Deceptively difficult, the notorious Biology 8 marker terrifies even the most confident Biology students who know their content inside out. Masked behind a typically general and short question lies a detailed and complex marking criteria. Questions worth more than 5 marks are usually left for English and the Humanities, leaving many students puzzled and questioning – what on Earth do I do to get 8/8? Often brushed over and not magnified by teachers, these questions are important to your exam mark. Think about it- an average response compared to an excellent response can boost your exam mark from an 88 to a 92. That’s a band 5 into a band 6!
Break down the question
Just as you would with an English question, it is really important to break down the terms in the question. You should highlight the directive term and the syllabus area (which is almost always related to technologies and scientists).
So let’s break one down together. This was my HSC Question so I’ll go through exactly how I approached it in exam conditions.
“Assess the importance of the work of Beadle and Tatum to the ability to produce a specific transgenic species.” 8 marks. HSC 2017.
Directive term:
Here, the question is requiring us to assess a statement. This means that we must ultimately provide a judgement and back it up.
Key Word:
Importance. Essentially, the question is requiring us to explain why Beadle and Tatum’s work was so integral to the production of transgenic species. This would require to firstly explain what Beadle and Tatum’s work conveyed and explicitly CONNECT this to how transgenic species arose.
Syllabus Area:
This question is evidently in relation to the Beadle and Tatum and transgenic species dot points belonging to the Blueprint of Life core. This is important to note as your answer cannot discuss these dot points in a general manner. You must think to yourself- to give a thorough response, what other information must I include?
Expand the syllabus points and imagine the marking criteria
If your response is to be thorough, it is best to brainstorm this syllabus area so that you include all relevant information. This all becomes very clear once you view the marking criteria indicating all that is necessary to attain 8 marks. I like to do a brainstorm bubble.
The reason why doing this is so necessary is because even though a Biology student may know why Beadle and Tatum’s work was so important towards the production of transgenic species, they lose marks because they do not address marking criteria points such as definitions and examples. On the other hand, it also allows students who may not accurately explain the importance of Beadle and Tatum’s work to the production of transgenic species to gain some marks.
Here is the marking criteria for this Biology question:
As you can see, there are several criteria points that are not explicitly asked in the question such as outlining the “production of a transgenic species” and “describing what a transgenic species is” (definition) that are sneakily masked behind “assess”.
The structure
As the case with any long response, it is important that your structure is logical and coherent. Ensure you have an introduction, body and conclusion and that you include linking words such as thus, as a consequence/ result of etc. to clearly connect your ideas.
Your basic structure should look like the following:
Introduction
Judgement
Introduce your ideas
Body
Describe Beadle and Tatum’s work including;
Their experiment
What it entailed
What conclusion they came to
Then link their conclusion to the transgenic species
What is a transgenic species?
An example?
How is this transgenic species produced?
Conclusion
Reinforce judgement
Make a judgement
If you fail to include a judgement in an ‘assess’ question, you WILL lose marks. You must answer the question and reinforce your judgement throughout the response. In relation to this question, your judgement would look like “Beadle and Tatum’s work was very important as it paved the way for the production of transgenic species”. This must be included in both your introduction and conclusion. Also remember that in Sciences, you cannot be on the fence. Beadle and Tatum’s work was not “somewhat important”; it was either important or not!
As the question is asking you to provide a judgement, you must also back it up. I suggest that to reinforce the importance of their work you should discuss how transgenic species have assisted society:
Economically: many transgenic species yield some financial benefits e.g. for farmers
Health: many transgenic species also improve the health of either humans or the environment
These are two really crucial points as they can apply to any Biology question requiring a judgement!
Throughout your body, you should reinforce key words, such as by adding, “… thus being integral to the production of transgenic species” or “this knowledge importantly facilitated transgenic species technology”.
Check out Biology past papers and reference the marking criteria
So how do we practise our 8 markers? Past papers of course! In the month before my HSC, I completed all the HSC papers from 2001-2016 (yes, I know I’m crazy!). Although you don’t have to been quite as extreme as me, you will find that the more 8 markers you complete, the more confident you will become. You should also mark your responses in line with the marking criteria so that you can absorb the style of the marking criteria and importantly so that you can predict the marking criteria in your exams!
About the author:
Ines is a valued member of the ATAR Notes online community. Receiving a 94 in Biology is just the beginning of Ines’ academic credentials – Ines also received the 13th state rank for Legal Studies in the 2017 HSC.
