How to master exam technique in AQA Biology ALEVEL

Do lots of past papers - under exam conditions (do each paper 3 times, no joke)
Read mark schemes
Read examiners reports

Reply 2

anniebrown14

9

yeah as said above, the only way to really understand what it is exactly they want, you need to do every past paper and every exam question and mark them and you'll notice patterns. For lots of A Level bio, there are set answers which you will see pop up, just learn them and master them so they dont trip you up and you can focus on the harder ones which throw you off more :smile:

Reply 3

OP

Original post by DrXavier

Do lots of past papers - under exam conditions (do each paper 3 times, no joke)
Read mark schemes
Read examiners reports

Thanks!! Does repeating the paper work for you??

Reply 4

OP

Original post by anniebrown14

yeah as said above, the only way to really understand what it is exactly they want, you need to do every past paper and every exam question and mark them and you'll notice patterns. For lots of A Level bio, there are set answers which you will see pop up, just learn them and master them so they dont trip you up and you can focus on the harder ones which throw you off more :smile:

Thank you! do you recommend making revision cards for biology or just questions??

Reply 5

Original post by liv7535

Thanks!! Does repeating the paper work for you??

I have completed my A-level but yes it did at the time!

Reply 6

anniebrown14

9

Original post by liv7535

Thank you! do you recommend making revision cards for biology or just questions??

Honestly just as much as you can! I make flashcards as well, but you'll need flashcards before your exams to revise and there will be tons so start making them now, as soon as you've finished your lesson make the flashcards for the content. Trust me when its exam season you will love your past self!!

Reply 7

OP

Original post by DrXavier

I have completed my A-level but yes it did at the time!

Oh okay ill try this out, hope it works :smile:

Reply 8

Original post by liv7535

Oh okay ill try this out, hope it works :smile:

Just to illustrate how much it helped me. I got 88/90 UMS for exam 1. 146/150 for exam 2. 87/90 for exam 3 and 150/150 for exam 4. I know the system has changed now (and I was OCR) ... but same principles apply.

I would not have done that well if I had not done so much exam practice. I even used legacy papers (where relevant).

Reply 9

OP

Original post by DrXavier

Just to illustrate how much it helped me. I got 88/90 UMS for exam 1. 146/150 for exam 2. 87/90 for exam 3 and 150/150 for exam 4. I know the system has changed now (and I was OCR) ... but same principles apply.

I would not have done that well if I had not done so much exam practice. I even used legacy papers (where relevant).

Thats promising! when did you start doing exam papers?

Reply 10

Original post by liv7535

Thats promising! when did you start doing exam papers?

as soon as I had a solid base of notes to refer back to between past paper practices

Reply 11

rosiba

7

so you would make notes after class lesson,understand the topic and ask the teacher for any clarity and then do
loads of past papers right?
i know lots of people do the pp with having "some sort of knowledge"...

Reply 12

rosiba

7

also to better word the answers ,in a concise and clear way that is not too messy and too complicated english ,would you say do the past papers and look at mark scheme .
1)And if so ,how do you actually improve your wording and write better answers for like 3/4/5/6/ markers that are baed on simple topics eg.proteins but you actually have to step by step show your answer clearly and how each point connects to the other ??
2)how would you do that???
3)can you tell me the step by step process when you do past papers and learn the pattern between each
question????

Reply 13

A Rolling Stone

20

Original post by DrXavier

Do lots of past papers - under exam conditions (do each paper 3 times, no joke)
Read mark schemes
Read examiners reports

my advice is the complete opposite of this generic cliched nonsense.

Source: i got 96% UMS in my Biology A level

Reply 14

Original post by CollectiveSoul

my advice is the complete opposite of this generic cliched nonsense.

Source: i got 96% UMS in my Biology A level

Not sure how it is cliché...

Admittedly it may be possible to get a high score without doing this, however, it worked for me, and as I indicated I scored full marks on some papers, and 95%+ on others ...

And I will correct that it does actually make sense - i.e. not nonsense. This may help in future when you opt to offer such helpful advice.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 15

A Rolling Stone

20

Original post by DrXavier

Not sure how it is cliché...

Admittedly it may be possible to get a high score without doing this, however, it worked for me, and as I indicated I scored full marks on some papers, and 95%+ on others ...

And I will correct that it does actually make sense - i.e. not nonsense. This may help in future when you opt to offer such helpful advice.

Biology is about learning, its about cramming deep-level knowledge into your head. just practising past papers under exam conditions is treating it like maths or physics which it isn't. i did 2 or 3 past papers 4-5 years ago just to make sure i had a rough idea of what to expect, and spent the majority of my time learning instead

Reply 16