The Student Room Group

Study Tips for A-Level Biology?

Hi,

Now that A levels have turned linear, I'm a bit worried that i won't get the grades i need in Biology to get in to higher level universities
I got a B at AS last year, with loads of past paper revision, but the application questions and some of the maths questions are always the ones that bring my mark down - i know the content, it's just trying to figure out what the examiners are asking you!

Any help or tips would be hugely appreciated, especially now the workload has doubled.
Reply 1
Original post by idontwannagrowup
Hi,

Now that A levels have turned linear, I'm a bit worried that i won't get the grades i need in Biology to get in to higher level universities
I got a B at AS last year, with loads of past paper revision, but the application questions and some of the maths questions are always the ones that bring my mark down - i know the content, it's just trying to figure out what the examiners are asking you!

Any help or tips would be hugely appreciated, especially now the workload has doubled.


Oh my goodness, I'm in the same boat! I know the content but I feel like the mark schemes are so specific I end up not gaining a mark here or there just by not mentioning one little detail!
Original post by aa98
Oh my goodness, I'm in the same boat! I know the content but I feel like the mark schemes are so specific I end up not gaining a mark here or there just by not mentioning one little detail!


I agree! it's about memorising the mark schemes sometimes I think, which is stupid really, when it should be about knowledge.
Reply 3
Original post by idontwannagrowup
Hi,

Now that A levels have turned linear, I'm a bit worried that i won't get the grades i need in Biology to get in to higher level universities
I got a B at AS last year, with loads of past paper revision, but the application questions and some of the maths questions are always the ones that bring my mark down - i know the content, it's just trying to figure out what the examiners are asking you!

Any help or tips would be hugely appreciated, especially now the workload has doubled.


Personally, around January time I would start and complete like 75% of the past papers that you have available, and then identify the questions you are getting wrong (look at the mark schemes and examiner reports) and compile those questions onto a document so you can redo the questions at a later date. Also any test you do through out the year you should note your score (in a tracker) and then you can identify your weaker areas. Also it's good to do questions from other exam board which still relate to yours. And do additional application questions from other exam board past papers. because the exams are linear too try do unit 3 and unit 6 past papers as they are based on the coursework which is now apart of the final exams. Hope this helps ☺️


Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by Hozo
Personally, around January time I would start and complete like 75% of the past papers that you have available, and then identify the questions you are getting wrong (look at the mark schemes and examiner reports) and compile those questions onto a document so you can redo the questions at a later date. Also any test you do through out the year you should note your score (in a tracker) and then you can identify your weaker areas. Also it's good to do questions from other exam board which still relate to yours. And do additional application questions from other exam board past papers. because the exams are linear too try do unit 3 and unit 6 past papers as they are based on the coursework which is now apart of the final exams. Hope this helps ☺️


Posted from TSR Mobile


Thank you! I didn't think about retyping my questions up; I have started making notes from the questions I'm getting wrong, but it would help if I can test myself on it again. I'll try looking at other exam boards, then I'll have more content to practice on - very helpful advice, thanks!:smile:
Reply 5
It's alright. Which exam board are you on for biology??


Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by Hozo
It's alright. Which exam board are you on for biology??


Posted from TSR Mobile


AQA, how about you?
Reply 7
Original post by idontwannagrowup
AQA, how about you?


Sad, I do EDEXCEL salters-Nuffield, but best of looks with your a2 year. ☺️


Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by Hozo
Sad, I do EDEXCEL salters-Nuffield, but best of looks with your a2 year. ☺️


Posted from TSR Mobile


Thanks, you too :smile:
Original post by idontwannagrowup
Hi,

Now that A levels have turned linear, I'm a bit worried that i won't get the grades i need in Biology to get in to higher level universities
I got a B at AS last year, with loads of past paper revision, but the application questions and some of the maths questions are always the ones that bring my mark down - i know the content, it's just trying to figure out what the examiners are asking you!

Any help or tips would be hugely appreciated, especially now the workload has doubled.


What my teachers have said to do is to print off a copy of the specification (or just the bits of the spec with content on, you don't really need the maths skills etc) and go through in PENCIL (this is important!) and mark everything you have covered so far (year 12 and what you have done up until now in year 13) as red, Amber or green in terms of how confident you feel on it. Then make the red stuff your revision priority. Update the red/Amber/green markings as you improve in confidence. As things move to Amber, get other topics away from red and then go back over everything that was Amber and make it green until hopefully everything is green before the exams in the summer. Keep doing exam questions also, the ones from the old specification are still relevant even if they aren't grouped into papers the same way as the new course. I know last year's old and new spec AQA AS paper 1 were on practically the same content anyway!

Hope this helps!


Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by rayofsunshine98
What my teachers have said to do is to print off a copy of the specification (or just the bits of the spec with content on, you don't really need the maths skills etc) and go through in PENCIL (this is important!) and mark everything you have covered so far (year 12 and what you have done up until now in year 13) as red, Amber or green in terms of how confident you feel on it. Then make the red stuff your revision priority. Update the red/Amber/green markings as you improve in confidence. As things move to Amber, get other topics away from red and then go back over everything that was Amber and make it green until hopefully everything is green before the exams in the summer. Keep doing exam questions also, the ones from the old specification are still relevant even if they aren't grouped into papers the same way as the new course. I know last year's old and new spec AQA AS paper 1 were on practically the same content anyway!

Hope this helps!


Posted from TSR Mobile


I've printed off a copy of the specification, and I've been trying to write notes based from the specification to make them Moreno detailed, it for some reason I never feel like I made going into enough depth :/
Thank you for the advice, I'm going to start doing that as I go through the topics, then it'll be easier to know what I need to do - thank you!
Does anyone else use Spec to make their notes?
Reply 12
Original post by jayeshforce1
Does anyone else use Spec to make their notes?


I do! It's the best thing ever
Biology has always been like that, but at the end of the day the grade boundaries compensate for it. The best thing to do is to learn the mark schemes inside out for common question (which are almost always science based) and then do your best on the so-called "how science works" questions by applying reasoning and logic. As people have said, the best way to train yourself for these questions is to do past papers, you can't really learn anything to be able to answer them, you just have to get in the right mind set to be able to answer them. The guy I sat next to in biology once told me that I'd struggle with those questions because I was book-smart and lacked common sense, and while he was somewhat right, the joke's on him because I got close to full UMS in biology and he got an A or a B, so you can definitely train yourself to be able to do well in these tricky questions, even if right now you think you are missing certain points.
Also, just to add, a B at AS isn't bad at all, everyone tends to get a grade higher at A2, so people who get B's at AS get A's at A2, and people who get A's at AS get A*s at A2, so even if you kept doing as you are, you're on track for an A, if you want an A* then you'll just have to find that little extra something in your revision and the exams, which is far from impossible
Original post by AortaStudyMore
Also, just to add, a B at AS isn't bad at all, everyone tends to get a grade higher at A2, so people who get B's at AS get A's at A2, and people who get A's at AS get A*s at A2, so even if you kept doing as you are, you're on track for an A, if you want an A* then you'll just have to find that little extra something in your revision and the exams, which is far from impossible


I got a D for AS but I'm aiming for an A* do I sound farfetched right now :colondollar:

Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by goal101
I got a D for AS but I'm aiming for an A* do I sound farfetched right now :colondollar:

Posted from TSR Mobile


Not really as the AS level doesn't count on the new specifications. You just need to work extra hard on both the new content and on making sure you are really strong on the AS stuff.


Posted from TSR Mobile
How's A2 Biology going everyone?

Anyone on the new Edexcel spec?
So I got a B in Biology AS. I am under the Edexcel Board. I got B in all 3 units. I was short of 2 marks in both Unit 1 and 3 and short of 16 marks in Unit 2 from an A (which is really unexpected because the exam wasn't that bad ). So do I retake Bio U2 or just bring surplus in A2 Bio to still make up for an A?
(edited 6 years ago)

Quick Reply

Latest