Synoptic Questions — Connecting Ideas Across Topics

One of the most demanding — and most rewarding — aspects of A-Level is synoptic assessment. If you have ever looked at a question and thought, "This doesn't fit neatly into one topic," then you have encountered synopticity. And if you want the top grades, you need to master it.

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What Synoptic Assessment Means

Synoptic comes from the Greek synoptikos, meaning "seeing the whole together." In educational terms, synoptic assessment tests your ability to draw together knowledge, understanding, and skills from across the entire specification — not just from a single topic or module.

At GCSE, questions typically test one topic at a time. A question about photosynthesis tests photosynthesis. A question about the Cold War tests the Cold War. You can revise in discrete blocks and expect the exam to respect those boundaries.

A-Level deliberately breaks those boundaries.

Synoptic questions ask you to:

• Connect ideas from different topics within the same subject
• Apply principles from one area to explain phenomena in another
• Recognise patterns and themes that run across the specification
• Construct arguments that integrate multiple areas of knowledge
• Evaluate holistically rather than in isolated fragments