stability [25 marks] • Explain how interdependence and uncertainty affect the behaviour of firms in oligopolistic markets? (15 marks) • ‘Increased protectionism could be damaging as the UK is placing much of its hopes for export success on the growing Chinese market’. Evaluate the view that the use of protectionism is inevitably damaging to economies (25 marks) • Explain three characteristics of recession (15 marks) • Discuss the view that monetary policy has been the most important factor behind the recovery of the UK economy in recent years (25 marks)

AQA English Literature A; Love through the ages (7711, 7712) - I sat my a-level exams in June 2018 and achieved an A grade in English Literature This resource includes a discussion of the theme of tragedy and how it relates to Othello, The Great Gatsby and A Streetcar Named Desire. It considers The traditional Aristotelian tragic hero, and characteristics Gatsby as a tragic hero Othello as a tragic hero Blanche DuBois as a tragic heroine Critical evaluation of Blanche’s heroism

AQA English Literature A; Love through the ages (7711, 7712) Tennesse Williams -** A Streetcar Named Desire *I sat my A-levels in June 2018 and achieved an A grade in English Lit Includes essay plans for: Examine the view that ‘men in A Streetcar Named Desire are most despicable, it is the women who show nobility of character’. Examine the view that A Streetcar Named Desire fails because Blanche is unable to achieve true tragic dignity. Examine the role of deception in the action of A Streetcar Named Desire. Examine the view that in A Streetcar Named Desire, Stella symbolises the plight of women in 1940s American society, where life without the support of a man is inconceivable. Examine the view that 'We do not sympathise enough with Blanche to make this play truly tragic' Also includes templates for your own attempts at essay plans and practice questions!

AQA Psychology A-level: Psychopathology From specification 7181, 7182 - paper 1 (I achieved an A* in Psychology A-level in 2018, across all three papers. I prioritised revision on evaluation, necessary for accessing higher grade!) These are my practice exam questions Includes: Outline and evaluate two ways of defining abnormality (16 marks) x2 Outline the characteristics of phobias (6 marks) Outline the characteristics of OCD (6 marks) Outline the characteristics of depression (6 marks) Discuss behavioural explanations for phobias (16 marks) Outline and evaluate the behavioural approach to treating phobias (16 marks) Outline and evaluate one or more biological explanation for obsessive-compulsive disorder (16 marks) x2 Discuss the biological approach for treating OCD (16 marks) Outline and evaluate one or more cognitive explanations for depression (16 marks) x2 Discuss the cognitive approach to treating depression (16 marks)

AQA Economics A-level (specification 7135, 7136) Includes: Objectives of firms; profit, sales, survival, growth, stakeholders etc. Divorce of ownership from control Allocative, productive and ‘x’ efficiency Growth of firms; internal vs external, horizontal vs vertical vs lateral integration Mergers and takeovers (and evaluation) Perfect competition; conditions, evaluation and price determination Monopolistic competition; assumptions, evaluation, comparison with PC Oligopolistic markets - types of collusion, impact of collusion, evaluation Kinked demand curve Anti-competitiveness, natural/artificial barriers to entry Monopoly power, profit maximisation, barriers to entry, evaluation Analysing efficiency, social burden triangle Price discrimination, conditions and evaluation Contestable markets - conditions, market concentration, impact and determinants Consumer surplus - determinants, price elasticity Producer surplus - determinants Monopsony power and evaluation

AQA Economics A-level (specification 7135, 7136) Specification 4.1.4.1 to 4.1.4.8 Includes: Measuring productivity, impact of increased productivity Policies to improve productivity Specialisation and the division of labour - advantages and disadvantages Costs of production Law of diminishing returns, economies of scale, LRAC Revenue and profit - function of profit Technological change, creative destruction Economies and diseconomies of scale (and evaluations) Minimum efficient scale

AQA Economics A-level: International Economy, specification 7135, 7136 I achieved an A in Economics A-level in 2018, across all three papers. These notes helped form an understanding of economic theory and a critical evaluation of it* Globalisation: characteristics and causes of globalisation Role of MNCs - benefits and drawbacks (evaluation) Costs and benefits of globalisation (evaluation) Trade: static vs dynamic gains, changing patterns of UK trade and World Trade Organisation (WTO) Theory of competitive advantage, assumption, sources, absolute advantage Specialisation and division of labour Trade in developing countries - advantages and risks UK membership of EU evaluation - arguments for and against Policies to improve trade in the long run vs short run and supply side policies Protectionism: graphs and evaluation of tariffs, quotas, export subsidies and dumping Arguments against protectionism The balance of payments and current account - components Factors influencing current account deficit and balance of payment deficit Impact of trade imbalances (evaluation) Policies to reduce deficit - expenditure-reducing and expenditure-switching Exchange rates - determinants, fluctuations, depreciations etc Exchange rate equilibrium, excess demand vs excess supply Effects of currency fluctuations on growth, inflation, employment etc. Benefits and limitations of weaker currency Evaluation of a devaluation - Marshall Lerner, J curve Currency systems, free-floating, managed floating and fixed (and evaluation of each) Global influence of currencies, brexit impact Benefits and drawbacks of currency unions Economic growth and development, indicators of development Objectives of development, barriers to development Private sector and development Role of trade/aid in development

AQA Psychology A-level: Eating behaviour From specification 7181, 7182 - Issues and options in Psychology - paper 3 (I achieved an A* in Psychology A-level in 2018, across all three papers. I prioritised revision on evaluation, necessary for accessing higher grade!) Includes Evolutionary explanations for food preferences, taste aversion, neophobia and evaluation Role of learning - classical and operant conditioning, social influence; family, media, peer etc. and evaluation Cultural influence in eating - norms, meat-eating, learning and evaluation Neural mechanisms - dual-centre model of eating - Lateral hypothalamus and ventro-medial hypothalamus Hormonal mechanisms - role of ghrelin and leptin, studies and evaluation Explanations for anorexia nervosa (AN)* Genetic explanations - twin studies, candidate-gene and genome-wide associate studies and evaluation Neural explanations - role of serotonin and dopamine and evaluation Psychodynamic approach - Family Systems Theory (FST) and evaluation Social learning theory - modelling, vicarious reinforcement, media, Dittmar et al’s Barbie study (2006) Cognitive theory - cognitive distortions, irrational beliefs, cognitive inflexibility and evaluation Explanations for obesity Genetic explanations - family/twin studies, polygenic determination and ‘thrifty’ gene hypothesis Neural explanations -hypothalamus, leptin, serotonin and dopamine and evaluation Psychological explanations - restraint theory, disinhibition, boundary model and evaluation Success and failure of dieting - spiral model, ironic process theory, restrained eating and disinhibition Theory of hedonic eating Evaluation of success and failure of dieting with key studies Overview of key biological components in eating behaviour

AQA Psychology A-level: Memory From specification 7181, 7182 - Introductory topics in Psychology (I achieved an A* in Psychology A-level in 2018, across all three papers. I prioritised revision on evaluation, necessary for accessing higher grade!) Includes: The Multi-store model of memory - Atkinson and Shiffrin - detailed explanation of components and evaluation The Working Memory model - detailed explanation of central executive, visuo-spatial sketchpad, phonological loop and episodic buffer and evaluation Types of long-term memory (Tulving 1985) Procedural vs declarative memory, episodic vs semantic memory and evaluation Explanations for forgetting - interference theory and evaluation and retrieval failure and evaluation Eye witness testimony - impact of misleading information through leading questions, post-event discussion and evaluation of misleading information Effect of anxiety on EWT (positive and negative effect plus studies) and evaluation Improving the accuracy of EWT - The Cognitive Interview and evaluation

AQA Psychology A-level: Social Influence From specification 7181, 7182 - Paper 1: Introductory topics in Psychology (I achieved an A* in Psycholology A-level in 2018, across all three papers) Includes a lot of evaluation! - AO3 needed for high marks! Types of conformity - compliance, identification and internalisation Explanations for conformity - normative and informational social influence Factors affecting conformity - group size, unanimity, task difficulty and relevant studies Evaluation of conformity (A03) Conformity to social roles - Zimbardo’s Stanford Prison experiment and evaluation Explanations for obedience - Agentic state and legitimacy of authority Situational variables: proximity, location and uniform Dispositional explanations - the Authoritarian personality and evaluation Resistance to social influence and social change Explanations for resistance - locus of control, social support and evaluation Role of minority influence - commitment, consistency and flexibility principles and evaluation Role of social influence in social change, Civil Rights, snowballing effect

AQA Economics A-level: Aggregate demand and supply, specification 7135, 7136 Aggregate demand, relationship between price and quantity Factors influencing AD Evaluation of consumption, investment, government spending, net exports Marginal propensity to consume, marginal propensity to save, multiplier and accelerator effect Short-run aggregate supply and factors influencing SRAS Long-run aggregate supply and factors influencing LRAS Keynesian AS curve Macroeconomic equilibrium - short run, long run and economic shocks

AQA Economics A-level: The national and international economy, specification 7135, 7136. Macroeconomic performance Government objectives for economic performance Conflicts in performance - e.g. growth vs inflation Macroeconomic indicators - GDP, GNP, GNI, CPI, RPI National income data and evaluation, purchasing power parity Circular flow of income - leakages, withdrawal and equilibrium

AQA Economics A-level (specification 7135, 7136) Includes: Difference between income and wealth Determinants of income inequality and wealth inequality Measuring inequality - Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient Evaluation of income and wealth inequality UK income and wealth statistics Problem of poverty - relative vs absolute poverty, causes and impact Policies to alleviate poverty and evaluation