After more than 20 years teaching AQA Psychology, marking exam scripts, supporting thousands of students, and working behind the scenes as an AQA examiner, I can tell you something most teachers won’t say outright:

**The students who get A and A* aren’t the ones who write the longest essays…

They’re the ones who know their research.**

Not everything.
Not whole textbooks.
Not 150 studies across three papers.

Just the right research.

And if you’re aiming for a B, A, or A* this year, I’m going to show you exactly what that means.

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⭐ The Secret Exam Hack: Research = Marks

Every single year I mark the same types of scripts:

Students who waffle → stay stuck at C/B

Students who use research effectively → jump to A/A*

It’s not luck.
It’s not writing flowery paragraphs.
It’s not memorising entire chapters.

It’s this:

Psychology examiners reward specific evidence, not vague knowledge.

And the form of evidence they want most is…

👉 RESEARCH.

Why?

Because research:

• proves you understand the theory

• earns AO1 marks effortlessly

• earns AO3 marks even faster

• makes your essays look confident and “exam-ready”

• shows the examiner you know what real psychology looks like

And most importantly…

One well-chosen study can secure 4–6 marks by itself.

That is the difference between a B and an A*.
Every. Single. Year.

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⭐ “But Miss… I hate learning research.”

Trust me — I know.

Students groan when they hear “studies,” “findings,” “evaluation,” or “research evidence.”

But here’s the truth:

You don’t need to memorise 50 studies.

You don’t even need 20.

For Issues & Debates, you only need a small set of high-value studies that you can confidently weave into essays.

Not the whole textbook.
Not dozens of names and dates.
Just the exam-reliable ones.

And because I’ve taught this specification for two decades…
And because I’ve marked these papers as an examiner…

I know exactly which studies matter — and which ones don’t.

So I’ve done the work for you.

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⭐ The Only Studies You Need for Issues & Debates (Yes — Only These)

I have gathered the exact studies that consistently score marks in:

✔ Gender Bias
✔ Culture Bias
✔ Free Will vs Determinism
✔ Nature vs Nurture
✔ Holism vs Reductionism
✔ Idiographic vs Nomothetic
✔ Ethical Implications & SSR

These are the studies I’ve seen again and again on top-band scripts.

These are the ones students forget — and lose marks on.

And these are the ones YOU can master in under an hour.

No fluff.
No useless details.
No overwhelming revision.

Just the bare essentials to unlock A and A* writing.

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⭐ Why This Works (Straight From an Examiner)

When I mark essays, I’m not allowed to reward vague waffle like:

❌ “Research shows…”
❌ “Studies suggest…”
❌ “Some psychologists found…”

That earns nothing.
Zero.

But when a student writes:

✔ “Ainsworth (1970) found...”
✔ “Gottesman (1991) reported…”
✔ “Milgram (1963) demonstrated…”

—I am literally required to award marks.

Because those sentences show:

• Specific knowledge

• Correct evidence

• Clear application

• Confidence

• Precision

Those are the scripts that jump from B to A.

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⭐ So I’ve Made This As Easy As Possible For You

To help you revise smart — not hard — I’ve created a free Issues & Debates Hack Sheet containing:

Download HERE 

✨ The only studies you need
✨ What each study found
✨ What each study suggests
✨ The exam-ready link to the debate
✨ All in a simple, attractive flash-card layout

This is the exact structure I give my own students — the ones who go on to achieve As and A*s every year.

And now I’m giving it to you completely free.

Why?

Because I want you to feel confident walking into your Paper 3 exam.
Because I know how stressful this subject can feel.
Because I’ve seen too many students fail simply because they didn’t know which research mattered.

And because you deserve the chance to get the grade you’re capable of.

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⭐ Download Your Free Issues & Debates Research Hack Sheet

 

D

Download Here 

This is your shortcut.
Your fast-track.
Your “jump-to-the-top-band” cheat sheet.

👉 Click here to download your free Issues & Debates Study Hack Sheet
(print it, stick it on your wall, memorise the studies — and watch your grade jump)

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