Here is the simplest Exam Technique tip ever:
Don’t fold the exam paper back on itself
Students typically fold the paper back to reduce it to A4 size, and to focus on just one page. Don’t do this!
Often, questions straddle more than one page. These will appear opposite sides of the fold. Keep the paper open, and you will be able to see all the information at once. Something from an earlier part of the question may well be vital for answering the last part. Don’t hide it from view!
More posts with exam tips:
Make the Question Simpler
Let’s get rid of everything that isn’t on the spec. We will need these words later when writing the answer out, but we do NOT need them while we work out what the question is really about.
A simple but effective trick to boost your learning and revision. You just need a little buddy.
Command words are important! Step by step guide to how to approach and answer “Suggest” questions for top marks in AQA A level Biology.
How to answer the AQA A-level Biology Extended Essay, including past paper essay titles
Past paper essay titles and topic areas for A level Biology paper 3, with tips and guidance for how to select the best topic areas for your essay.
How to approach and answer A-level Biology Questions that need you to Analyse Figures, Tables and Images - lots of example past paper questions with the markschemes
A variable is any value that does/might change during an experiment. Variables can include things like pH, temperature, colour, or the concentration of substances. The amount of time that has passed is a variable, as are rates of reaction.
Your teachers will take you through the course material. Hopefully you’ll be able to follow what they’re saying, and maybe you’ll copy down notes in class and then make flashcards to help you remember these things. But that’s not enough to get a good grade. There are some things you need that teachers don’t tell you – because … well, they can’t. Some things can’t be told.
How to change the language you use in A level Biology Answers, and get better grades
OCR A June 2019 summer highlights
Some terrific guidance and definitions here - from AQA but applies to all exam boards
A great glossary of vocabulary that applies to Biology questions and answers.
How to understand and answer Hardy-Weinberg Questions - A-level Biology. Remember to look out for questions where they give you a dominant phenotype frequency -for instance Huntingdons disease, where the frequency of the sufferers is 1 in 100000 - therefore q squared (recessive allele phenotype) is 99999 in 100000.
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How to approach and answer A-level Biology Questions that need you to Analyse Figures, Tables and Images - lots of example past paper questions with the markschemes
DO NOT LOOK at the question and then look at the data to answer the question.
Look closely at the graph or table
look very carefully at the axes - have they plotted mean or rate or time, mass/volume or concentration ?
can you see range bars ?
In a table what range is in the replicates when you compare to the mean ?
what trends can you observe ? then think about what principle of biology is being shown by the the trends.
How would you explain the highest value, the lowest value, the point at which the line crosses the x axis, how would you explain the largest range, how would you change the experiment to reduce the spread in the data ?
Once you have a coherent understanding of the trends - only then look at the question.
How to improve your answers to questions about practicals in A-level Biology exam questions.
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