Biology
Hi,
I was wondering if anyone could help me as I am not sure at all what to do. I seem to really be struggling with Biology and was wondering if anyone had any tips. In year 7 and 8 my scores for biology would consistently be in the 90s but since year 9 I have been struggling with it for some unknown reason and have noticed my scores drop down to the 60s and 70s and this is really worrying me. I understand all of the content and my teacher also told me that she is happy with my understanding and doesn't think I struggle with understanding and explaining the content, yet, for some reason, I am not doing well in biology tests, I struggle to understand what the questions want from me (application questions in particular) and I don't get when to use which of the "key words" which they like as they seem to be quite fussy in the mark schemes. I feel really let down especially since I used to be really quite good at it but now it feels like the absolute worst subject ever and I am forced to take it. I spoke to my teacher before my recent exam saying how I don't understand how to answer the questions but I do get the content so she just told me to do some past paper questions and that she didn't exactly agree with me (because my performance in class and understanding seem to be quite good according to her). But we did some internal exams in school and when I got my result back I saw I got 63%. My teacher talked to me and admitted that she was quite shocked with my result and even a little "disappointed" (which made me feel worse to be honest even though I already knew and had told her what I was struggling with). I don't understand how else I can improve, I have done so many past paper questions and looked at mark schemes but I simply can't seem to understand how to do it. (I also worked really hard for my biology exam - reviewed class notes, used the CGP revision guide, did the CGP past paper questions and the past paper questions on physics and maths tutor as well as watching some youtube Cognito videos too). It's not even like the exam was "hard" as my teacher told me that my result was actually below the average and that one of the classes had an average of 90%. Ngl, I actually feel really disheartened but genuinely want to improve on this as soon as possible.
Please let me know your thoughts.
Thanks.
I was wondering if anyone could help me as I am not sure at all what to do. I seem to really be struggling with Biology and was wondering if anyone had any tips. In year 7 and 8 my scores for biology would consistently be in the 90s but since year 9 I have been struggling with it for some unknown reason and have noticed my scores drop down to the 60s and 70s and this is really worrying me. I understand all of the content and my teacher also told me that she is happy with my understanding and doesn't think I struggle with understanding and explaining the content, yet, for some reason, I am not doing well in biology tests, I struggle to understand what the questions want from me (application questions in particular) and I don't get when to use which of the "key words" which they like as they seem to be quite fussy in the mark schemes. I feel really let down especially since I used to be really quite good at it but now it feels like the absolute worst subject ever and I am forced to take it. I spoke to my teacher before my recent exam saying how I don't understand how to answer the questions but I do get the content so she just told me to do some past paper questions and that she didn't exactly agree with me (because my performance in class and understanding seem to be quite good according to her). But we did some internal exams in school and when I got my result back I saw I got 63%. My teacher talked to me and admitted that she was quite shocked with my result and even a little "disappointed" (which made me feel worse to be honest even though I already knew and had told her what I was struggling with). I don't understand how else I can improve, I have done so many past paper questions and looked at mark schemes but I simply can't seem to understand how to do it. (I also worked really hard for my biology exam - reviewed class notes, used the CGP revision guide, did the CGP past paper questions and the past paper questions on physics and maths tutor as well as watching some youtube Cognito videos too). It's not even like the exam was "hard" as my teacher told me that my result was actually below the average and that one of the classes had an average of 90%. Ngl, I actually feel really disheartened but genuinely want to improve on this as soon as possible.
Please let me know your thoughts.
Thanks.
Hello!
Starting note: I am a GCSE student so I don't have any knowledge on how it is in higher levels, but I'm fairly sure it's more or less similar.
I'm in a similar situation, I understand most of the content in GCSE Biology but struggle to apply it to exam questions, got a nasty 4 on my mock despite having studied a lot. The best advice I can give you is to look for answer structures that tackle various questions. For example, in questions asking you to design an investigation, my teacher advised me to use an abbreviation called CORMMS which will help remember each point you need to tackle in order to get all the marks.
CORMMS is as follows:
CHANGE - State and explain the independent variable, what you will change in your investigation
ORGANISM - A control method related to the organism (if applicable), things such as using the same species
REPEAT - Mention that repeats must be done for reliable data, best to give a number of trials (eg. 3, 5, 10, anything reasonable really)
MEASURMENT 1 - Explain how you will measure your dependent variable
MEASUREMENT 2 - Explain how you will measure a second factor, usually time (remember that you must state how you are measuring time, such as with a stopwatch)
SAME - Explain what you will control in the experiments, control variables
That abbreviation should help you hit all the marks (alongside talking about the method of course).
As for other little tips, it's good to try and get a grasp on what the question is asking from you. I don't really get most of the command words either, but another way to estimate what is needed is by looking at the marks. 1 mark just needs a definition, 2 marks is looking for two things (could be definition and example, two examples, you get the point), 3 marks wants you to mention 3 different things, and so on. It varies from question to question but as a general rule of thumb it should help in exam question comprehension.
I hope this advice is of use to you, I'm sure you'll do great! It's easier said than done but try not to feel disheartened, a lot of exams have really weirdly phrased questions I've noticed and the grade does not define you. You know the content and just because the exam conditions aren't your forte that doesn't mean you're any less capable or smart.
Best wishes dear.
Starting note: I am a GCSE student so I don't have any knowledge on how it is in higher levels, but I'm fairly sure it's more or less similar.
I'm in a similar situation, I understand most of the content in GCSE Biology but struggle to apply it to exam questions, got a nasty 4 on my mock despite having studied a lot. The best advice I can give you is to look for answer structures that tackle various questions. For example, in questions asking you to design an investigation, my teacher advised me to use an abbreviation called CORMMS which will help remember each point you need to tackle in order to get all the marks.
CORMMS is as follows:
CHANGE - State and explain the independent variable, what you will change in your investigation
ORGANISM - A control method related to the organism (if applicable), things such as using the same species
REPEAT - Mention that repeats must be done for reliable data, best to give a number of trials (eg. 3, 5, 10, anything reasonable really)
MEASURMENT 1 - Explain how you will measure your dependent variable
MEASUREMENT 2 - Explain how you will measure a second factor, usually time (remember that you must state how you are measuring time, such as with a stopwatch)
SAME - Explain what you will control in the experiments, control variables
That abbreviation should help you hit all the marks (alongside talking about the method of course).
As for other little tips, it's good to try and get a grasp on what the question is asking from you. I don't really get most of the command words either, but another way to estimate what is needed is by looking at the marks. 1 mark just needs a definition, 2 marks is looking for two things (could be definition and example, two examples, you get the point), 3 marks wants you to mention 3 different things, and so on. It varies from question to question but as a general rule of thumb it should help in exam question comprehension.
I hope this advice is of use to you, I'm sure you'll do great! It's easier said than done but try not to feel disheartened, a lot of exams have really weirdly phrased questions I've noticed and the grade does not define you. You know the content and just because the exam conditions aren't your forte that doesn't mean you're any less capable or smart.
Best wishes dear.
Original post by MarinaKat
Hello!
Starting note: I am a GCSE student so I don't have any knowledge on how it is in higher levels, but I'm fairly sure it's more or less similar.
I'm in a similar situation, I understand most of the content in GCSE Biology but struggle to apply it to exam questions, got a nasty 4 on my mock despite having studied a lot. The best advice I can give you is to look for answer structures that tackle various questions. For example, in questions asking you to design an investigation, my teacher advised me to use an abbreviation called CORMMS which will help remember each point you need to tackle in order to get all the marks.
CORMMS is as follows:
CHANGE - State and explain the independent variable, what you will change in your investigation
ORGANISM - A control method related to the organism (if applicable), things such as using the same species
REPEAT - Mention that repeats must be done for reliable data, best to give a number of trials (eg. 3, 5, 10, anything reasonable really)
MEASURMENT 1 - Explain how you will measure your dependent variable
MEASUREMENT 2 - Explain how you will measure a second factor, usually time (remember that you must state how you are measuring time, such as with a stopwatch)
SAME - Explain what you will control in the experiments, control variables
That abbreviation should help you hit all the marks (alongside talking about the method of course).
As for other little tips, it's good to try and get a grasp on what the question is asking from you. I don't really get most of the command words either, but another way to estimate what is needed is by looking at the marks. 1 mark just needs a definition, 2 marks is looking for two things (could be definition and example, two examples, you get the point), 3 marks wants you to mention 3 different things, and so on. It varies from question to question but as a general rule of thumb it should help in exam question comprehension.
I hope this advice is of use to you, I'm sure you'll do great! It's easier said than done but try not to feel disheartened, a lot of exams have really weirdly phrased questions I've noticed and the grade does not define you. You know the content and just because the exam conditions aren't your forte that doesn't mean you're any less capable or smart.
Best wishes dear.
Starting note: I am a GCSE student so I don't have any knowledge on how it is in higher levels, but I'm fairly sure it's more or less similar.
I'm in a similar situation, I understand most of the content in GCSE Biology but struggle to apply it to exam questions, got a nasty 4 on my mock despite having studied a lot. The best advice I can give you is to look for answer structures that tackle various questions. For example, in questions asking you to design an investigation, my teacher advised me to use an abbreviation called CORMMS which will help remember each point you need to tackle in order to get all the marks.
CORMMS is as follows:
CHANGE - State and explain the independent variable, what you will change in your investigation
ORGANISM - A control method related to the organism (if applicable), things such as using the same species
REPEAT - Mention that repeats must be done for reliable data, best to give a number of trials (eg. 3, 5, 10, anything reasonable really)
MEASURMENT 1 - Explain how you will measure your dependent variable
MEASUREMENT 2 - Explain how you will measure a second factor, usually time (remember that you must state how you are measuring time, such as with a stopwatch)
SAME - Explain what you will control in the experiments, control variables
That abbreviation should help you hit all the marks (alongside talking about the method of course).
As for other little tips, it's good to try and get a grasp on what the question is asking from you. I don't really get most of the command words either, but another way to estimate what is needed is by looking at the marks. 1 mark just needs a definition, 2 marks is looking for two things (could be definition and example, two examples, you get the point), 3 marks wants you to mention 3 different things, and so on. It varies from question to question but as a general rule of thumb it should help in exam question comprehension.
I hope this advice is of use to you, I'm sure you'll do great! It's easier said than done but try not to feel disheartened, a lot of exams have really weirdly phrased questions I've noticed and the grade does not define you. You know the content and just because the exam conditions aren't your forte that doesn't mean you're any less capable or smart.
Best wishes dear.
Hi,
thank you so much for your reply
. I guess what I am really struggling with is how to go about answering biology questions. I don't really know how to overcome this especially since my teacher doesn't seem to be able to help me as such. Does anyone have any tips? 
Original post by PlsAnsMyQuestion
Hi,
thank you so much for your reply. I guess what I am really struggling with is how to go about answering biology questions. I don't really know how to overcome this especially since my teacher doesn't seem to be able to help me as such. Does anyone have any tips?
thank you so much for your reply
. I guess what I am really struggling with is how to go about answering biology questions. I don't really know how to overcome this especially since my teacher doesn't seem to be able to help me as such. Does anyone have any tips? im in yr 11 rn and i got a 9 in my mocks so ive got a good (enough) understanding on how they usually work (but there are obv ones that trip us all off) Could u let me know what kinda qs u cant approach? like have u noticed a pattern? lemme know whether its qs like cormmss or explain, describe etc etc.
now i was in the same place in y9. dont sweat it tho cuz its extremely normal and its not a testament of how well you'll do in ur actual boards. ik u said u used physics and maths tutor but theres an effective way to use them properly so ill let yk how i improved my grades (im gonna skip the memorisation and notes part cuz u seem pretty confident with the content)
1) adapt to the gcse way- ik it sucks but key words are soooo important. u can complain all u want but sadly thats just how the system works but ones u get used to it, its honestly easy
2)so how do u get used to them? as soon as ur done with a chapter in school, do the topic wise qs. do u see qs that seem to be repeating with the same marking scheme but just worded differently? note it down. these standard qs are unbelievably helpful.
3)also make notes of qs u keep getting wrong and reflect on why thats the case and SAVE them so u can go back to them and redo it to see if youve made any improvements
4)since ur in y9, the best thing u can do is physics and math tutor topic qs. imo i dont think u should do past papers till near the end of yr10 as most of the qs may be from chaps u havent done yet
5)watch youtubers like sciencewithhazel. she does uses the scientific key terms that you need to use in the exmas and goes over alot of those standard qs i was talking abt
if u do igcse edexcel, i can be more specific but i hope this helps
(edited 1 year ago)
Original post by j3ssica jon3s
could u let me know what kinda qs u cant approach? like have u noticed a pattern? lemme know whether its qs like cormmss or explain, describe etc etc. for the most part tho, bio has a ton of standard answers which id love to share but it changes between boards so if u do igcse edexcel, then i can send u some of them
Hi, yes I do biology igcse edexcel it would be great if you could send
I struggle mostly with CORMS and application questions where they give you a small scenario and you you have to explain something. I also sometimes struggle with questions that ask you to explain why a certain step was necessary for an experiment and knowing how much to round my answers too as I can never seem to get that right!
Thanks
Original post by PlsAnsMyQuestion
Hi, yes I do biology igcse edexcel it would be great if you could send
I struggle mostly with CORMS and application questions where they give you a small scenario and you you have to explain something. I also sometimes struggle with questions that ask you to explain why a certain step was necessary for an experiment and knowing how much to round my answers too as I can never seem to get that right!
Thanks
I struggle mostly with CORMS and application questions where they give you a small scenario and you you have to explain something. I also sometimes struggle with questions that ask you to explain why a certain step was necessary for an experiment and knowing how much to round my answers too as I can never seem to get that right!
Thanks
hey ive edited my original post with more info abt how to improve. ill try to help u out with the experimental stuff tho
Original post by j3ssica jon3s
hey ive edited my original post with more info abt how to improve. ill try to help u out with the experimental stuff tho
Omg tysm (also I’m in year ten for reference but actually tysm!!)
(edited 1 year ago)
for cormmss- the person who responded to u first had the acronym that i use too. the main thing with cormmss is whether u can clearly understand the terms independent, dependent and controlled variable. with these 3 down, u already have 3 marks in the bag (c,m,ss). now for o, just mention the phrase 'same species/type of *insert the particular organism used in the experiment*. and finally, for r, u just have to say 'repeat with each of the different *insert the independent variable* three times'
Original post by j3ssica jon3s
for cormmss- the person who responded to u first had the acronym that i use too. the main thing with cormmss is whether u can clearly understand the terms independent, dependent and controlled variable. with these 3 down, u already have 3 marks in the bag (c,m,ss). now for o, just mention the phrase 'same species/type of *insert the particular organism used in the experiment*. and finally, for r, u just have to say 'repeat with each of the different *insert the independent variable* three times'
Do you need to know how to do those experiments before hand? I had a corms question and answered it using the right technique but was only given 3/6 marks because it was apparently “too detailed and confusing”. I’ve noticed this a couple of times that I tend to think about these type of questions a bit differently so don’t always get the marks…
Original post by PlsAnsMyQuestion
Omg tysm (also I’m in year ten for reference but actually tysm!!)
ah okay still applies tho ig 😅 honestly with the experiment qs, its really abt being familiar with the pattern of qs and ms. edexcel never rlly gets toooo out of topic yk? like for eg if u have a topic like plants, you'll get qs like 'why do we have soda lime?' 'why is counting bubbles not reliable?' are extremely common. im sure you'll get to an 8 with just that. u can only work ur way up to a 9 by rlly trying to understand whats going on in the investigation, its aim, etc etc.
Original post by PlsAnsMyQuestion
Do you need to know how to do those experiments before hand? I had a corms question and answered it using the right technique but was only given 3/6 marks because it was apparently “too detailed and confusing”. I’ve noticed this a couple of times that I tend to think about these type of questions a bit differently so don’t always get the marks…
nono u dont need to know how to do them b4. usually edexcel throws chemicals uve never heard off to throw u off. ur not supposed to know it or anything. have u ever compared ur ans with the ms? do yk which parts of cormmss u usually mess up on? if u could send one of those qs i could try to help
Original post by j3ssica jon3s
nono u dont need to know how to do them b4. usually edexcel throws chemicals uve never heard off to throw u off. ur not supposed to know it or anything. have u ever compared ur ans with the ms? do yk which parts of cormmss u usually mess up on? if u could send one of those qs i could try to help
Hii, we recently just had our end of year mocks and it was a question on that paper. The thing is tho they took the paper back to add the scores on to the school system so I don’t rlly have that paper with me atm but will probably get it back some time soon.. I think I usually mess up on the c,o and s but I think.
Ugh biology is rlly driving me crazy atp lol, do yk any YouTube channels or smth I can use? I think I’m gonna have to revise hardcore for bio in the summer tbf..
https://www.google.com/search?q=cormmss+biology&oq=corrmmss+&aqs=chrome.2.69i57j0i13i512l3j0i13i30j0i5i13i30.3867j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:b56befc3,vid:g9RVajfDygg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygxNEqdNnlQ&t=3290s&pp=ygUoc2NpZW5jZSB3aXRoIGhhemVsIGJpbyBpZ2NzZSBlZGV4Y2VsIDktMQ%3D%3D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40nVj3wj8Do&pp=ygUqYmlvbG9neSBpZ2NzZSBlZGV4Y2VsIDktMSBjb21tb24gcXVlc3Rpb25z
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI-8mYFQ1CY&pp=ygUqYmlvbG9neSBpZ2NzZSBlZGV4Y2VsIDktMSBjb21tb24gcXVlc3Rpb25z
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4NJ6P4MGP4
i hope these can help
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygxNEqdNnlQ&t=3290s&pp=ygUoc2NpZW5jZSB3aXRoIGhhemVsIGJpbyBpZ2NzZSBlZGV4Y2VsIDktMQ%3D%3D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40nVj3wj8Do&pp=ygUqYmlvbG9neSBpZ2NzZSBlZGV4Y2VsIDktMSBjb21tb24gcXVlc3Rpb25z
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI-8mYFQ1CY&pp=ygUqYmlvbG9neSBpZ2NzZSBlZGV4Y2VsIDktMSBjb21tb24gcXVlc3Rpb25z
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4NJ6P4MGP4
i hope these can help
(edited 1 year ago)
Original post by PlsAnsMyQuestion
Hii, we recently just had our end of year mocks and it was a question on that paper. The thing is tho they took the paper back to add the scores on to the school system so I don’t rlly have that paper with me atm but will probably get it back some time soon.. I think I usually mess up on the c,o and s but I think.
Ugh biology is rlly driving me crazy atp lol, do yk any YouTube channels or smth I can use? I think I’m gonna have to revise hardcore for bio in the summer tbf..
Ugh biology is rlly driving me crazy atp lol, do yk any YouTube channels or smth I can use? I think I’m gonna have to revise hardcore for bio in the summer tbf..
c, o and s are ones u can work on easily so thats good. for o is pretty direct. i can try to show u how to go thru a q if the vids arent doing much. also srsly if u work during this summer and stay consistent in yr ll u dont need to be too worried. ok just out of curiosity do u take the other sciences cuz istg i h a t ed physics with all my heart in yr 9 and yr 10 lmao now its grown on me ig
Original post by j3ssica jon3s
c, o and s are ones u can work on easily so thats good. for o is pretty direct. i can try to show u how to go thru a q if the vids arent doing much. also srsly if u work during this summer and stay consistent in yr ll u dont need to be too worried. ok just out of curiosity do u take the other sciences cuz istg i h a t ed physics with all my heart in yr 9 and yr 10 lmao now its grown on me ig
Yh I take all sciences with the same exam board lol.
And yes I can totally relate tho, I used to hate physics in year 7 and 8 but now acc enjoy it
I’ve always liked chemistry from the beginning and am hoping to take it in the sixth form Original post by PlsAnsMyQuestion
Yh I take all sciences with the same exam board lol.
And yes I can totally relate tho, I used to hate physics in year 7 and 8 but now acc enjoy it I’ve always liked chemistry from the beginning and am hoping to take it in the sixth form
And yes I can totally relate tho, I used to hate physics in year 7 and 8 but now acc enjoy it
I’ve always liked chemistry from the beginning and am hoping to take it in the sixth form hiii how is yr 11 going for u now? i randomly remembered that tsr existed (i havent been on here since my boards) so i was going thru my old chats cuz i was bored lmao
Original post by j3ssica jon3s
hiii how is yr 11 going for u now? i randomly remembered that tsr existed (i havent been on here since my boards) so i was going thru my old chats cuz i was bored lmao
hi! It's going good ig🙂 the stress is real this time of year tho haha
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