A* A-Level Biology Exchange Detailed Notes (AQA but applies to all exam boards)
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Course
Unit 2 BIOL2 - The variety of living organisms
Institution
AQA
Book
AQA Biology A Level Year 2 Student Book
These are detailed notes for the linear AQA A-Level Biology course for Exchange (chapter 6). These notes are still applicable for all other exam boards with this topic because I used several sources to make them, including the official AQA textbook, and the advanced biology book (very detailed book...
Hello! My name is Chandan and I finished year 13 in 2020. I did 3 A-levels in Biology, Chemistry and
Mathematics and I will be starting medical school this September. I would like to thank you for
purchasing some of my notes – it really means a lot! I hope that they help you as much as they
helped me get through my A-levels. Just a small disclaimer aimed at those students who are not
from the most privileged background, I myself am from a working class background, and I live in a
deprived area – my secondary school was not great but it was still possible for me to do well in my
studies and to go to a good university. Access is an issue for many students like myself and please
know that just because you aren’t rich, you can still do amazing in your studies, if you put in the
work.
I have put my revision notes for each of my A-level subjects and the GCSE subjects I did online for
people to buy so if you like my notes, I would encourage you to have a look at my other notes to see
if any others apply to you. I have put a different version of this introduction sheet in each of my
revision packs with some tips that I learnt through my time at school.
This sheet is for A-Level Biology. I did AQA A-Level Biology so these notes are tailored to this exam
board, however they can definitely be used for other exam boards since there is very little difference
between exam boards nowadays. I am currently waiting for my A-Level results, so I cannot tell you
my grade for this subject at this moment in time. I was predicted an A* in biology after my year 12
exams though, and my success I year 12 can be largely attributed to these notes.
Of course, each student is different and learns differently but for me, making notes helped me
understand content I learnt in lesson. I am a very slow learner so I do not pick up concepts as easily
as others, so writing and re-writing notes helped me a lot. I used quite a few textbooks to make my
notes and my notes are definitely above and beyond what you will actually need to know for the
exams. The reason I made my notes very detailed and much more complex than needed is because
for AQA, you have to write an essay in the exam which requires you to display some knowledge
above the specification. Looking back, I went too far, but this content is still good to know! My notes
are very messy, I will not lie, and they are so long winded for the earlier topics, but if you purchase
notes for the later topics, you’ll see how I learnt how to condense everything more compactly, so
making notes took less time, and I could retain information better. Please don’t copy these notes
word-for-word, instead use them as you would a textbook. I made these mistakes during my time at
sixth form, so you don’t need to make the same mistakes!
I encourage you to use these notes to make your own notes because that was what helped me learn
everything (as there is so much to learn in A-Level biology!) My recommendation is to write your
notes for a topic as soon as you finish that topic at school and consolidate them every few weeks so
the content is stored in your long-term memory and will help you in your exams. This is important to
make sure you don’t forget anything that you might need in the exams. For year 12, I would spend
all your time until the Easter holidays making and consolidating notes and then use your Easter
holidays and beyond to do past paper questions, any questions that you can get a hold of. Use the
mark schemes to learn the language you need to use to get marks in the exams. This is so crucial,
because as you probably know, getting marks in biology is so difficult and tedious as you can say the
right answer but not get marks for it because you didn’t use the right words or you forgot a small
detail etc. Looking at the patterns over the years will help you massively. And yes, use questions
from years and years ago as they will still be useful. Also, if you can, do questions from other exam
boards as any practise is useful. Be wary about this though because you should only use your exam
board to learn mark schemes etc. Other exam board questions are just for practice. Finally, what I
would do after year 12 exams is to use the mark schemes to amend your notes – change the way
you word your notes to make sure you learn everything in the language and style that will maximise
, your marks in the real exams. For year 13, make sure you do some past papers (but not all) before
the Easter holidays, and spend the Easter holidays to add to your notes and make changes to the
wording and phrasing of your notes. But, and this is important, please make sure 90% of your Easter
holidays and virtually all of your study leave are spent doing past papers in timed conditions. Save all
the most recent past papers for the end, and the most recent papers for the day before the exam,
making sure to do them under timed conditions and simulating the exam hall. Go to your local
library if your house is as loud as mine!
You shouldn’t be learning any new content from the Easter Holidays onwards, you should be
practicing everything. If you need to write an essay like I had to, please write practise essays and get
teachers to mark them for you – this is so important as the essay is a huge part of the exam and your
teachers know best. Also, go to your teachers regularly to discuss questions you didn’t know how to
do and work on your areas of weakness as soon as you identify them as a weakness.
As you will be aware, university applications happen at the star of year 13 so following through with
all the advice above along with university applications will be difficult, but please make sure you
organise your time well through this stressful time. Make a timetable for these months and this will
benefit your studies and mental health. If you are applying for medicine, like I did, I will be putting
some medicine-specific notes online for you if you would like some help with it. I was in your place
myself in 2019 so I will tell you now that this time is extremely difficult for you, with entrance exams,
personal statements, interviews, and of course, your school studies. Make sure to look after your
mental health and please stay strong through this time. Make sure to take breaks and to rest, and
ask for help and advice if and when you need it.
Here are some final tips for A-Level Biology:
Start early – this is truly a huge regret for many students, so please start working as soon as
possible.
Ask for help when you need it – from teachers, counsellors, family, friends etc.
Work hard, but do not exhaust yourself – this will damage your mental health badly – trust
me, I know!
Practise, Practise, Practise! I really cannot stress this enough – you will not do well in these
exams if you do not understand them. Get inside the examiners heads and learn what they
want from you to give you marks.
Use any resources you can – there are limited online resources for biology, I will not lie, so
exploit those that do exist as much as possible.
Remember that A-Levels are a season – they are not permanent and they will end, not
matter how difficult it seems now, it will end.
My final piece of motivation for you is that you have chosen to take this journey yourself. A-Levels
do not mean everything, but if you have chosen this path, then they must mean something to you.
Please make sure you act so you have no regrets for these years, as they are fun if you make the
most of them.
Good luck, and you can email me if you have any issues with the notes, if they aren’t clear and I can
re-send them or re-scan them for you. If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to
contact me with my email address: chandan.sekhon@outlook.com
Good Luck – you’ve got this!
,
,
,
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