Biology A level AQA study help

4

I'm in year 13 and I do AQA A level biology - I kind of slacked off in year 12 and had a reality check at the end of Y12 mocks. I spent all summer focusing on the UCAT and did not revise year 12 content and now I'm starting to panic. My grades keep dropping and I'm struggling to figure out how I am going to pull my grade up. I feel like I am running out questions to do and need to make resources and notes (even though I know this is a waste of my time and I most likely won't look over them again) so I understand the content before moving to exam q's but this is very time consuming. Any advice at all please.... please.

Reply 1

elareare

19

Original post

by marcot123

I'm in year 13 and I do AQA A level biology - I kind of slacked off in year 12 and had a reality check at the end of Y12 mocks. I spent all summer focusing on the UCAT and did not revise year 12 content and now I'm starting to panic. My grades keep dropping and I'm struggling to figure out how I am going to pull my grade up. I feel like I am running out questions to do and need to make resources and notes (even though I know this is a waste of my time and I most likely won't look over them again) so I understand the content before moving to exam q's but this is very time consuming. Any advice at all please.... please.

Dedicate a lot of your time to it. I'm in a similar situation. Quit any socials, fix your sleep schedule entirely, start eating properly. I swear this makes a world of difference, and studying is a lot easier.

Reply 2

user2008653

9

dont worry if you feel behind, its normal and you still have over 6 months to catch up. just do as much as you can, and i would recommend using pre-made resources( mrs estruch has flashcards for the entire course that are rlly good) to revise from and then use past papers to identify your weak areas.

Reply 3

SomehowAMedic

8

Original post

by marcot123

I'm in year 13 and I do AQA A level biology - I kind of slacked off in year 12 and had a reality check at the end of Y12 mocks. I spent all summer focusing on the UCAT and did not revise year 12 content and now I'm starting to panic. My grades keep dropping and I'm struggling to figure out how I am going to pull my grade up. I feel like I am running out questions to do and need to make resources and notes (even though I know this is a waste of my time and I most likely won't look over them again) so I understand the content before moving to exam q's but this is very time consuming. Any advice at all please.... please.

Hey!
I would say do not make resources such as notes. Miss Estruch has some AMAZING flashcards online that you can buy that are made according to the spec to learn these definitions and terms.
Also, after you are confortable with these terms, then use the physics and maths tutor flashcards to revise. These are much more exam style.
Then move on to PPQs and be really harsh and ANALYSE WHY you get things wrong. I have a little code for example, if it is down to knowledge I put K, exam technique then it's ET, reading the full question is RTFQ. This really helps target your revision.

Also, prioritise your topics. For example I know I find biological molecules easy as I do chem too so I dont revise that really at all and only focus on let's say like DNA synthesis. It bruises your ego but you will do less work in the long term. Do not do passive revision really at all (e.g. highlighting and taking notes and reading) and focus on active recall instead.

If you are unsure of WHAT you know, then do blurting.

Hope this all helps

Reply 4

Mohammed Mahmoud

1

Original post

by marcot123

I'm in year 13 and I do AQA A level biology - I kind of slacked off in year 12 and had a reality check at the end of Y12 mocks. I spent all summer focusing on the UCAT and did not revise year 12 content and now I'm starting to panic. My grades keep dropping and I'm struggling to figure out how I am going to pull my grade up. I feel like I am running out questions to do and need to make resources and notes (even though I know this is a waste of my time and I most likely won't look over them again) so I understand the content before moving to exam q's but this is very time consuming. Any advice at all please.... please.

"Hey there! Biochemist here 🧬.
First, take a deep breath. This is a classic 'Year 13 panic', and honestly, you have plenty of time to fix it if you change your strategy now.
You are absolutely right: Making pretty notes is a trap. It feels productive, but it is passive. Since you already crushed the UCAT, you need to apply that efficiency here.
Here is a rescue protocol to pull your grades up:

1.

Stop Making Notes, Start 'Blurting': Pick a Year 12 topic (e.g., Biological Molecules). Read it for 10 minutes. Close the book. Grab a blank sheet and scribble down EVERYTHING you remember. Open the book and fill in the gaps in Red Ink. Those red bits are what you need to focus on. This is 'Active Recall', and it sticks way faster than highlighting.

2.

The Mark Scheme is God: AQA is notorious for requiring specific keywords. Don't just 'do' questions; study the mark schemes. If the scheme demands "hydrogen bonds between complementary base pairs" and you just wrote "bonds between bases", you lose the mark. Learn their language, not just the science.

3.

The Foundation: You can't understand Year 13 Gene Expression if your Year 12 DNA knowledge is shaky. Dedicate your weekends solely to patching Year 12 gaps using the Blurting method.

You can turn this around. Good luck!"

Biology A level AQA study help

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