Hey! I totally understand what it's like to be upset with bio sac marks (I'm in year 11 and bio is my 3/4). I don't know my exact rank but I think I'm around the top 10-20 in a selective school, and I started the year off being terrified of bio.
Here are tips which have worked for me and helped me improve:
1. When you get your past sacs back, check where and why you've lost those marks. Is it because you didn't cover enough content in a specific topic? Did you miss a key word? Did you confuse certain terms? Did you write too much and put a wrong answer somewhere there? Compile an Excel sheet/ word doc with why you've lost these marks
2. Feedback. Go to your teacher and ask them how to improve. Luckily, I've been blessed with a teacher who goes through every answer for each sac and gives tips for everyone. Here are my tips I've compiled in the past six months for myself that I review before every sac:
"Don’t add extra if you are not asked for it. If any of it is incorrect then you lose marks regardless if everything else is incorrect
READ THE QUESTION PROPERLY U IDIOT
- mast cells release histamine
- vasodilation/ increased permeability
- migration of phagocytes
cytokine: signals immune cells
allergic reaction: mention allergen binds to IgE mast cell degranulate
When talking about restriction enzymes cutting a target gene and a plasmid, always say they are cut by the SAME RESTRICTION ENZYME"
3. Practice questions and check the answers. Spam practice questions and please mark them after you've finished. If you lose marks go back and check where you've lost the marks. Treat each question like you would in a sac.
4. Use all the resources you can find, and have a structure. I find and compile all the resources I can find, and then I create a proper to do list that I use for all my sacs. My method is: textbook questions, biozone, teacher's resources, tutor's resources, and more until online resources
5. Timetable. If you are finding it difficult to manage your time between 1/2 and 3/4, I suggest making a timetable or just writing down a to-do list everyday. This helps a LOT and my friends who have adopted this have seen a significantly improved mark
6. Participate in class discussions. I enjoy talking about random biology theories I think of with my teacher and hearing her offer her inputs.
7. Apply theory to real life. Biology is a beautiful subject because everything you learn can be applied to real life. We are literally living in a pandemic, which you can apply U4 AOS 2 to. Evolution can be applied to your favourite food, or those birds in the sky.
8. Like brothanathan has said, the AN VCE Biology Question Thread is always here to help
I hope these tips help and I don't sound too pretentious. I'm literally so terrified for the evolution sac ahaha