Getting the A at AS?

Only did biology out of all those and it was the subject I did the best.

If I'm entirely honest, it'll all come down to the luck of the paper but yeah, biology is basically retaining a lot of information and being able to apply it to unfamiliar situations. Theoretically, it starts off very easy and then increases in difficulty and content but it's nothing you can't handle. Learn keywords is an absolute must, mark schemes can be very very fussy and if you don't say the word they're looking for (eg myogenic, negative feedback etc) you won't get those simple marks, which leads me onto my next point.. write everything you know for a particular question. I know it says don't do that on examiner reports but you can't risk not getting the marks if you don't really understand the question, if worse comes to worse just get extra paper. Not sure if that works with every exam board, but it certainly does with edexcel because they operate in a way where if your answer is on the mark scheme, you get the mark and if it's incorrect, you don't lose the mark you've accrued (list principal). In terms of just general learning, make sure you're frequently revisiting whatever you learn in class, nail all the easy topics and ask for help if there are bits you don't understand- don't just say you'll look at it later or leave it till summer because it'll be too late. Like I said, there is a lot of info but there's also a lot of HSW and the worst bit of those are graphs and interpreting them. You'll eventually learn the best way to tackle those (eg state the type and strength of the correlation and make a statement relating the IV and DV usually should give you 2 marks [again depending on the exam board] and manipulation of figures is always another mark). Practice makes perfect for biology I'm afraid, so I found the perfect way for me was to actually understand all the concepts and apply them to the questions in the past papers

Thanks! This was very helpful. Do you have any tips for the coursework?

Yeah with the coursework, don't be afraid to bother your teachers at any stage of the day because after all they should know what makes a good piece. With AS, you should do a issue report where you choose your own issue and basically write a report on it but it isn't that simple. Always choose an issue where there is a lot of research for. There's no point choosing a unique disease or problem when you can't talk about it. All the same, always work with a checklist/criteria by you that lists what exactly it is you need to do and how many marks it's worth so you know how much a particular section is worth. It doesn't have to be a disease btw, it just has to be a biological issue. I know a few people who did it on conservation issues and they are generally easier because there's more research done on it but a wrong title can literally ruin you so be careful and always ask a teachers opinion before you set the title because you do need to be quite detailed. Also, have a look at as many examples as possible so you see what you should be expected to produce. The coursework for me at AS was almost all copy and paste but it was really hard because I chose a topic that's part way between biology and psychology (more on the psychology side) so there was very very little data on it and the data I found was literally found a few weeks before the deadline because I had to trawl through google scholars looking for articles that actually contained the info I could use. And also, don't leave it last minute. I remember doing my first draft on cystic fibrosis and basically it was due on a Monday but I kept saying I'll do it later on so I ended up spending the whole day on Sunday trying to actually do it and it really wasn't worth it because I did shockingly bad, like 28/40 which I think would have been an E or around there

If you want me to pm you my coursework, let me know. I ended up getting an A (56/60 ums) in the AS one

I'd like it if you could PM it to me, thanks! I'm on OCR but I think we have to do that. Not sure. But thanks!

I'd like it if you could PM it to me, thanks! I'm on OCR but I think we have to do that. Not sure. But thanks!