A* in a-level biology

does anyone know any good revision techniques/habits i could start now (year 12) so that i can get an A or A* in biology?

Hey,
I'm in year 12 too. We recently did our mocks and I managed to get a B in biology and the ONLY 2 methods that have worked for ME is
•doing past paper questions (including any practice questions and summary questions from my textbook) and
•going over my notes every 2-3 days because we all know that biology is very content heavy so teachers have to speed through lessons to finish the content in time
•blurting- I read a chapter and then put my notes away and wrote down everything I remembered in a time limit and then took a coloured pen and added on the things I didn't remember

Other techniques that also work is
• watching YouTube videos (I really recommend the channel Amoeba Sisters)
•Snaprevise is very helpful
•Quizlet
•Ankiapp- it's an app that allows you to make your own flashcards and then you can rate each flashcard on how easy was it for you to remember and the ones that you didn't remember they will keep on being repeated

Hope this helps

okay, thank you! when you go over your notes, do you just read them or do you do anything else as well??

Most of the time I read them by chapters and put them away and just write down everything from memory. In the beginning it was really hard for me to remember but now it's become easier

Also,another thing you can do is ask someone to test you OR you can you can teach someone which is also very useful

okay, thank you so much!!

I got straight A*s and am currently at Uni doing medicine, I would say doing anki flashcards has defo improved my study techniques, but also for a levels past papers are critical

does anyone know any good revision techniques/habits i could start now (year 12) so that i can get an A or A* in biology?

sounds showy-off i know but i almost got 100% UMS in two years of A level biology and graduated with a degree in it. i will copy and paste the steps that i used, then most important one being 4 probably


1.Find the official/exam board-certified course textbook such as by Pearson/Oxford

2. Learn it almost off by heart, as close as you can get

3. Rote memorisation of the words is only the 2nd from top 'level' of learning that is required: upon doing this with enough discipline you will find yourself progressing from just memorising words on a page to genuinely understanding the material in a way that sticks in your mind.

4. When you write revision notes DO NOT 'summarise', rather you should 'make cues' to help you recall deeper levels of detail - you actually remember far more than you realise, you just need that one word or phrase to jog your memory of it: 'to summarise' is the wrong way to mentally think about the notes, rather, think 'to cue'...

...In plain English, you have actually memorised far more than you realise, you just need that one word or phrase to jog your memory of it with a cue. conversely, if you think of notes in terms of summarising then you are brushing over all the fine details that are critical in biology.

... So find a diagram that will only show the basic steps... and then you will know finer detail within those broad steps - so in the exam you could picture that basic diagram in your head

5. For any parts that are particularly difficult to remember, read around the subject. For example, how to remember which heart valve does what? the vena cava returns deoxygenated blood from the body to the heart, how do i know this? vena cava is latin for "hollow veins" according to wikipedia, so i suppose it makes sense why they would be described as 'hollow', etc. ...So here i am doing extra reading by studying a wee bit of Latin and it turns out to be less work rather than more overall! Mostlly though, reading around your subject is not finding novel ways to remember things but by learning things in a deeper level of detail than required (uni goes into this level of detail)

6. Do A FEW past papers, just to get you used to the mark scheme, but don't lose track of learning the textbook off by heart and reading around the subject where necessary - don't overdo past papers: if you get 75% in 3 past papers then you have wasted 75% of 3 hours of your time

Good techniques and all, but what about when you only have three months left until your actual A Level exam? Serious question

is it just for a module or for the whole of the 2 years? in an emergency i would cut out some of the past papers (still need to do some to get used to the style of questions) and i'd cut out as much notetaking as possible - only write the absolute minimum required to help you cue, so no whole sentences or redrawing detailed diagrams. focus on rote memorisation of the official textbook and one word or phrase to represent each step

hell no - terrible technique

is it just for a module or for the whole of the 2 years? in an emergency i would cut out some of the past papers (still need to do some to get used to the style of questions) and i'd cut out as much notetaking as possible - only write the absolute minimum required to help you cue, so no whole sentences or redrawing detailed diagrams. focus on rote memorisation of the official textbook and one word or phrase to represent each step

i got one of the top grades in the country, somewhere around 98.5% UMS try it

Whole of Year 2. My teachers weren’t very good, and I’ve had about five different ones throughout the course so far, plus I hadn’t been revising much during Year 12 and some of Year 13. Really need to ‘pattern up’ for these remaining three months, but looking for the best and most efficient way to do so.

yup. notetaking is very inefficient, no reason why people should be spending all that time writing out whole sentences when they have those exact sentences in their textbook, just think of it in terms of 'cues' to jog your memory of each aspect of the course and you will do great

sounds showy-off i know but i almost got 100% UMS in two years of A level biology and graduated with a degree in it. i will copy and paste the steps that i used, then most important one being 4 probably


1.Find the official/exam board-certified course textbook such as by Pearson/Oxford

2. Learn it almost off by heart, as close as you can get

3. Rote memorisation of the words is only the 2nd from top 'level' of learning that is required: upon doing this with enough discipline you will find yourself progressing from just memorising words on a page to genuinely understanding the material in a way that sticks in your mind.

4. When you write revision notes DO NOT 'summarise', rather you should 'make cues' to help you recall deeper levels of detail - you actually remember far more than you realise, you just need that one word or phrase to jog your memory of it: 'to summarise' is the wrong way to mentally think about the notes, rather, think 'to cue'...

...In plain English, you have actually memorised far more than you realise, you just need that one word or phrase to jog your memory of it with a cue. conversely, if you think of notes in terms of summarising then you are brushing over all the fine details that are critical in biology.

... So find a diagram that will only show the basic steps... and then you will know finer detail within those broad steps - so in the exam you could picture that basic diagram in your head

5. For any parts that are particularly difficult to remember, read around the subject. For example, how to remember which heart valve does what? the vena cava returns deoxygenated blood from the body to the heart, how do i know this? vena cava is latin for "hollow veins" according to wikipedia, so i suppose it makes sense why they would be described as 'hollow', etc. ...So here i am doing extra reading by studying a wee bit of Latin and it turns out to be less work rather than more overall! Mostlly though, reading around your subject is not finding novel ways to remember things but by learning things in a deeper level of detail than required (uni goes into this level of detail)

6. Do A FEW past papers, just to get you used to the mark scheme, but don't lose track of learning the textbook off by heart and reading around the subject where necessary - don't overdo past papers: if you get 75% in 3 past papers then you have wasted 75% of 3 hours of your time

yup. notetaking is very inefficient, no reason why people should be spending all that time writing out whole sentences when they have those exact sentences in their textbook, just think of it in terms of 'cues' to jog your memory of each aspect of the course and you will do great