How I got an A* for A-level biology | Revision tips, resources, notes, active recall and websites
Summary
TLDROmama Bashir, a first-year medical student at King's College London, shares her secrets to achieving an A* in A-Level Biology. She emphasizes the importance of understanding content, asking questions, and using active recall techniques like creating flashcards. Bashir also advises on exam preparation, including doing topic-based questions and past papers, and utilizing teacher resources. Her structured approach and study tips aim to make the learning process more manageable and effective.
Takeaways
- đ Understand the Content: The key to a-level biology is leaving every lesson with a complete understanding of the material, asking questions when necessary, and not hesitating to seek clarity.
- đ€ Active Recall: Utilize active recall techniques for revision, such as self-testing and peer-testing, which engage the brain more effectively than passive techniques like rereading or highlighting.
- đ Preparation for Exams: Prepare revision resources early, creating mini-questions after each lesson to reinforce learning and facilitate memorization of content.
- đ Flashcards: Develop a set of flashcards with questions covering all topics, which helps in recalling information and answering application and recall questions during exams.
- đ Blurring Technique: Engage in the 'blurting' technique where you write down everything you remember on a blank paper, then review what's missed and learn it, repeating until all information is recalled.
- đ Exam Practice: Practice answering topic-based questions and past papers, marking them strictly and revising the areas where you made mistakes.
- đ Time Management: Start exam preparation well in advance, going through flashcards two months before exams and gradually moving to topic-based questions and past papers as the exam date approaches.
- đšâđ« Teacher Resources: Make the most of teacher resources, asking for help when needed and understanding the marking scheme to improve exam performance.
- đ A-Star Achievement: The speaker achieved an A-star in a-level biology by following these steps, which also contributed to their success in psychology and chemistry.
- đ» Utilize Technology: The speaker used an iPad to make a plan, indicating the utility of technology in organizing study materials and strategies.
- đŁïž Communication: Encourages viewers to ask questions in the comment section and offers to make more videos on requested topics, showing a willingness to engage and support the audience.
Q & A
Who is the speaker in the video script?
-The speaker is Omama Bashir, a first-year medical student at King's College London.
What is the main topic of the video?
-The main topic of the video is how to achieve a high grade, specifically an A*, in A-level Biology.
What are the three steps Omama Bashir suggests for excelling in A-level Biology?
-The three steps suggested are: 1) Understanding the content, 2) Preparation for exams using active recall, and 3) Exam practice.
Why is it important to understand the content after each lesson according to the speaker?
-Understanding the content after each lesson is crucial because it is the foundation for answering application questions and ensures that the student is not left with gaps in knowledge.
What is active recall, and how does it help in studying for A-level Biology?
-Active recall is a revision technique that engages the brain during learning by testing oneself or being tested by others. It helps in studying for A-level Biology by making learning more effective and easier, especially for memorizing a large amount of content.
How does Omama Bashir recommend creating revision resources for A-level Biology?
-Omama Bashir recommends creating revision resources by making mini questions based on each lesson's content and compiling them into flashcards for active recall practice.
What is the 'blurting' technique mentioned in the script, and how does it aid in learning?
-The 'blurting' technique involves writing down everything one remembers about a topic on a blank paper, then reviewing and learning what was missed. This active engagement with the material helps in reinforcing memory and understanding.
When should one start doing topic-based questions and past papers according to the video?
-One should start doing topic-based questions about two weeks before the exam and move on to past papers about a week before the mock exam or actual exam.
How does Omama Bashir suggest marking and assessing practice questions and past papers?
-Omama Bashir suggests marking practice questions and past papers in a different color and being strict with the marking process. This helps in identifying and learning from mistakes.
What additional advice does the speaker give regarding the use of resources and seeking help?
-The speaker advises taking advantage of all resources provided by teachers and seeking their help to understand the mark scheme and any difficult concepts.
Outlines
đ Mastering A-Level Biology: Understanding and Preparation
Omama Bashir, a first-year medical student at King's College London, shares her strategy for achieving an A* in A-Level Biology. She emphasizes the importance of understanding the content after every lesson and not hesitating to ask questions. Bashir also highlights the effectiveness of active recall techniques, such as self-testing and making flashcards with mini-questions based on the lesson content. This approach ensures a strong grasp of both application and recall questions, which are crucial for high marks in biology.
đ Advanced Revision Techniques and Exam Practice
Continuing her guide to A-Level Biology success, Bashir introduces the 'blurting' technique, where students write down everything they remember about a topic and then review what they've missed. She then advises on the importance of exam practice, starting with topic-based questions and moving on to past papers. Bashir stresses the value of strict self-marking and revisiting incorrect answers to reinforce learning. She also encourages students to utilize all available teacher resources and offers to answer questions or create more content based on viewer requests.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄA-level
đĄBiology
đĄUnderstanding
đĄActive Recall
đĄRevision Techniques
đĄApplication Questions
đĄExam Preparation
đĄFlashcards
đĄBlurring
đĄPast Papers
đĄResources
Highlights
Omama Bashir, a first-year medical student at King's College London, shares her strategies for achieving a star in A-level biology.
She emphasizes the importance of understanding the content of each lesson and not hesitating to ask questions for clarity.
Bashir suggests using active recall techniques for revision, such as self-testing and peer-testing, which are more effective than passive methods like rereading.
Creating mini questions after each lesson helps in reinforcing the understanding of the content and preparing for application questions.
The use of flashcards with questions based on the handouts is recommended for effective recall and memorization.
Bashir explains the process of creating a stack of flashcards for each topic, enhancing knowledge retention.
She advises starting revision early and going through flashcards regularly to avoid last-minute cramming.
The 'blurting' technique is introduced as a method to engage the brain actively by writing down everything remembered on a topic and then reviewing what was missed.
Bashir recommends doing topic-based questions before moving on to full exam papers to ensure a strong foundation.
She stresses the importance of strict self-marking and revisiting areas of weakness after completing practice questions.
Past papers should be used towards the end of the revision period, with a focus on daily practice and immediate feedback.
Utilizing teacher resources and seeking help when needed is highlighted as a key to success in A-level biology.
Bashir also mentions her achievements in psychology and chemistry, indicating her strategies are applicable across subjects.
She invites viewers to ask questions in the comments section and offers to create more videos on requested topics.
The video concludes with an invitation to follow Bashir on social media for more educational content.
Transcripts
hi everyone my name is Omama Bashir and
I'm a first year medical student at
King's College London I've been getting
a lot of requests on Tick Tock to make a
video on how I got a star for a level
biology so yeah I've even made a plan on
my iPad so you know this is about to get
serious a lot of people are very
hesitant to even do a-level biology or
carry you on but I can assure you it's
not as hard as it seems and by watching
this video you will definitely be on the
right steps to get an a star or an A I
followed three steps
um to get myself an a-line a liberal
biology and these steps really did give
me an advantage compared to other
students and put me in a position where
I didn't have to work as hard while
achieving the same results let's get
started with step number one which is
understand it this is basically me
telling you to understand the content
and as obvious as it seems you would not
believe how many students walk out of
lessons not understanding the content
thinking to themselves oh I'm just gonna
you know learn it later myself or I'll
try and understand it but the key to
getting a starting a-level biology which
is very content based is leaving every
lesson understanding the content so what
I did is after each lesson I made sure
that I understood every single aspect of
biology that we learn in that particular
lesson and if I didn't I would stay
behind and ask questions I wouldn't
hesitate to ask questions during the
lesson and in the rare cases actually
not right it was pretty annoying it was
pretty normal for me to work out
clueless
um and in those cases I would literally
watch a video
um and understand the content itself
understand the processes why does this
happen because once you've understood
the content honestly the application
questions will be so much easier to
answer and if you're a biology student
you would know that application
questions are where most people lose
marks so please please please start off
by understanding the content ask
questions as the teachers are there to
help you at the end of the day step
number two is preparation for the exams
this involves active recall so what is
active recall active recall revision
techniques involve revision techniques
that engage your brain during learning
so for example testing yourself and
testing your friends making your friends
test you blurting methods whereas
passive revision techniques include
rereading highlighting making notes and
you always want to be on the active
recall side of the spectrum because
there's a lot of research that has
backed up the importance of active
recall in learning and how much easier
it makes learning and I genuinely give
credit to my active recall techniques
for my a-star and a level biology
because there is so much content to
memorize and the best way to do that is
via active recall processes and this is
where preparation takes place you
prepare your revision resources early on
after each lesson so that it doesn't
pile up months before the exam or your
mocks in my sixth form we got notes for
every single topic that we did in a
level biology so we would have one
handout for example transportable gases
for about five lessons what I would do
is I'll make many questions on
all the content that we went through in
that lesson so for example people going
through the adaptation of Transport for
Animals handout which will take about
five lessons
um what I would do is after each lesson
I would make mini questions based on the
content that we had been through in that
particular lesson
so for example if we did one lesson on
the control of the heartbeat and
analyzing the electrocardiogram right
after that lesson I would make a
subheading that would say the control of
the heartbeat under it I would write
many questions based on the information
given in the handout so for example if
the handout said the heart is myogenic
and myogenic means this is this what I
would do is I would write a question
which would say what does myogenic mean
and just to give you a little bit more
context on how I would do this I will
give you some examples of other
questions so what is the sinoatr node
what causes the Atria to contract
simultaneously and I would make many
questions like this until I've got a
pack of flash cards full of mini
questions for the whole topic this whole
stack of flash cards is purely on the
adaptations of Transport animals
and this really works on strengthening
your knowledge by following step one
which is understanding the content and
step two which is preparation you are
already in line to get good grades
because now you know how to answer the
application questions because you
understand the content but you also know
how to answer the recall questions
because you have literally so many
different recall questions right here in
terms of how often I would go through
the flashcards I would go through this
flashcards two months before my exam
before my exams I would look at what
topics I am being assessed on and I
would go through all of those flashcards
and I would suggest that from the
beginning make these revision resources
and go through them at the end of the
week if you don't have enough effort for
that start revising as soon as you get
told about The Mark with the another
technique that helps a lot of people
which involves engaging your brain is
blurting now what blurting is
you take a blank piece of paper take a
black pen and write down everything you
remember about
um transport of gases for example then
you take a red pen and you write down
everything that you've missed out once
you've done that you look at everything
that you've missed out and you go back
and learn that
test yourself on it do the blurting
technique again repeat this blurring
technique until you have all black and
you remember everything now the final
step is exam practice this step is now
like a cherry on top you have done your
understanding aspect you understand why
the concepts work because you've asked
your teacher you've stayed behind you've
made the most of your resources but not
only that you now remember all the
content because you've made flash cards
with many questions you're constantly
going through these flashcards what's
left now is answering the questions
themselves and this is a very very last
don't do this step until you've done the
understanding aspect and the preparation
aspect this is starting off with doing
topic based questions on physics and
math tutor for example I just showed you
the example of transport of animals and
transport of gases so say I have an exam
in two months time
I would start going through these
flashcards and once I'm confident enough
that I'm getting all these questions in
the flash cards right I would move on to
this step maybe two weeks before the
exam for every topic that's in the exam
I would do all of the physics I'm off to
uh topic based questions so
um I would do questions on transport of
gutters transport of animals then I
would Mark these questions do not move
on to exam papers until you've marked
and assessed your markings Mark the
questions in a different color and be
strict with the marking okay because
you're not losing anything you're not
getting a grade out of what you're doing
so be straight to the marketing anything
that you've missed marks on or got read
or back to your handouts learn it again
until you understand it once you've done
that the last step is the past papers
you would probably have about a week
left for your mock exam or maybe two and
now this is where every single day you
should be doing past papers you should
be doing a past paper then marking the
past paper in a different color and then
revising the topics that you got wrong
in the past paper and going to your
teachers if you don't understand the
mark scheme one final thing make sure
you take advantage of all the resources
that your teachers have so that's
everything that helped me getting a star
for a level biology and I hope it helps
you
um if you have any questions please
leave them in the comment section and if
you want me to make videos about
anything else let me know I did also go
on a star for
um psychology and an a for chemistry
yeah if you have any questions regarding
applying to University anything else
that you want me to make a video on
please let me know in the comment
section thank you so much for watching
my video or don't forget to add my
socials which I have linked below and
yeah thank you for watching our video
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