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Getting an A at AS OCR Biology?

I found out a couple of days ago that last years AS class 1 person got an A, 2 got and B and the rest got U grades. This has made me really panic and made me started to worry! Anybody that has done the AS course what would recommend to get an A at AS? I have http://www.amazon.co.uk/Biology-Student-Book-Exam-CD-ROM/dp/0435691805/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1414090541&sr=8-2&keywords=as+biology and this http://www.amazon.co.uk/AS-Level-Biology-OCR-Student-Book/dp/1847627897/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1414090131&sr=8-4&keywords=biology+ocr+as

Are there any resources that I could use? Ant tips you could give me? I've become panicked!
Reply 1
Avatar for Nymthae
Nymthae
16
Original post by GoldGhost
I found out a couple of days ago that last years AS class 1 person got an A, 2 got and B and the rest got U grades. This has made me really panic and made me started to worry! Anybody that has done the AS course what would recommend to get an A at AS? I have http://www.amazon.co.uk/Biology-Student-Book-Exam-CD-ROM/dp/0435691805/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1414090541&sr=8-2&keywords=as+biology and this http://www.amazon.co.uk/AS-Level-Biology-OCR-Student-Book/dp/1847627897/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1414090131&sr=8-4&keywords=biology+ocr+as

Are there any resources that I could use? Ant tips you could give me? I've become panicked!


Well, if they got a U, they clearly didn't have a clue what was going on/didn't do any work/didn't pay any attention. You've got the main book (exam board endorsed) and another, you really don't need anymore. The exam board one alone contains enough for you to get an A. You just need to put the work in, and pay close attention to past papers - the mark schemes tend to be quite picky, so make yourself aware of the "key words" in each topic.
Original post by GoldGhost
I found out a couple of days ago that last years AS class 1 person got an A, 2 got and B and the rest got U grades. This has made me really panic and made me started to worry! Anybody that has done the AS course what would recommend to get an A at AS? I have http://www.amazon.co.uk/Biology-Student-Book-Exam-CD-ROM/dp/0435691805/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1414090541&sr=8-2&keywords=as+biology and this http://www.amazon.co.uk/AS-Level-Biology-OCR-Student-Book/dp/1847627897/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1414090131&sr=8-4&keywords=biology+ocr+as

Are there any resources that I could use? Ant tips you could give me? I've become panicked!


Im doing OCR Biology too, I have the first book u showed but is the second book any good? I was thinking about buying it...

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Original post by GoldGhost
I found out a couple of days ago that last years AS class 1 person got an A, 2 got and B and the rest got U grades. This has made me really panic and made me started to worry! Anybody that has done the AS course what would recommend to get an A at AS? I have http://www.amazon.co.uk/Biology-Student-Book-Exam-CD-ROM/dp/0435691805/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1414090541&sr=8-2&keywords=as+biology and this http://www.amazon.co.uk/AS-Level-Biology-OCR-Student-Book/dp/1847627897/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1414090131&sr=8-4&keywords=biology+ocr+as

Are there any resources that I could use? Ant tips you could give me? I've become panicked!


I used cgp and the official ocr textbook, they both have different things in and you need to make sure you read the little bubbles in both books, because they are the little marks they pick up on a lot. The best thing though is past papers and learning how they want you to write the mark scheme, and picking up on small details and using key terms. :smile:


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Don't worry, if you're anywhere near capable it's pretty easy to get an A, we had 2 out of 50 people get As the year before I started which was a bit disturbing. It's generally because a lot of people who aren't any good at science take Biology because they think it's an easy option. I did AS last year and was one of 3 to get an A, my advice would be to revise using the OCR textbook (not the revision guide, it's crap); essentially just go over and over every single page until you have the textbook memorised. Pretty much full UMS in the bag
Past papers are your best resource! You will need the specific key words they use and it may be difficult to know which ones are necessary from a text book.
We used the textbook you have in class and it's pretty informative.
I bought this CGP book though http://www.amazon.co.uk/AS-Level-Biology-Complete-Revision-Practice/dp/1847621228/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1414092063&sr=8-2&keywords=biology+ocr+as
My last mock about a month before the exam I got a C. Using the CGP book, I ended up getting an A. It's very condensed so tends to give answers specifically using key words.

You really do need to understand the information though because they throw random questions at you that you will need to apply your knowledge to. You won't be able to recite what you read in the book.

Good luck! :smile:
Original post by GoldGhost
I found out a couple of days ago that last years AS class 1 person got an A, 2 got and B and the rest got U grades. This has made me really panic and made me started to worry! Anybody that has done the AS course what would recommend to get an A at AS? I have http://www.amazon.co.uk/Biology-Student-Book-Exam-CD-ROM/dp/0435691805/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1414090541&sr=8-2&keywords=as+biology and this http://www.amazon.co.uk/AS-Level-Biology-OCR-Student-Book/dp/1847627897/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1414090131&sr=8-4&keywords=biology+ocr+as

Are there any resources that I could use? Ant tips you could give me? I've become panicked!


Hi there,

I studied Biology at AS-Level, got an A (just) but funnily enough hated the subject. My exam board was OCR also. I used the book you've quoted which comes with the CD I found it very useful as it gives you the whole spec and answers questions from it.

My advice is although Biology is a difficult subject I think the key way to excel is USE THE SPECIFICATION, it will help you massively, it's a giant list of everything you need to know for the exams. I also found a lot of Biology is applied knowledge meaning you really need an understanding of the topics at hand, learning the subject by wrote is definitely not the way to go, trust me I tried it :rolleyes:.

Good luck with the course :biggrin:
Reply 7
Avatar for GoldGhost
GoldGhost
OP
14
Original post by Schrödingers Cat
Hi there,

I studied Biology at AS-Level, got an A (just) but funnily enough hated the subject. My exam board was OCR also. I used the book you've quoted which comes with the CD I found it very useful as it gives you the whole spec and answers questions from it.

My advice is although Biology is a difficult subject I think the key way to excel is USE THE SPECIFICATION, it will help you massively, it's a giant list of everything you need to know for the exams. I also found a lot of Biology is applied knowledge meaning you really need an understanding of the topics at hand, learning the subject by wrote is definitely not the way to go, trust me I tried it :rolleyes:.

Good luck with the course :biggrin:



Original post by Faithams
Past papers are your best resource! You will need the specific key words they use and it may be difficult to know which ones are necessary from a text book.
We used the textbook you have in class and it's pretty informative.
I bought this CGP book though http://www.amazon.co.uk/AS-Level-Biology-Complete-Revision-Practice/dp/1847621228/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1414092063&sr=8-2&keywords=biology+ocr+as
My last mock about a month before the exam I got a C. Using the CGP book, I ended up getting an A. It's very condensed so tends to give answers specifically using key words.

You really do need to understand the information though because they throw random questions at you that you will need to apply your knowledge to. You won't be able to recite what you read in the book.

Good luck! :smile:



Original post by TotalerReinfall
Don't worry, if you're anywhere near capable it's pretty easy to get an A, we had 2 out of 50 people get As the year before I started which was a bit disturbing. It's generally because a lot of people who aren't any good at science take Biology because they think it's an easy option. I did AS last year and was one of 3 to get an A, my advice would be to revise using the OCR textbook (not the revision guide, it's crap); essentially just go over and over every single page until you have the textbook memorised. Pretty much full UMS in the bag



Original post by LouiseXxx
I used cgp and the official ocr textbook, they both have different things in and you need to make sure you read the little bubbles in both books, because they are the little marks they pick up on a lot. The best thing though is past papers and learning how they want you to write the mark scheme, and picking up on small details and using key terms. :smile:


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Original post by Ben4
Im doing OCR Biology too, I have the first book u showed but is the second book any good? I was thinking about buying it...

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I do find the second book useful, I have it for chemistry too!

Original post by Nymthae
Well, if they got a U, they clearly didn't have a clue what was going on/didn't do any work/didn't pay any attention. You've got the main book (exam board endorsed) and another, you really don't need anymore. The exam board one alone contains enough for you to get an A. You just need to put the work in, and pay close attention to past papers - the mark schemes tend to be quite picky, so make yourself aware of the "key words" in each topic.


Thankyou so much! I've ordered a couple more books and I've been filled with a bit more confidence!

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