GENERAL POINTERS

1. Concentrate on facts.  Many students forget that biology is a science subject and therefore is concerned with knowledge.  Stop trying to explain what you believe is happening, instead learn off the proper explanations and present them in a scientific and logical manner.
   
2. Read the questions carefully and answer the question asked rather than just picking up on key words.  Just because a question has the words 'moss' in it does not mean you slavishly write down everything you know about how it reproduces.  The question may have been something else entirely. This is a common type of problem in this subject.
   
3. Try not to leave out large sections of the course.  Many questions mix up the sections.
   
4. Do not go into the exam determined to do a particular type of question.  It may be the hardest question on the paper!  You should know enough of the course to be able to choose your questions on the day depending on the exam paper itself.
   
5. Stop trying to waffle the ecology section.  This question assumes that you have carried out a project and have a good knowledge of this area.  The questions often look deceptively simple. 
   

TERM TOPIC:     ANIMAL KINGDOM

Just as questions on the plant kingdom appear most years, so do questions on the animal kingdom and therefore it is advisable to prepare these sections well in advance. Remember that Biology is a science subject and the emphasis is on knowledge and facts.  Learn them off.  Read the questions carefully and answer the question asked rather than just writing down information wildly.
When you have finished studying an animal use the following headings as a check-list to make sure you can discuss the organism in detail for the exam:

1. Dugesia/Planarian-- phylum, habitat, labelled diagram external structure, example of free-living organism, triploblastic acoelomate.
   
2. Liver Fluke--phylum, labelled diagram of structure, life-cycle and reproduction, adaptations to parasitic mode of life, control measures, example of an animal parasite, triploblastic acoelomate.
   
3. Earthworm-- phylum, labelled diagram of structure, life-cycle and reproduction, advantages to agriculture, set-up and use of a wormery, triploblastic coelomate.
   
4. Insects-- phylum, classes, characteristics of the phylum, characteristics of the class, labelled diagram of structure, life-cycle, advantages and disadvantages of insects.