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Study troubles. A Level Biology.

Hiya,

I'm studying AQA A2 Biology, as well as retaking modules from AS (unit 1 & 2). I got a D last year, but in order to get into my university place I need an A for the course. I would personally like an A for myself as well, but so far I'm on a C/D at best for both AS and A2, and not long till my exams now. Even though I study a lot for biology every week, it seriously frustrates me how I am not seeing any progress in mocks or even whilst doing exam papers.

Any awesome tips on what I can do to get an A? And how do you answer HSW questions? Because I really hate those, I rarely get a mark on those questions. C:

Thank you, have a lovely day.
Reply 1
I'm in year 12 and I'm on c/d border aswell. My sixth form is **** though....

Just wish you all the best tbh.
When you're revising a topic, do a past exam question related to the topic along side, that gets me a C.
No one in my whole sixth form ever gets above a C ������������

That's all I can say tbh. Good luck.
!!
Reply 2
Original post by claroswalds
Hiya,

I'm studying AQA A2 Biology, as well as retaking modules from AS (unit 1 & 2). I got a D last year, but in order to get into my university place I need an A for the course. I would personally like an A for myself as well, but so far I'm on a C/D at best for both AS and A2, and not long till my exams now. Even though I study a lot for biology every week, it seriously frustrates me how I am not seeing any progress in mocks or even whilst doing exam papers.

Any awesome tips on what I can do to get an A? And how do you answer HSW questions? Because I really hate those, I rarely get a mark on those questions. C:

Thank you, have a lovely day.


I am also in year 13 and retaking unit 1 & 2 in the summer

try and work really hard for your ISA/EMPA do every single practice paper because a good mark in this will boost your ums a lot

if its possible ask your teacher to see you for extra help every week or maybe get a tutor?
but i think the trick is to make sure you know the content inside out and keep doing past papers all the time until you start getting the grades you are happy with

make sure you are revising in a way that works for you, watch youtube videos on different topics 'crashcourse' is a really good youtube channel, make mind maps and tbh i think just keep reading through notes until you know everything you need to

hope this helps!! im going through the same :frown: i got a C last year and need at least a B but i really want an A overall

stay positive because if you work hard you will get there in the end!
Original post by claroswalds
Hiya,

I'm studying AQA A2 Biology, as well as retaking modules from AS (unit 1 & 2). I got a D last year, but in order to get into my university place I need an A for the course. I would personally like an A for myself as well, but so far I'm on a C/D at best for both AS and A2, and not long till my exams now. Even though I study a lot for biology every week, it seriously frustrates me how I am not seeing any progress in mocks or even whilst doing exam papers.

Any awesome tips on what I can do to get an A? And how do you answer HSW questions? Because I really hate those, I rarely get a mark on those questions. C:

Thank you, have a lovely day.


Just started revision for A2 AQA biology. Got a C at AS which i was kind of disappointed with bit then again i did barely any revision.

For me im finding the A2-LEVEL Biology CGP revision guide really useful. It basically follows the specification and adds in extra information, so every thing you need to know is in there and set out clearly. I just read over a section 3 times then write it down. I repeat this twice and then have a 10 minute break and see if im able to write it down again. So far it has worked but iv only done up to Energy Transfer in UNIT 4 so got lots more to do.

Iv also found revising with someone else helps because you can quickly ask each other questions and if you are unsure of something they can help.

Just take it slowly and don't panic, you have plenty of time to get upto that A grade :smile:
Reply 4
Original post by NathanDYEL
Just started revision for A2 AQA biology. Got a C at AS which i was kind of disappointed with bit then again i did barely any revision.

For me im finding the A2-LEVEL Biology CGP revision guide really useful. It basically follows the specification and adds in extra information, so every thing you need to know is in there and set out clearly. I just read over a section 3 times then write it down. I repeat this twice and then have a 10 minute break and see if im able to write it down again. So far it has worked but iv only done up to Energy Transfer in UNIT 4 so got lots more to do.

Iv also found revising with someone else helps because you can quickly ask each other questions and if you are unsure of something they can help.

Just take it slowly and don't panic, you have plenty of time to get upto that A grade :smile:


I guess I should start using CGP more often than, because I always stuck with my Nelson AQA textbook for revision. I could tell you the content for Unit 4 inside and out, but it just frustrates me how I'm not getting past a C. I suppose using CGP should help though, so thank you for that.

Yeah, revising with someone does actually help. But my friends all hate biology and avoid revising it aha, so I should hassle them more often to do that.

Thank you very much, I really appreciate your help and I guess it's just important for me to go forward than to put myself down because of grades. :smile: And good luck to you! I hope you get the grade you want, which I'm sure you will.
(edited 9 years ago)
Reply 5
Original post by Alysha_
I'm in year 12 and I'm on c/d border aswell. My sixth form is **** though....

Just wish you all the best tbh.
When you're revising a topic, do a past exam question related to the topic along side, that gets me a C.
No one in my whole sixth form ever gets above a C ������������

That's all I can say tbh. Good luck.
!!


Aha, so is mine, which might be another explanation for my poor grade.

Such as the exam style questions? I've noticed it's really helpful, I might just start using them again for A2 and AS, but there's just so many to do and so little time. I do need exam practice though, so it could be worth it.

You never know, maybe you might get above a C, come out with an A even. ;D Good luck to you as well!
Reply 6
Original post by nadine15
I am also in year 13 and retaking unit 1 & 2 in the summer

try and work really hard for your ISA/EMPA do every single practice paper because a good mark in this will boost your ums a lot

if its possible ask your teacher to see you for extra help every week or maybe get a tutor?
but i think the trick is to make sure you know the content inside out and keep doing past papers all the time until you start getting the grades you are happy with

make sure you are revising in a way that works for you, watch youtube videos on different topics 'crashcourse' is a really good youtube channel, make mind maps and tbh i think just keep reading through notes until you know everything you need to

hope this helps!! im going through the same :frown: i got a C last year and need at least a B but i really want an A overall

stay positive because if you work hard you will get there in the end!


Woo, high five. We're in this together xD

Ah, that's the ****ty thing, I might have failed the ISA tbh. That's why I'm hoping to get an A* on unit 5, so if I do fail my ISA, at least I get an A for A2 with an A in unit 4. It's not totally the end of the world though, it could be okay, it could be terrible.

I have a tutor for biology, and because of her, I know the content inside and out. My knowledge on the subject isn't as bad, fairly okay actually, it's just the exam questions that throw me off and stupid mistakes. I guess I just need to do more practice I suppose, but thank you for that tip.

Ooh, I love crashcourse, it's so amazing. I don't use it as much for school rather than for extra-knowledge, but I suppose it could be helpful for biology as well.

Thank you very much, AQA biology is always a struggle, even in GCSE, but we will get there hopefully. Good luck, I'm sure you'll get your A grade as well. :smile:
Original post by claroswalds
Hiya,

I'm studying AQA A2 Biology, as well as retaking modules from AS (unit 1 & 2). I got a D last year, but in order to get into my university place I need an A for the course. I would personally like an A for myself as well, but so far I'm on a C/D at best for both AS and A2, and not long till my exams now. Even though I study a lot for biology every week, it seriously frustrates me how I am not seeing any progress in mocks or even whilst doing exam papers.

Any awesome tips on what I can do to get an A? And how do you answer HSW questions? Because I really hate those, I rarely get a mark on those questions. C:

Thank you, have a lovely day.


This is how I revise for Biology. Make notes using as many text books as possible (I use my text book, official revision guide, CGP text book and revision guide and a cambridge text book...I do OCR.) Make notes on everything and make sure you understand all the content, explain it to yourself afterwards so you know it (I do youtube videos so have to make sure I understand if I am to explain it to others). Really make a note of the language used, so many marks are lost by people due to wording the answer badly or missing out key words. Focus on that. Then just answer as many questions as possible so you can see how they word the question. Mark it and really use the mark scheme so you can see how the answers are worded in the question. Then look at what you got wrong and find out why you got it wrong. Was it a lack of knowledge, understanding, misinterpreting the question or bad language. Then revise what you got wrong, no point revising the stuff you got right if you are getting other stuff wrong. Then it is just a repeating process, do it again and again until you start getting As. I hope this helps a bit :smile:
(edited 9 years ago)
Exam technique, exam technique, exam technique.

Go over past papers and learn how the marks are awarded!

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