The Student Room Group

Biology OCR As/A2 Level help/info and reviews of books plus notes

Hey guys!
I sat this exam in June and got an A *whoop whoop*, but not without resitting in Jan, since I managed to mess it up and get a C for my As level biology. So I thought: hmm where did I go wrong, what should I have done from day one?Then I decided to make this thread, since I did make lots of observations and I have a lot of useful notes. Hopefully it'll be of use to you. =D


Book Reviews:


OCR AS/A2 Biology:

BOOK AS- http://www.amazon.co.uk/Biology-Student-Book-Exam-CD-ROM/dp/0435691805

BOOK A2- http://www.amazon.co.uk/OCR-Biology-Student-Book-CD-ROM/dp/0435691902/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347454386&sr=1-1

These are great and absolutely standard imo. You should use these to learn the material. The workbooks are great for small/quick revision.

-absolutely necessary

Biozone:

BOOK AS-http://www.amazon.co.uk/OCR-Biology-AS-Student-BOOK AS-Workbook/dp/1877462829/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347453033&sr=8-1

BOOK A2-http://www.amazon.co.uk/OCR-Biology-A2-Student-Workbook/dp/1877462837/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1347453033&sr=8-3

APP-http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/biozone/id487617233?mt=8

I didn't use these that much, but that was because I got them too late so didn't have time.
They are ideal to buy early so you can go through them as you learn the material, it makes sure that you reinforce everything that you learn and that you learn more details about whatever you are studying, things that your teachers might have missed whilst teaching you. It also means that you are doing something outside of school. It would be great if you did 1/2 pages everyday, which wouldn't take more than 20 minutes most of the time. The content is explicit and allows students to easily understand it.
However I didn't like the fact that they were lots of "cut and stick" activities in the book, but I'm sure that some prefer this method of studying. Also it has a lot of pictures as well which makes it more interesting and I guess engaging.
I think this is more useful for A2 than As simply because it's more helpful with the synoptic stuff which A2 focuses on more.


detail/relevancy (into how much detail it went and how relevant to course):
-4/5 sometimes it went into far too much detail about one things and not into enough detail about something else, sometimes it had lots of information about irrelevant stuff to the curriculum but that might help with synoptic questions.

presentation:
-3/5
It had lots of activities such as cutting out bits and sticking them, cross words, word salads, which I thought wasn't entirely useful, but I guess it helps to ensure that keywords stick and some people are better at interactive learning.

ideal for:
-interactive learners who like cutting things out, cross words and diagrams.
-students who find it hard to find time to read lots of books, these books usually go beyond the scope of the specification and haver lots of details,
-they are also great or students who struggle to find time or just the patience to study a little bit every now and then, because it doesn't take long to finish a couple of pages in this book and cement the knowledge,
-students who lack exam technique, since it prepares you better for the synoptic questions,

Student Unit Guide books:

These books are great for the last few weeks leading up to the exams. They have lots of condensed information in easy to read format that will jog your memory and sometimes add extra detail. I would have been lost without these and would absolutely encourage anyone to buy these. They are small and easy to carry around and at the end there are a couple of work out questions. They also have practice questions which are great and a plan that you can follow which can be adapted.

AS BOOKS:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/OCR-Biology-Unit-F211-ebook/dp/B006CUXSOM/ref=sr_1_cc_2?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1347456350&sr=1-2-catcorr

http://www.amazon.co.uk/OCR-AS-Biology-Molecules-Biodiversity/dp/034095812X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347456287&sr=1-2

A2 BOOKS:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/OCR-A2-Biology-Communication-Homeostasis/dp/0340958138/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347454386&sr=1-7

http://www.amazon.co.uk/OCR-A2-Biology-Control-Environment/dp/0340958146/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347454386&sr=1-6


PRACTICAL:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/OCR-Chemistry-Student-Unit-Guide/dp/1444108441/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347456222&sr=1-2

relevancy/detail:
-5/5 very detailed, very relevant and very straightforward. I would use these and some of the websites to make the key-cards or make some notes for every specification point.

presentation:
-5/5 very concise and easy to read, sometimes in bullet points.

ideal for:
-very great for student who like planning and efficiency,
-also good for students who want to want the stuff they need, readily presented, without having to weed out the necessary bits themselves.
-last minute revision,

CGP:

I didn't actually use these, but my friends had these and i borrowed them from time to time and these are great for lessons. They usually explain stuff in a way that is very easy to understand, but I often find that they don't go into detail as much, so they aren't ideal for revision, but they are great for when you are learning the material and are struggling.

relevancy/detail:
-3.5/5 since they don't go into too much detail i gave them a moderate rating.

presentation:
-5/5 it's very colourful and light hearted and will keep your attention. Also lots and lots of diagrams and pictures are there which can be very helpful.

ideal for:
-students who struggle to understand the main textbook, since it's easy to follow,
-for every day use-as part of the lessons, whilst learning the material,


AS:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/AS-Level-Biology-Complete-Revision-Practice/dp/1847621228/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1348335742&sr=8-2

A2:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/A2-Level-Biology-Complete-Revision-Practice/dp/1847622631/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348335874&sr=8-1

AS&A2:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Level-Biology-Complete-Revision-Practice/dp/1847624243/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1348335742&sr=8-15


Letts:

I didn't use these that much, but they were great for reading through and making extra notes. These books are very simple and easy-to-read and the notes are organised in a bullet point manner, so I would recommend these. The key-words are highlighted and it contains practice questions which are great. I really liked the sample questions and model answers, which though sometimes irrelevant can be helpful with revealing what examiners are looking for. It also has progress checks and advice on studying, coursework and revision, which is obviously very useful.

relevancy/detail:
-4/5 since these sometimes weren't that relevant and sometimes didn't go into too much detail with all the specifications points,

presentation:
-5/5 easy to read bullet-point format, colourful, check-points, mini and practice questions, diagrams,

ideal for:
-students who want a detailed book that just gives them the bullet points rather than explains things, it's more straight forward and great for note making,

AS&A2:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Letts-Revise-AS-A2-Complete/dp/1844193144/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1348336109&sr=1-1

A2:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/BIOLOGY-PARKER-AUTHOR-Paperback-10-2010/dp/B0092GEF8Q/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1348336109&sr=1-4


Great websites:

AS:
http://www.biologymad.com/master.html?http://www.biologymad.com/geneticsinheritance/geneticsinheritance.htm

http://biology.about.com/od/cellanatomy/a/eukaryprokarycells.htm

Evolution:
http://biology.about.com/od/evolution/Evolution.htm

Plant Biology:
http://biology.about.com/od/plantbiology/Plant_Biology.htm



These users have made lots of notes which are great for short/quick revision
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1296764
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1768558


A2:
http://a2biology101.wordpress.com/

This website is amazing, it has so much detail.If you use this with the other books it should guarantee you A/A* grades. Sadly I didn't discover this until I only had two weeks left before the exam :angry:, but it still helped me a great deal. :h:
e.g. look:
http://a2biology101.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/6-6-genetic-engineering.pdf
It has so much information and goes into so much detail with every topic.

http://www.biologymad.com/master.html?http://www.biologymad.com/geneticsinheritance/geneticsinheritance.htm
It has lots of interactive resources and make it very easy to understand hard bits and complicated bits.

The brain and more:
http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/P/PNS.html

Liver and more:
http://click4biology.info/c4b/H/H4.htm
http://biology.about.com/library/organs/bldigestliver5.htm

Kidney and more (excretory system):
http://www.biologymad.com/resources/kidney.swf
http://www.qldscienceteachers.com/junior-science/biology/excretory-system

Biotechnology / Cloning:
http://biology.about.com/od/biotechnologycloning/Biotechnology_Cloning.htm

Genetics:
http://biology.about.com/od/genetics/Genetics.htm

ecosystems:
http://www.marietta.edu/~biol/102/ecosystem.html

great videos and explanations:
http://www.brightstorm.com/science/biology/evolution/speciation/

This user has made lots of notes which are great for short/quick revision
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1296764






TIPS:

-If you don't understand something make sure that you ask your teacher/sibling/friend/tsr about it and not leave it too late.
-If you study and feel tired/get a headache...then stop, take a break and resume.
-Don't overdo it, otherwise you'll burn yourself out.
-Make sure that you have plenty of time to go through every specification point, do all the past papers and legacy papers and to go over topics where you struggle. So start your revision early. Early spring ideally-march.
-drink plenty of water.
-try to get high scores in your practicals,
-apparently black writing on yellow paper makes stuff easier to remember, so write your notes on yellow paper :wink:


This year-2012 paper F215- a question came up that caused some controversy, since parts of a question for this examination were assessed nine years ago in a previous (Legacy) Biology specification. This made quite a lot of students upset since the students who had access to that paper found it much easier to get those 11 marks, which is the difference between two grades. After all it's 11% of the paper. This just emphasises how important it is to make use of all available material especially if you want the top grades. So make sure to do all the relevant legacy papers. :wink:


They can be found here, under the heading legacy papers:

http://www.ocr.org.uk/qualifications/type/gce/science/human_biology/documents/
http://www.sci2.co.uk/biology.html

How to make key cards/specification point summaries:


I found it was best to use the student unit guide books, the workbook and the websites to make cards for each specification points that goes into detail.
I used black ink on yellow paper and highlighted or wrote key words with gel pens, which made them jump out. Half a page or a quarter of a page was sufficient for each point.

One month before the exams I spend 20-35 minutes on these cards, reading them and then repeating from memory.


FAQ:
How hard is the course?
The Biology course is not hard, it's not a difficult subject in terms of understanding. In fact it's probably much easier than any of the other 'hard' science subjects. However it has a lot of material and requires far more time and attention than the other subjects. You would have to memorise huge chunks of information, which cane be time consuming and if you are not keen/interested in this subject, then it could be very difficult for you. But if you are willing to put in the work from day one, then it should be a breeze for you.

Is the exam board really unpredictable and unfair?
Obviously the exam boards asks a different set of questions each year and sometimes they overlap, but that is standard and should be expected. Lots of student complain about the fact that the exam board sometimes only asks questions about one topic and leaves out other ones sometimes almost completely, when those students sometimes spend hours on each topic. This seems highly unfair, but since each student should cover all the specification points, I guess you can't really complain. In A2 the synoptic question seem random and irrelevant and often throw people off, but imo that is not unfair, since students should be prepared for those and learn to use common sense in exams. So overall this exam board is okay, not one of the best, but not the worst either.

How much revision do I have to do?
For a C grade:
Good overall knowledge of the material and make sure to go through each of the specification points. Do all the past papers.

For a B grade:
Excellent knowledge of the material and make sure to know every specification point at least superficially (e.g. have at least one or two points for each specification point). Do all the past papers.

For an A grade:
In-depth knowledge of every specification point and very good knowledge of each specification point. It would help to do a little further reading. Do all past papers including legacy.

For an A* grade:
You should know every specification point by heart and have no gaps in your knowledge. On top of this you would have to go beyond the specification to learn more details since this would help with the synoptic stuff. Do all the papers that are available including legacy and do any questions that you can find.

This means that you should have a summary for every specification point that goes into lots of detail. Two/three months leading up to the exams get a copy of the specification, then by memory try to write down stuff for every specification point (perhaps 10 specification points a day) and then using your notes ill in the gaps and reread everything. The next day do the same with further more points. Then the next week, go back to the first couple of points and try writing out a summary by memory again and see whether it has improved. After one month you should compare your notes from every week and see the difference, if with some points you don't have that many notes then focus more on those points.

You should also have your key-cards ready. Every morning read ten of them. Then the next day take those ten you read the day before and see if you remember anything in memory, then put the ones you remember in one pile and the ones you don't mix them back in the unread pile, then continue with the unread pile doing the same. Once your through them go back to the pile that you left behind and read them again.

Also, it's very important to get exam practice, that is key! So try to do all the papers/questions available. I would encourage you to do the past papers at least 2 times, then compare both sets and see which areas you have improved on and which you haven't.

Is it better to sit exams in modules?
I would advise to sit smaller modules in January and the bigger one in June, since you could retake it if you don't do to well , but it is honestly up to you and how your learn I guess.

How to get an A*?
90% across A2 and 80% overall.




About the attachments, the first three are my own resources that i had made. =D



(I will add more when I have more time :smile:)

For anyone that is interested I got:
AS:
f211-B
f212-D
f213-A
resit:
f212-A 90%

A2:
f214-A
f215-A
f216-B

A overall :h:

(Check post two for more notes/material)
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 1
Some notes that Fatima0065 and I made-these cover most of the specification point:

F215:

Spoiler



F214 & F215 (other users):
(edited 11 years ago)
Reply 2
Here you go, I mentioned some websites and posted some questions for each module.

Original post by lilyobz
Hi, I'm looking for a website for AS OCR Biology past paper questions. (Not whole exam papers)

For example it has questions from past papers for each module/unit.


Thanks in advance.
Have you got any useful websites for AS?
Reply 4
When you wrote that for the A-A* grade that we should do an further reading and learn more details, does that mean we should bu other textbooks or we should read the stuff from the ocr book that is not in the specification.
Reply 5
Original post by trrr
When you wrote that for the A-A* grade that we should do an further reading and learn more details, does that mean we should bu other textbooks or we should read the stuff from the ocr book that is not in the specification.


I will clarify and explain that when I have time, so hopefully tomorrow.
I think i'll buy the studentguide. Whats your opinion on the CGP guides? And what was your routine to prepare for lessons in advance and did you use a book? If yeah, which one?
Reply 7
thank you
Reply 8
Original post by StateSchooler95
Have you got any useful websites for AS?


I updated it, here you go:
url]http://www.biologymad.com/master.html?http://www.biologymad.com/geneticsinheritance/geneticsinheritance.htm

http://biology.about.com/od/cellanatomy/a/eukaryprokarycells.htm

Evolution:
http://biology.about.com/od/evolution/Evolution.htm

Plant Biology:
http://biology.about.com/od/plantbiology/Plant_Biology.htm



These users have made lots of notes which are great for short/quick revision
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1296764
http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1768558
Reply 9
Original post by trrr
When you wrote that for the A-A* grade that we should do an further reading and learn more details, does that mean we should bu other textbooks or we should read the stuff from the ocr book that is not in the specification.


I expanded that section, so read through my first post again (added details.)

Buy more than one text book. I would recommend the student unit guides and read through the reviews and see what books would be more useful for you. Read through the textbook (everything) at leas ones, but try to condense the notes that you make.

:smile:
Reply 10
Original post by StateSchooler95
I think i'll buy the studentguide. Whats your opinion on the CGP guides? And what was your routine to prepare for lessons in advance and did you use a book? If yeah, which one?


I wrote a review on the CGP ones so check that out. As for my routine I'll add it to the FAQ by tomorrow. :h:
Reply 11
Original post by otrivine
thank you


you are very welcome! :smile:
Reply 12
bumping this thread as it is useful to others :smile:
Reply 13
Hey! Do you know what was in the June 2012 F214 exam paper?


Posted from TSR Mobile
Where are the legacy papers and for further reading do u mean reading science articles like review magazine or using another textbook?

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