If you want to save yourself some time, check out these VCE Biology Complete Course Notes.

So. You’re almost there.

Your VCE Biology exam is in a month – but what should you actually be doing in the time you have left? Hopefully, these tips will provide some guidance.

THREE WEEKS BEFORE

Hopefully you’ve wrapped up learning content by now, and have started revising Unit 3.

It probably seems daunting, flicking through that thick Bio textbook and seeing how much you’ve learned (and how much you need to revise). The trick here is to identify the areas you definitely need to revise: those areas that gave you the most trouble throughout the year.

Make these your priority, and work from there.

In terms of actually revising the content at this stage, you could try swinging two different ways:

•     Try doing some practice exams, and identify your problem areas this way. Then, revise the content relevant to those questions.
•     Something as simple as watching some YouTube tutorials/animations (a personal favourite of mine). Or drawing out diagrams to help you understand things like respiration or immunity. Or summarising your own notes. Try to be time-efficient, here – don’t re-write your entire summary book (this is a waste of time). This is why online videos are great; they’re quick and effective.

When you’re familiar with the content and confident enough to tackle some questions, get started on practice exam papers.

TWO WEEKS BEFORE

At this point, you should be stuck into practice exams.

Aim for a few a week. But if this is too much, don’t stress – it’s better to do a full exam, and actually try, than to do two or three rushed papers.

Eventually, you’ll start to see what topics you’ve absolutely mastered, the type of questions you’re good at, and – most importantly – what you’re not good at.

You’ll be tempted to just skip those questions you hate. Don’t. You’ll get more out of working through the tough questions than breezing through those easy questions.

Another thing will happen as you work through exams: you’ll notice trends. Topics that come up every year (respiration, gene expression). Master these topics because there is bound to be a question or two on your exam, with a few marks dedicated to them.

You’ll also start to develop your own style of how to tackle the exam. You might prefer to use reading time to read through the short-answer questions, but start your exam with multiple choice questions (this was my style – I highly recommend you experiment with it when doing practice exams).

Experiment with different techniques, and see what works best for you when doing past papers. And don’t forget to time yourself.

ONE WEEK BEFORE

You’ve done all the hard work by now.

With every sleep, you’re closer to finally being done with this subject.

At this point, you’ve mastered your exam technique, and you know exactly how you’re going to approach your exam.

What you should be focusing on now is exam day. What time do you need to wake up? How early do you need to be at your exam? It might be the least of your worries right now, but prepare for these things in advance to save yourself stress the night before your exam.

I’d also recommend doing some full-length practice papers under exact exam conditions, during the same time period your actual exam will take place.

It might not seem so important right now, but you want to train your body to be active and awake at the time you’ll be doing your exam.

Good luck with your exams!

If you want to save yourself some time, check out these VCE Biology Complete Course Notes.