Recommended Reading
'The Specification for [...insert name of subject here...]' is what the exam boards produce to outline what they want you to learn and how they will test you. In the old days it was more usually called 'The Syllabus' and was a much more straightforward list of just that - these days each subject has a thick book of its own, with lots of largely uninteresting and irrelevant information to help teachers and school exams officers sleep at night; the good news for you is that you can ignore the vast majority of this mighty tome...
However, hidden away somewhere in the middle will be a few sections which list what you will be expected to know, understand and be able to do by the end of the course. These pages can be incredibly useful to you - both as you progress through the course (check after each lesson what you've done and how what you need to know fits with the big picture) and for revision (as a checklist and a cue for remembering some ideas and concepts).
Teachers will often issue you with revision checklists and perhaps a guide to the course (what topics you will do and when); these will usually be based on the spec and will be useful, but I strongly recommend you also familiarise yourself directly with the documents your exam board produces; it is part of becoming a more independent learner and will keep you more sharply focussed on what you need to do.
"OK, great! / You've persuaded me / yes yes my teacher keeps saying all that as well / where do I get this speccy thing and how do I find the useful pages in the midst of all the examination code numbers you teachers have to read about etc"...
The easiest way to get a copy of the spec for your subject is from your exam board on-line; In order to do this you will need to know the exam board for your course and as some exam boards offer different specifications for the same subject the name or code for the exact specification relevant. Your teacher can tell you this information.
For A-level Chemistry try the following links, which were correct when I wrote this article, but please check with your teacher so you end up with the right one;
AQA; http://store.aqa.org.uk/qual/gce/pdf/AQA-2420-W-SP.PDF Look for 'Subject Content' on contents page
OCR 'A'; http://www.ocr.org.uk/download/kd/ocr_9910_kd_gce_spec.pdf Look for 'Unit Content'
OCR 'Salters'; http://www.ocr.org.uk/download/kd/ocr_9605_kd_gce_spec.pdf Look for 'Unit Content'
Edexcel; http://www.edexcel.com/migrationdocuments/GCE%20New%20GCE/UA024832%20GCE%20in%20Chemistry%20Issue%204%20250510.pdf Look for 'Chemistry Unit Content'
The sections that are most useful are the 'Subject/Unit Content' ones; in a more idle moment, it might be worth having a flick through other sections, perhaps on 'How Science Works', or outlining how your coursework options will work - but whatever you do, don't get bogged down reading information about how to administer the course - do something more useful.
"So that's it - all I need to do for a good grade, ha?"
'Fraid not - but it's a very useful start. You can use this information to point you in the right direction, but you will still need to work hard to understand your subject and develop the skills you need. And after that, you will need to learn how to communicate what you understand in the words and phrases that your particular exam board will turn into marks. More resources from your exam board will help with this - most importantly past papers and their mark schemes. These are very important, but that's a story for another day.
And in the meanwhile, if you find yourself unable to sleep, perhaps you could try that chapter on 'Supervision and Authentication of Internally Assessed Units' and appreciate what your teachers go through for you...
