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Anyone else finding a level biology incredibly difficult?

I am predicted an A in bio, tho my teacher thinks I can get an A*, I learn the content and usually do well in our homeworks and I do understand the content, except every time we do an exam I get a D or a C. I'm great at content questions but I find the application questions so difficult, is anyone else the same and if not how do you deal with application questions?
I'm the same.

I find that the application questions in biology are unnecessarily verbose.
For example, a question would ask; "Explain how a similar shaped molecule to a respiratory substrate in an animal could lead to a decreased production of ATP in aerobic conditions"
This would just translate easily to: "Explain how an inhibitor can affect the mitochondria in aerobic respiration"

I find that with the AO2 questions you should just underline key phrases and write what topic this relates to and then answer accordingly and link back to the question asked.

AO3 questions seem difficult but they are similar to AO1, find the questions and revise the mark scheme for the AO3.
The way to do application questions is to do so many past papers and then review the mark scheme for each question, and after a while you will start to see the types of answers they look for. You will find that they just re-phrase questions and add unnecessary bits to trick you, but the answers are usually the same. And the more practice you get, the better you start to think outside the box. This is something that worked so well for me, because i struggled with application questions too and so could only get maximum of Bs, but after past paper and mark scheme practice i was able to hit those As and A*s. :smile:
Agreed.

Had my first AS Bio mock last Friday...didn't go too well.
Original post by Zozaaaa
I am predicted an A in bio, tho my teacher thinks I can get an A*, I learn the content and usually do well in our homeworks and I do understand the content, except every time we do an exam I get a D or a C. I'm great at content questions but I find the application questions so difficult, is anyone else the same and if not how do you deal with application questions?


On application questions, you must go through many, many past paper questions and read the mark schemes to see how these types of questions are answered. You should find that it is just a case of drawing the right details from your revised knowledge that are relevant to the question.

Also, raid through as many old A level Biology text books as you can for questions and answers. Letts used to do a Questions and Answers book which you should still be able to get from Amazon, even though it is an old text.
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Original post by Suspectthrone59
The way to do application questions is to do so many past papers and then review the mark scheme for each question, and after a while you will start to see the types of answers they look for. You will find that they just re-phrase questions and add unnecessary bits to trick you, but the answers are usually the same. And the more practice you get, the better you start to think outside the box. This is something that worked so well for me, because i struggled with application questions too and so could only get maximum of Bs, but after past paper and mark scheme practice i was able to hit those As and A*s. :smile:


Thank you, I am aiming to do this for my real exam starting from January, I'm gonna try and do a past paper a week plus any questions I can find and spend my last weeks of revision revising mark schemes and my content again
Original post by Suspectthrone59
The way to do application questions is to do so many past papers and then review the mark scheme for each question, and after a while you will start to see the types of answers they look for. You will find that they just re-phrase questions and add unnecessary bits to trick you, but the answers are usually the same. And the more practice you get, the better you start to think outside the box. This is something that worked so well for me, because i struggled with application questions too and so could only get maximum of Bs, but after past paper and mark scheme practice i was able to hit those As and A*s. :smile:


very helpful advice, thank u :tongue:

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