IGCSE Biology is a fairly challenging subject. The amount of information students need to master can feel like a struggle. Many students wonder how to study for Biology IGCSE in the limited time available to get a good grade. Luckily, it is more than possible. However, you need to revise the subject thoroughly and carefully.
In this post, we’ll walk you through key approaches to revising IGCSE Biology and share some tactics and strategies to help you ace your exam.
Is IGCSE Biology a Difficult Subject?
Biology is a hard IGCSE subject, especially if you are not a native English speaker. In comparison to other subjects, it has quite an extensive syllabus. There is a lot to memorise as well as fairly complex topics. Pair this with a very specific vocabulary and it becomes clear why the passing rate is only 70%.
No wonder why IGCSE Biology is overwhelming for many students. Still, if you have enough time and diligence to go over Biology topics, the top grade can be within your reach.
Formats of IGCSE Biology Exams
To begin with, it is important to understand the formats, methods, and requirements for your IGCSE Biology assessment. It will help you prepare in a targeted way.
You can find these details in the subject specifications, which are unique for every exam board. When it comes to IGCSE exam boards, there are three options:
- Edexcel Pearson
- Cambridge
- Oxford AQA
Edexcel Pearson
Edexcel International GCSE Biology specifies two papers.
- Paper 1 grants 110 marks maximum and spans 2 hours.
- Paper 2 is 1 hour 15 minutes and awards up to 70 marks.
Each paper can have multiple-choice questions, short and open-response questions, calculations, as well as questions related to practicals.
Cambridge CAIE
When your exam board is CAIE, you need to complete 3 papers to pass your IGCSE Biology exam.
- Paper 1, which you need to sit for 45 minutes, awards 40 marks and has 40 multi-choice questions.
- Paper 2 gives a maximum of 80 marks. This 1 hour 15 minutes-long assessment is designed for short answers and structured questions.
- The final Paper 3 lasts 1 hour and brings 40 marks. It evaluates the skills you acquired during practical studies (although it is not a practical exam).
You should also keep in mind that CAIE offers a tiered exam system. The “Core” is designed for average students. Since exam questions are easier, you can only get a passing grade of 5 with this tear. For more able students, there is the “Extended” tier, in which the grades range from 9 to 1. On the other hand, the questions are more complex.
Oxford AQA
The specification for Oxford AQA for International GCSE Biology provides for two equally significant papers. Each of them brings a maximum of 90 marks within a 1.5 hours-long assessment. There are structured and open-question assignments.
IGCSE Biology Exam Grading System
Whether your exam grade will be on a scale from 9 to 1 or A*-G will depend on your exam board.
The most popular grading system, offered by Edexcel, Cambridge, and Oxford alike, is 9-1. Here, 9 is the maximum and 1 is the minimum. The middle of the scale, 4, represents a passing grade, i.e. the lowest grade that will allow you to receive an IGCSE diploma. There is also a ‘strong pass’ – everything that is above 5 is considered a good grade.
Along with the traditional 9-1 grading system, the Cambridge exam board provides the A*-G scale for its CAIE International GCSE Biology 0610. On this scale, A* is the highest grade you can get, G is the lowest, and C is a passing grade.
We have already mentioned a tiered CAIE system. If you’re goal to receive the maximum, whether it is 9 or A*, you need to choose the Extended tier. With the Core tier, your maximum grade cannot be higher than 5 or C.
The number of marks you need to receive a certain grade in IGCSE Biology tests changes every year. After marking all exam papers, exam boards come up with grading boundaries, which represent a minimum threshold you need to achieve to secure a specific grade.
According to Edexcel 2023 grade boundaries, 142 marks out of 180 were enough to receive a 9. Oxford would award you a 9 for 130 or more marks (out of 180) in 2023. 165 out 200 was a minimal requirement for the highest grade according to the Cambridge exam board.
IGCSE Biology Revision Tips
Now that you have a better idea of what to expect from your Biology exam, let us share the best ways to prepare for it. Our tips range from concept comprehension to getting an expert IGCSE tutor.
Get Clear on the Structure of the IGCSE Biology Exam
This means understanding which types of questions you will need to tackle and in which papers.
No matter your exam board, your assessment will have questions that bring from 1 to 5 marks. 1-mark questions require a brief answer, while questions that award more need a longer, extended answer. If you can recognise these questions, you will be able to make the most of every second and secure the necessary marks for a top grade.
This also means that you want to be careful not to spend too much time on questions with few marks allocated to them. While you will want to invest more time in a 5 mark question.
This also means understanding the question itself. Have you heard of the phrase “command terms”? These terms tell you what an examiner is looking for in your answers.
For example, if the question asks ‘state’ or ‘name’, you need to give a one-word answer. Don’t waste your time writing information that is not directly related to the question. In contrast, if it is an ‘explain’ type of question (such are usually worth 5 marks), you must give a longer answer.
Before attempting to answer, you really need to read the WHOLE question. In this case, you will be able to identify the command term. If you’re still not quite sure what they are, look up in your Biology syllabus or course specification.
Wrap Your Head Around Key Biology Concepts
There is a lot to sink in when it comes to IGCSE Biology. Unless you have a photographic memory, just reading through books, notes or resources won’t get you far.
Instead of trying to memorise everything, try to understand the concepts that underline key biological processes. To do so, you can break each topic down into small pieces and highlight their key terms, concepts, or processes. When you truly understand something it ill stick in your mind much easier.
Start with the Hardest IGCSE Biology Topics First
We tend to spend more time working on the topics we like. It’s natural since we are often drawn to things that are simple and less challenging. However, your chances of getting a 9 in your IGCSE Biology exam become slimmer if you give your time only to the things you like. In fact, you should do the opposite.
Identify topics you struggle the most with and deal with them first. Perhaps, you dislike them because they are complicated, a lot of work, or you just don’t understand them. Well, these are your weaknesses, and your revision should focus on getting rid of them.
It may seem counterintuitive at first, but we can promise that this approach works.
Specific Advice for EFL (English as a foreign language) Learners
IGCSE Biology can be particularly hard for EFL learners. This is because the course presents students with a lot of additional vocabulary. Even more challenging is the fact Biology has many terms with very specific scientific meanings.
If there are words you find particularly challenging, orcan’t spell or use them correctly, try to find a way to memorise them. Use pictures, mnemonics, and other tricks to commit these complex words to your memory.
Find the Effective Learning Techniques that Work for You
Our brain struggles to hold large amounts of information coming in a limited time. For this reason, reading textbooks and trying to highlight the most important nuances is not as good as you think. A more beneficial tactic is to alternate passive and active learning techniques, which activate different parts of the brain.
For example, you can combine taking IGCSE Biology notes and reading. But not just notes in the form of continuous text, but rather something that is more visually impactful such as flow diagrams, tables, schematic representation of processes, mind maps, etc. Using these visuals, you can then put your memory to the test. Every now and then, try to recreate some of the visuals without looking at them.
Make Use of Spaced Repetition
Things you now hold in your head may not be there after a while. If you don’t regularly revisit them, they will simply fade away. Revisiting is what spaced repetition is all about.
After learning a topic, go over it again in a week or so. Then double the interval and repeat the topic again. Do this a few times while gradually increasing spacings. By the time of your exam, these topics are going to stick in your memory.
Solve Past Papers
Past exam papers are extremely useful to learn the types of questions you’re likely to get in your exam. This implies not only topics but also question formats (multi-choice, structured, short answer questions, etc.).
It is much easier to get ready for your assessment when you know what to expect. So, try to answer as many past papers as possible to train your recall. Ask your Biology tutor or teacher to give you more exam questions to practice.
Practising with papers has one more positive effect – it can improve your understanding of concepts. When you’re done answering a paper, consult your textbook to see what you got right and wrong. Then use the mark scheme to find out if you lost valuable points and where.
Take notes of the things you got wrong. Before attempting to solve another paper, go over your mistakes. After a while, you’ll notice that you get fewer and fewer wrong answers. This is how you can study IGCSE Biology with the most efficiency.
Study Together with a Friend
Working on past papers with a study buddy is more beneficial than doing it all alone. You can switch your works and mark each other’s answers. We tend to notice other people’s mistakes better than our own. Hence, a friend is able to more easily point out your weak areas. You, in turn, can do the same for them.
Apart from that, you may try to give an oral presentation to each other focusing on the things you and they struggle with. This way, you can have a listener for the concepts you’re confident in. Simultaneously, you will be able to get a different perspective on the things you’re unsure about.
What Resources to Use when Preparing for IGCSE Biology Exam?
It goes without saying that the more resources you use, the better. Clearly, your core IGCSE Biology textbook will be your foundation. But don’t just stop there. You need to mix different formats to create a well-rounded learning experience that caters to your learning style.
- At a minimum, you can supplement your textbook with concise revision guides (such as CGP Edexcel International GCSE Biology: Complete Revision and Practice). These guides offer summaries, practice questions, and exam tips for focused study.
- For visual learners, flashcards are an excellent tool to memorise key terms and definitions. You can use both ready-to-use flashcards courtesy of Anki, Quizlet, and similar apps, or create your own ones. In a similar way, you can try Biology quizzes.
- YouTube is another useful source of educational content. Channels like Mr Exham or Science with Hazel provide engaging video explanations of biological concepts.
- As we have already said, past papers can help you not only get familiar with the exam format but also test your knowledge.
- If your school uses a practical component, it is a good idea to use practical lab books to guide your experiments. At the same time, you can find many practical demonstrations online.
Get Help When You Need It
Don’t hesitate to get help when you need it. If something is not clear to you, your teacher should be able to explain. Therefore, don’t be afraid to raise your hand whenever you have questions. It is better to wrestle with a matter you don’t really understand while your teacher is teaching it to you. Take ownership of your learning!
However, if you have moved on without truly understanding a topic and now, during your revision, you feel truly lost, it may be time to call in the professionals.
Sometimes your Biology teacher might nothave much time to walk you through every topic or concept that eludes you. Luckily you have other options to try. Have you ever considered getting a Biology tutor? The best thing about hiring a tutor is that they can offer an individual approach to your needs. From explaining the trickiest concepts to checking your answers for past papers and even setting mock exams, there is so much a tutor can do to improve your biology knowledge.
Helping you ace your IGCSE Biology exam is what our mission is. At TutorsPlus, we are proud to have experienced and attentive tutors who led many high schoolers to success. Contact us at 022 731 8148 or info@tutorsplus.com and dramatically improve your academic results.
By Sara Lloyd
Sara has been an education consultant for TutorsPlus for 15 years, and is an expert on international IB education. She is also a parent of two lively children.
