GCSE Biology Week 4 Exam Preparation Tips

Well done for making it this far! The clock is ticking and exams are nearly here, BUT we still have time to finesse our skills and squeeze out a couple more marks. One of the ways we can do that and make sure we are snagging ourselves the best grade possible is by keeping organised in the exam room. This is something a lot of people struggle with, so let’s look at it today in detail and try to solve it.

Look at this exam question below:

It’s a 6-mark question. This means our examiner is expecting us to write 6 points in our answer. Now let’s look at the mark scheme for this question:

Here, the mark scheme clearly shows us that our examiners are not looking for paragraphs of writing in our answers. Their answers are given as bullet points. So make sure you’re not trying to memorise huge chunks of text! If you write just 2 points from each subheading then you’ll get full marks. Write your points in a neat paragraph BUT don’t end up writing a paragraph for each individual point, there just isn’t enough time in your exam to do this!

Using too many resources

Don’t get me wrong, the internet is amazing. It allows us to learn about the world around us, gives us information at the click of a button and also watch hours of Tik Tok. I mean if the internet didn’t exist, you wouldn’t be reading my blog. (And what an utter travesty that would be) But, having access to millions of resources can sometimes be confusing for us. Conflicting information can feel overwhelming, making it hard to sift through to find useful bits. I learnt the hard way to just stick to the simple yet effective stuff; my textbook, revision guide and the exam board website for my specifications. The basics are all you need here, then focus on the resources that you’ve made yourself, such as flashcards, cheat sheets or mind maps, review and study these rather than constantly looking for new things all over the internet.

If you are running out of time to create your own resources then you can supplement what’s missing with stuff online. But everything you create for yourself serves a double function, as the act of creating it requires a high level of attention and helps with memorising information.

Moving on to something new: what else can you do?

Past papers, new notes, practice questions, and time management. You’re probably thinking we have covered it all, but we can always go that extra step.

For me, the extra step was watching videos on areas I struggled with and reading lots of blogs for helpful study tips. A tip I found helpful was to treat university studies like a 9-5 job. I wish I had known this at GCSE or A-Level. I was finally able to get in all my hours of study while taking healthy breaks in the middle. Giving myself the night off finally felt like an achievement and something to look forward to at the end of a long productive day.

You may not have the time for this, but this is a good way to look at your days once you’re not having to go to classes anymore. By sticking to the school ‘9-5’ you avoid breaking the routine you’ve been in for years. Classes are swapped for revision and if you get it done during the day you’ll be able to enjoy your evenings more. It’s simple, if Monday’s 9am - 11am you have double Maths, Monday 9am - 11am do a session of double Maths revision. If your lunch at school is 1pm - 1:30pm, take lunch then and enjoy the break. By sticking to the school timetable during study leave, we have a solid revision plan we are used to and don’t need to think that hard about – we can just crack on with it.

Have any questions about how to prepare for your GCSE exams? Having problems with any hard to understand content or tricky past exam questions? Then ask Syed. Syed will be hosting a series of Q&A webinars in the 2 weeks before final exams. Post your questions here, and Syed will answer them in these sessions.