Take our quiz to find out what your revision personality is! >>

Struggling with bio revision

I'm currently in year 13 studying bio chem and psych, and im finding revising biology really hard. It feels like no matter how long i spend on a topic the application questions just always catch me out and i have no idea how to answer them. Does anyone have any advice to help with application questions or how to get better? I know people will say practise but its difficult when every single one is different lol.

Reply 1

BCU Student Rep

Official Rep

Original post by ellxeeee

Hi @ellxeeee,

I was in a similar position to you for biology during my a-levels as well. For some reason, I found biology to be so intimidating because it seemed so extensive and overwhelming. But fortunately, I was able to secure an A and hopefully my tips can be helpful.

1) Specification points: this may sound obvious, but it’s often overlooked. Make sure you’re familiar and constantly refer with your spec points. Ensure everything in the spec points is covered in your revision schedule, as this will highlight the areas you will need to know to pass highly in the exam. The spec points tell you exactly everything you need to know, nothing more and nothing less.

2) Practice writing long, essay-style answers: Oftentimes you may find 6-8 mark questions where you’ll need to write detailed paragraphs with the facts spot-on. These 'big mark' questions usually ask of a particular process, but just by mentioning specific keywords you can easily get the marks you need. You might also find it useful to write down those big mark questions on a flashcard, and write the answers in memorable bullet points on the back of it. Flashcards are also useful for memorising biological processes and mechanisms.

3) Summarising chapters: For A-Level biology I found it helpful to go through each chapter and make a summary. I used the Cornell note method to summarise each chapter. Make sure this summary also encapsulates what the examiners will want to see from you, you can read through examiners reports to find this.

Hope this helps,
Danish
BCU Student Rep