F215 - Revision thread 13th June 2011

I think i pretty much just made up my own answers and i wrote a massive essay on why we shouldn't kill hedgehogs i put they have family to care for. WTF!!!

I think i pretty much just made up my own answers and i wrote a massive essay on why we shouldn't kill hedgehogs i put they have family to care for. WTF!!!

I think i pretty much just made up my own answers and i wrote a massive essay on why we shouldn't kill hedgehogs i put they have family to care for. WTF!!!

I think i pretty much just made up my own answers and i wrote a massive essay on why we shouldn't kill hedgehogs i put they have family to care for. WTF!!!

Just had an epic rant to OCR:


Dear OCR,

Though I suspect that sending this email is a futile endeavour, I feel compelled to do so in order to express my intense dissatisfaction with today's F215 'Biology' paper.

My chief issue pertains to the ecology sections of the exam, which were extensive. Indeed, copious portions of the paper were dedicated to the matter, both at its beginning and near its end. This seems incredibly disproportional when viewed in the context of OCR's quite broad syllabus. Admittedly, it would be an impossibility to incorporate every topic into an exam such as F215; the number of marks available simply do not allow for it. However, today's paper was overly unreasonable in this regard, allocating only a handful of marks to module 2 in particular.

This overemphasis on ecology can be, to a great extent, linked to what was a far larger flaw of the exam: its astonishing level of non-biological questions. Now, I for one am all for application of knowledge; this places a cap on regurgitation and lends better candidates an opportunity to convey their biological prowess. Having said this, it seems completely illogical to equip candidates with two years of intricate biological knowledge, only to pose exam questions that do not require it. The seaweed-eating goats, troublesome hedgehogs and antic ladybirds were just a few examples of this being done in F215 . These questions simply did not necessitate a detailed biological knowledge; in fact (with the exception of exam technique), it could be contended that a biology student is no better equipped to answer such generic questions than the average layman. Surely, only students of biology should be capable of correctly answering questions in a biology exam. Otherwise, it simply becomes a test of logic, deductive reasoning and exam technique, rather than what it should be: biology. It seems a gross injustice to hard-working candidates, to nullify their efforts in this way, placing them on the same playing field as candidates who have never set eyes on an OCR biology textbook.

I readily acknowledge that the paper was not blighted entirely by these issues. Some questions seemed fair and reasonable. However, this cannot justify the significant remainder of the paper's content, which can only be described as heinous.

I would appreciate any response to these concerns,


Your disgruntled candidate,

??? ???????

I worked out what i think i got at about 70, marking quite harshly but it could be +/- about five, assuming i have similar marking points to ocr. I need 113 ums or i miss the grade for medical school. What do people think my chances are?

That will most likely be a solid A if not A*. well done!
I've flopped my offer for med school - got a lot worse than you.

I laughed so much at 'they have a family to care for'. Just to confirm I'm not laughing AT you, it's just the fact this shows what type of exam this really was and we actually have to write answers like that. NOTHING biological. My life is over.

I think i pretty much just made up my own answers and i wrote a massive essay on why we shouldn't kill hedgehogs i put they have family to care for. WTF!!!

i wrote natural selection and mutation... what the hell.. everyone's so confused.