Preparing for the theory exams (P2 & P4) 1. Solve as many past-papers as you can. The questions are not always direct so even if you have the knowledge, it's difficult to figure out where to apply it without enough practice.
2. Note down and memorise answers from the marking scheme for commonly asked questions (e.g., active loading of sucrose into phloem, the cardiac cycle, muscle contraction, how contraceptive pills work, etc.). This way, you've guaranteed getting those marks because you've written all the points exactly how the examiners want it.
3. Continuously revise concepts. Biology needs lots of memorisation and the best way to commit all those little details into memory is by revising regularly. Flashcards (i.e., active recall & spaced repetition) are the best resource for this, hands down.
Preparing for the practical exam (P3) Click here to access my P3 notes that list everything you need to know. Question 1: Familiarise yourself with the common experiments. These are dilutions (simple & serial), food tests and making slides to investigate osmosis. Not too difficult and they usually provide all the instructions you could need on the paper itself.
Question 2: This is the microscope question (you need to be familiar with focusing a microscope and generally how to use it, takes a bit of practice). There's also drawing specimens in this part of the question. You should ideally have familiarised yourself with the specimens listed on the syllabus and attempted to draw them on your own outside of the lab. Other than that, read the syllabus and learner guide extremely thoroughly. They both list all the information that you're expected to know before doing the P3 exam in amazing detail and is an immensely helpful resource.
General tips 1. Have a print-out of the syllabus when making notes/studying so you don't miss anything. 2. Visualising complex processes is hard - watch YouTube videos that show the processes animated. It helps you understand more easily. 3. When memorising things, take regular breaks. This is called spaced-repetition and will help you remember things much, much more easily. 4. Just because biology is mostly memorising, don't ignore past papers. I tend to do this a lot, focusing on learning the chapter instead of solving. However, solving does help. In fact, you're probably more likely to remember things by solving a past paper than just memorisation because application matters.