anyone else capping out at like 70-80% marks in biology?

basically I need AAA or A*AB for my uni offer. I'm trying to do the best in all of my subjects obviously, but I think that third A will be a struggle. On the other hand I think an A* in biology is achievable for me.

I understand 90% of the content, and I'm doing practice questions and papers and I am doing well. But I've noticed I'm consistently getting in the 70-80% range with my marks. Which is not bad at all. I think it's amounted to at least an A in every paper I've done,
But it's not comfortable, or a safe bet. And biology mark schemes are so so incredibly unpredictable and inconsistent.

Is there something I'm missing, how do people on here get A*s in biology? All the marks I'm losing are generally application, some are vocab. One paper i had a 5 marker on how enzymes work, I went through it all blah blah blah tertiary structure 3D shape, complementary active site etc etc. I said everything but lost 2 marks because I didn't say enzyme substrate complex. Then the identical question on another paper "ignore reference to enzyme-substrate complex"

Also question 1 on here,

https://pmt.physicsandmathstutor.com/download/Biology/A-level/Topic-Qs/AQA/1-Biological-Molecules/Set-B/Carbohydrates%20QP.pdf

like biological molecules is the easiest topic in the whole a-level, I've revised it and been tested so many times over the past two years I legit think I know every fact in that textbook chapter. But I still only got 1/3 on the 1a question. Things I said were perfectly reasonable, but not the ones on the mark scheme. So many other examples in biology, where you can say things that are completely correct and any scientist in the world would agree they are reasonable suggestions, but they are not on the mark scheme so noooo.

Any tips anyone, pls?

basically I need AAA or A*AB for my uni offer. I'm trying to do the best in all of my subjects obviously, but I think that third A will be a struggle. On the other hand I think an A* in biology is achievable for me.

I understand 90% of the content, and I'm doing practice questions and papers and I am doing well. But I've noticed I'm consistently getting in the 70-80% range with my marks. Which is not bad at all. I think it's amounted to at least an A in every paper I've done,
But it's not comfortable, or a safe bet. And biology mark schemes are so so incredibly unpredictable and inconsistent.

Is there something I'm missing, how do people on here get A*s in biology? All the marks I'm losing are generally application, some are vocab. One paper i had a 5 marker on how enzymes work, I went through it all blah blah blah tertiary structure 3D shape, complementary active site etc etc. I said everything but lost 2 marks because I didn't say enzyme substrate complex. Then the identical question on another paper "ignore reference to enzyme-substrate complex"

Also question 1 on here,

https://pmt.physicsandmathstutor.com/download/Biology/A-level/Topic-Qs/AQA/1-Biological-Molecules/Set-B/Carbohydrates%20QP.pdf

like biological molecules is the easiest topic in the whole a-level, I've revised it and been tested so many times over the past two years I legit think I know every fact in that textbook chapter. But I still only got 1/3 on the 1a question. Things I said were perfectly reasonable, but not the ones on the mark scheme. So many other examples in biology, where you can say things that are completely correct and any scientist in the world would agree they are reasonable suggestions, but they are not on the mark scheme so noooo.

Any tips anyone, pls?

Hi there.

Biology mark schemes are very picky unfortunately.

I personally attempted all 5 marker Qs from past papers and merged mark schemes for similar topics. I then memorised these merged mark schemes (and modified/added to them when I missed off other mark scheme points from other Qs). Doing this allowed me to get as many marks as possible out of the 20 available marks (typically 4x 5 long answer Qs on a standard paper) whilst also saving valuable time in exams and assessments. The content from the merged mark schemes was also useful for 1-2 markers too.

That Q1 above is a dreaded application Q so don't worry too much. All you can do is practice these types of Qs so you're able to understand what the Q is asking more easily. For that Q I think it's something to do with more lactose being able to be broken down (so more lactose-free milk can be produced) as lactase has a greater surface area to act on?

Hope this helps.
Best wishes.

Hi Triplex A, I think your merged answers are a great idea. One thing I heard, though, is that they will only mark eg the first 4 points for a 4 marker. Is this true? That would add another layer of complexity - meaning that you have to put everything in the 'best' order or you won't get the marks. Alternatively, do you think the examiners would look over your whole answer, tick the bits they like best and ignore the rest? Thanks!

Hi Triplex A, I think your merged answers are a great idea. One thing I heard, though, is that they will only mark eg the first 4 points for a 4 marker. Is this true? That would add another layer of complexity - meaning that you have to put everything in the 'best' order or you won't get the marks. Alternatively, do you think the examiners would look over your whole answer, tick the bits they like best and ignore the rest? Thanks!

This isn't related to the context but how do you get A's. I'm stuck on B's atm I really wanna push my grade up is there any websites you use or how do u structure your revision I dont know where to start 😭

I really reallyyyyy tried to hammer in content and understanding. so much of bio is application sure, but a lot is also pure knowledge and recall. plus you can't really do the application without the knowledge.

I made flashcards for like EVERYTHING. I did it in January while I had covid so had a bit more time then, and it took me ages I ended up with about 400 or something. in hindsight I probably didn't need to make them all, e.g I don't need a flashcard to define a glycosidic bond anymore I've had that hammered in for a while. anyway I completely neglected them until like a month ago and have started doing them every other day all the way through since and that has really helped. if you don't understand something, watch a YouTube video, it's much easier than trying to teach yourself from a textbook.

and lastly past papers past papers past papers of course. the majority of lost marks for most people in bio comes down to this. and I think it's where most people can make the quickest improvement. I'm sure you're already doing some, but you really can't do enough. I would take a day, wake up early, and do every question from PMT. It will take a while but you can probably do them all in a day, or two if you want. See what you're losing marks on, if it's content go back and revise the content. If it's exam technique, then collect all the questions you got wrong. Take a day off to do some other subject revision, then the day after do every wrong question again.

I also think you really really have to hammer down what I call 'stock answers'. The same 4/5/6 mark questions come up again and again in some form. Translation, Transcription, DNA Replication, Mitosis, Meiosis, Enzymes, Ultrafiltration, resting potential, axons, control of heart rate, ultracentrifugation, natural selection, and many more Across the 3 papers there will 1000% be at least some of these. And they are the easiest marks, because the mark scheme barely changes for the. You need to be comfortable with writing perfect answers to these types of questions as that's where the bulk of the marks in the papers come from. It's also handy to have paragraphs like that ready for the essay.

Thank you so much and are u focusing solely on the advanced info for bio? I'm scared that if I only revise content on the advanced info something might come up that I ain't revised