Find solution
How do you study biology?

How do I study biology?

  • I'm not good at studying for biology in college because there is sooooo much that you have to read and study that it's killing me. My teacher doesn't tell us where our ...show more

  • Answer:

    Lower division college-level courses assume you've learned the basics, the foundation of each of the subjects, before coming to college. College is based on a three level system: the book, the notes and the lectures. The notes and lectures are used to explain what you've read in the book and they also let you know what the important topics are so you know what to go back and study for exams. If you haven't read the textbook, then you aren't prepared to understand the lectures and the notes because, for you, they don't refer back to anything ...and you're going to be missing a lot of the details. When I was in college (and also majoring in science - Biology, genetics) and ended up in a class with an obtuse textbook, I went to the bookstores of local community colleges and other 4 year schools and looked for a book I could read and understand better. Does using another book matter? Not really. All college-levels texts present the same things but often in different ways. And unlike high school textbooks, college-level texts teach the same items in the same order because all college biology is set up in a biochemistry, cell biology, the biology of organisms and the biology of groups of organisms order. And, yes, buying another text can be expensive, even if you can find a used copy. I know because i was on scholarship and work-study and, in grad school, a teaching assistantship and loans. You also really need some study skills help. You also don't seem prepared for college-level reading and comprehension. If your college has a counseling department, go see someone about improving your assumptions about college along with your reading and study skills. In college, teachers aren't going to guide you too much because you're older, experienced students. It's expected that you know you should do the reading and know how to study for and take tests. All is not lost. If your Biology test is coming up soon, get some biology review books. The books used to review for the Biology advanced exam of the SATs are excellent summaries of the important points. My favorites for college-level biology review are published for the Biology advanced exam of the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). The first link lists the subjects covered in the Biology GRE advanced exam. There's also a practice test you can download. The second link is a review eBook. https://www.ets.org/gre/subject/about/content/biology http://www.grebio.com/index_biology.html Most bookstores have SAT biology exam review and practice books. http://sat.collegeboard.org/practice/sat-subject-test-preparation/biology-em Google for materials you might understand better. If your teacher has office hours, go visit her and talk to her about how you're doing in class. The biggest mistake most students make is not taking advantage of a professor's office hours.

4RS7BEPHUIE5B54T3R3MXANIFY at Yahoo! Answers Visit the source

Was this solution helpful to you?

Other answers

I suggest you read about a topic online in an abridged version from say, wikipedia or some other source that simplifies it. When you have done it, you would have learnt the core part of the topic. When you read thru those 70 ppt slides, you would be breezing thru the stuff that you already know and will be picking up some new stuff that you probably didn't already know, which can be added to your knowledge base. Combine the ideas and prepare your own notes. I do that for difficult topics.

Kadhambari

In my opinion, biology is a lot of memorising. My exams consisted of 22 chapters plus minus, but maybe that's because it wasn't that high level academics yet. However, if you don't want to just memorise, you have to understand the topics. If the PowerPoint slides aren't working out, you have to read your textbook. There's nothing much you can do about it. Have you tried asking your teacher about the questions? Are there any scripts that you can source for information for past papers? Are there any seniors who can help you? Furthermore, it will be a good thing if you could find the time to read up everything and make notes, then draw out a mindmap for each topic. They really help. All the best to you!! :)

Kaye

What's your exam board? If you go onto www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize you can find the Biology topics specific to that exam board. Each topic is split into sections that mostly contain some revision notes, an interactive activity and quick test to make sure you have understood everything. If you're not convinced that it's helpful. I was previosuly an E grade student in Biology, and in about a month I had boosted my grade to a B. Hope this helps :)

Joe

Related Q & A:

Just Added Q & A:

Find solution

For every problem there is a solution! Proved by Solucija.

  • Got an issue and looking for advice?

  • Ask Solucija to search every corner of the Web for help.

  • Get workable solutions and helpful tips in a moment.

Just ask Solucija about an issue you face and immediately get a list of ready solutions, answers and tips from other Internet users. We always provide the most suitable and complete answer to your question at the top, along with a few good alternatives below.