The Student Room Group

How to get full marks on an exam :)

**This was originally written to help someone with their Biology, but I'm sure you can adapt it to your subject :smile: **

LifeIsGood
Hey, can I ask what UMS scores you got for AS Biology? I really want an A in BIOL2, have you got any tips? :biggrin:


Hey :smile:

As it stands I have an A in AS Biology, however I have resat BIOL1 and will do BIOL2 next week :smile:

AS ISA - 60/60
BIOL1 - 100/100 - (That is how I did on the exam. They released the unoffical mark scheme. Plus I got 100 UMS on 5/6 of the past papers I did)
BIOL2 - I believe I shall also get 140/140, but the first time I got 106/140.

BIOL4 - 80/100
A2 ISA - 56/60 (I'm hoping will go up, if they're not strict :smile: )
BIOL5 - I would also like 140/140 :smile:

Now, I have gotten progressively better at Biology, and academia in general.
It's really simple, I'm sure you can do it :smile:

1) The Mark Scheme is your ROCK!!!
No matter how detailed and wonderful the Nelson Thrones text book is and revision guides. Sometimes they miss parts off. So always make sure that you are confident with everything on there.

2) To start your revision off. Use the Nelson Thornes textbook. Read through the part of the chapter to gain an overall understanding. Then make thorough notes on everything. Check the mark scheme first as learning stuff you don't need to know is a waste of time :smile: Also, use fancy, couloured pens :smile: I spent like £6 on mine and they are worth it! They are very good because it stimulates the creative side of the brain and so helps you to absorb the information more :smile: Trust me it works :smile: Beautiful and appealing to look at to :wink:

3) At the start of each new day, go back over everything you did to keep it fresh

4) Once you've covered everything. Go back over everything, learning it. For example, place your hand over the process and then recite it, see how you did. Repeat until PERFECT :wink:. Then go back over the mark scheme again to check you have it all.

5) It's allllllll about past paper Q's now. You can know all of the biology and still not get an A on a paper because you need something. It's called exam technique. Knowing the biology is only half the game. So sit the paper under times conditons, (the past papers are available from the AQA website) Mark it, generating an honest score (usually a range, i.e - worst case scenario 84/100, best case scenario 88/100) You can then place the raw score into a UMS converter on the AQA website to see how well you did.

You will find that you lose a lot of easy marks at first, but as you do this, you will see what exactly it is they are looking for :smile: If you do horribly in a topic, go back over it and reanswer the questions :smile:

6) This is where you bring in the revission guides. They are often helpful because they can broaden your understanding of a topic, test it in new ways and are pretty helpful to help with your understanding if the Textbook isn't clear enough :smile:

Finally, if you are really struggling, ask a friend, your biology teacher, or me :smile:

Anyway, this is what I do for Biology. I have finally developed it to this stage now :smile: Handy cause in 5 weeks it will all be over anyway :smile:

There is a lot more to revising, but I've written nearly an essay with this so. Best of luck :wink:

Scroll to see replies

Reply 1
I know some helpful tips for English too :smile: I have tutored people. I love it, I got like 100% on my coursework and 90% on the exam before that. So if you want help, message :smile:
Reply 2
Original post by Benevolence
I know some helpful tips for English too :smile: I have tutored people. I love it, I got like 100% on my coursework and 90% on the exam before that. So if you want help, message :smile:


Could you post the tips for English Literature, my exam is on Tuesday (two days).

Thanks
Thank you!
Can I also suggest tips that worked for me?
- Skype study sessions with your friends - this really helps. You could also get a smart friend to tutor you in your difficult topics.
- Focusing on understanding more than memorising - Memorising will never get you full marks in the exam. You need to be able to understand concepts in subejcts like physics, maths etc., but also understanding plays a part of every subject. I find visualising, relating concepts to real life and making connections between things helps a great deal with understanding. :smile:
Interesting, a few weeks ago I saw my sister was sitting BY1 with WJEC, I took a look through the paper and noticed on the front that it says

You are reminded of the necessity for good English and orderly presentation in your answers.

The quality of written communication will affect the awarding of marks.


I found this intriguing, and I can't remember seeing that written on the papers back in '08. Does anyone know how this works? Could you potentially lose marks through lack of written skills? Could you potentially be wrong in your answer and still get full marks for the question? The WJEC mark scheme is very specific, so I am somewhat curious as to how the awarding of marks are effected by the quality of written communication...
Original post by 01010000 01001010
Interesting, a few weeks ago I saw my sister was sitting BY1 with WJEC, I took a look through the paper and noticed on the front that it says



I found this intriguing, and I can't remember seeing that written on the papers back in '08. Does anyone know how this works? Could you potentially lose marks through lack of written skills? Could you potentially be wrong in your answer and still get full marks for the question? The WJEC mark scheme is very specific, so I am somewhat curious as to how the awarding of marks are effected by the quality of written communication...


You get three marks for the entire paper, if you can write fairly well you get all of them
Reply 7
Original post by Benevolence
**This was originally written to help someone with their Biology, but I'm sure you can adapt it to your subject :smile: **



Hey :smile:

As it stands I have an A in AS Biology, however I have resat BIOL1 and will do BIOL2 next week :smile:

AS ISA - 60/60
BIOL1 - 100/100 - (That is how I did on the exam. They released the unoffical mark scheme. Plus I got 100 UMS on 5/6 of the past papers I did)
BIOL2 - I believe I shall also get 140/140, but the first time I got 106/140.

BIOL4 - 80/100
A2 ISA - 56/60 (I'm hoping will go up, if they're not strict :smile: )
BIOL5 - I would also like 140/140 :smile:

Now, I have gotten progressively better at Biology, and academia in general.
It's really simple, I'm sure you can do it :smile:

1) The Mark Scheme is your ROCK!!!
No matter how detailed and wonderful the Nelson Thrones text book is and revision guides. Sometimes they miss parts off. So always make sure that you are confident with everything on there.

2) To start your revision off. Use the Nelson Thornes textbook. Read through the part of the chapter to gain an overall understanding. Then make thorough notes on everything. Check the mark scheme first as learning stuff you don't need to know is a waste of time :smile: Also, use fancy, couloured pens :smile: I spent like £6 on mine and they are worth it! They are very good because it stimulates the creative side of the brain and so helps you to absorb the information more :smile: Trust me it works :smile: Beautiful and appealing to look at to :wink:

3) At the start of each new day, go back over everything you did to keep it fresh

4) Once you've covered everything. Go back over everything, learning it. For example, place your hand over the process and then recite it, see how you did. Repeat until PERFECT :wink:. Then go back over the mark scheme again to check you have it all.

5) It's allllllll about past paper Q's now. You can know all of the biology and still not get an A on a paper because you need something. It's called exam technique. Knowing the biology is only half the game. So sit the paper under times conditons, (the past papers are available from the AQA website) Mark it, generating an honest score (usually a range, i.e - worst case scenario 84/100, best case scenario 88/100) You can then place the raw score into a UMS converter on the AQA website to see how well you did.

You will find that you lose a lot of easy marks at first, but as you do this, you will see what exactly it is they are looking for :smile: If you do horribly in a topic, go back over it and reanswer the questions :smile:

6) This is where you bring in the revission guides. They are often helpful because they can broaden your understanding of a topic, test it in new ways and are pretty helpful to help with your understanding if the Textbook isn't clear enough :smile:

Finally, if you are really struggling, ask a friend, your biology teacher, or me :smile:

Anyway, this is what I do for Biology. I have finally developed it to this stage now :smile: Handy cause in 5 weeks it will all be over anyway :smile:

There is a lot more to revising, but I've written nearly an essay with this so. Best of luck :wink:


Do you know if there is an unoffical edexcel mark scheme or are you talking about a different exam board?
Reply 8
Original post by Dan9878
Do you know if there is an unoffical edexcel mark scheme or are you talking about a different exam board?


Yeah, well there should be :smile:

I do AQA and there was one for that so I would presume so :smile:
Reply 9
Original post by ju1c
Could you post the tips for English Literature, my exam is on Tuesday (two days).

Thanks


Which exam board are you with/ what are you studying?
Original post by 01010000 01001010
Interesting, a few weeks ago I saw my sister was sitting BY1 with WJEC, I took a look through the paper and noticed on the front that it says



I found this intriguing, and I can't remember seeing that written on the papers back in '08. Does anyone know how this works? Could you potentially lose marks through lack of written skills? Could you potentially be wrong in your answer and still get full marks for the question? The WJEC mark scheme is very specific, so I am somewhat curious as to how the awarding of marks are effected by the quality of written communication...


If you were to write "**** off." as your exam answer, so long as it has correct spelling/grammar, you get a mark I believe.
I do past papers first so I know which needs the most revision.
:smile: quite a lot of smiley faces
thank you btw
Original post by Lukester911
If you were to write "**** off." as your exam answer, so long as it has correct spelling/grammar, you get a mark I believe.


I'm sorry, I'm not even sure I would consider that an attempt at humour, more of a monotonous drone for attention.
Original post by Benevolence
**This was originally written to help someone with their Biology, but I'm sure you can adapt it to your subject :smile: **



Hey :smile:

As it stands I have an A in AS Biology, however I have resat BIOL1 and will do BIOL2 next week :smile:

AS ISA - 60/60
BIOL1 - 100/100 - (That is how I did on the exam. They released the unoffical mark scheme. Plus I got 100 UMS on 5/6 of the past papers I did)
BIOL2 - I believe I shall also get 140/140, but the first time I got 106/140.

BIOL4 - 80/100
A2 ISA - 56/60 (I'm hoping will go up, if they're not strict :smile: )
BIOL5 - I would also like 140/140 :smile:

Now, I have gotten progressively better at Biology, and academia in general.
It's really simple, I'm sure you can do it :smile:

1) The Mark Scheme is your ROCK!!!
No matter how detailed and wonderful the Nelson Thrones text book is and revision guides. Sometimes they miss parts off. So always make sure that you are confident with everything on there.

2) To start your revision off. Use the Nelson Thornes textbook. Read through the part of the chapter to gain an overall understanding. Then make thorough notes on everything. Check the mark scheme first as learning stuff you don't need to know is a waste of time :smile: Also, use fancy, couloured pens :smile: I spent like £6 on mine and they are worth it! They are very good because it stimulates the creative side of the brain and so helps you to absorb the information more :smile: Trust me it works :smile: Beautiful and appealing to look at to :wink:

3) At the start of each new day, go back over everything you did to keep it fresh

4) Once you've covered everything. Go back over everything, learning it. For example, place your hand over the process and then recite it, see how you did. Repeat until PERFECT :wink:. Then go back over the mark scheme again to check you have it all.

5) It's allllllll about past paper Q's now. You can know all of the biology and still not get an A on a paper because you need something. It's called exam technique. Knowing the biology is only half the game. So sit the paper under times conditons, (the past papers are available from the AQA website) Mark it, generating an honest score (usually a range, i.e - worst case scenario 84/100, best case scenario 88/100) You can then place the raw score into a UMS converter on the AQA website to see how well you did.

You will find that you lose a lot of easy marks at first, but as you do this, you will see what exactly it is they are looking for :smile: If you do horribly in a topic, go back over it and reanswer the questions :smile:

6) This is where you bring in the revission guides. They are often helpful because they can broaden your understanding of a topic, test it in new ways and are pretty helpful to help with your understanding if the Textbook isn't clear enough :smile:

Finally, if you are really struggling, ask a friend, your biology teacher, or me :smile:

Anyway, this is what I do for Biology. I have finally developed it to this stage now :smile: Handy cause in 5 weeks it will all be over anyway :smile:

There is a lot more to revising, but I've written nearly an essay with this so. Best of luck :wink:


WOW! YOU ARE LIKE SOME SORT OF BIOLOGY GOD! So didn't you do the general, make notes, go over them, then hit the past papers?
Reply 15
Past papers for A level Biology are SO IMPORTANT!!
Original post by 01010000 01001010
I'm sorry, I'm not even sure I would consider that an attempt at humour, more of a monotonous drone for attention.


Indeed, I think the three possible marks are pointless to be fair. There are people will a poor grasp of grammar that have some of the brightest minds, should they be penalised if they're not doing an English course?
Original post by 01010000 01001010
I'm sorry, I'm not even sure I would consider that an attempt at humour, more of a monotonous drone for attention.


Not sure about the WJEC board but when I did Edexcel Science exams there were about three questions on the paper that had a picture of a notepad and this meant that one mark for that answer was for writing competency. Our teachers said even if you had no idea at the answer just write any sentence that makes grammatical sense with a capital letter and a full stop and they have to give you that one writing competency mark, even if you didn't write anything relevant to the question.
Reply 18
Original post by Benevolence
Which exam board are you with/ what are you studying?


Benevolence could you please post those english tips?
I am on AQA =D Much appreciated <3
Reply 19
Original post by HaimishaParekh
WOW! YOU ARE LIKE SOME SORT OF BIOLOGY GOD! So didn't you do the general, make notes, go over them, then hit the past papers?


To be honest with you, it's all about being meticulous. By the time you go into the exam you should be completely confident about everything on the mark scheme.

It really pays off, because, If you do badly, you shall have to resit anyway, or at worst it will affect your future.

I will say that if you do come across a question that you are unsure about, have a think for a little while. However, if you honestly don't know, or something doesn't click.. LEAVE IT. I usually mark an asterisk in the column (the part of the paper where the examiner won't see because of the way it's photocopied). Finish the paper and then go back and answer it.

This works so well, because as you sit there stressing over a question, you waste valuable time and it proves detrimental to the rest of your work. I found you think clearer when you come back to it anyway :smile: **This is even if it happens. It shouldn't, but they can be a bit ambiguous some times :wink:**

Also, another really useful piece of advise is to go back over your paper once you've finished. You would laugh at the sheer amount of silly mistakes you make. Trust me when I say "You will be thankful you did" aha :P This is the reason I went into my last exam with a black pen and a red fine-liner. I underline key words in the question when I read it (takes hardly any time at all), it's also better than misreading the question and failing it completely. Often, particularly in biology, people assume that the question is asking one thing, where in fact, it's asking the other. So please please make sure that you are reading the question carefully. Remember, the only thing the examiner knows about you is the paper in front of him.

Finally (without writing an essay response :P), people lose easy marks for missing out simple terminology. Make sure you know the terminology for the topic. For example, the phrase "By osmosis" or "Down the water potential gradient" are two easy marks. Yet lots of people understand the process, yet lose out on easy marks because of the lack of terminology. This really adds up over the course of the paper and quite often the difference between an A and a B, or a B and a C.

Anyway, hope this helps :smile: