AQA A2 biology: writing the synoptic essay
Writing the Synoptic Essay, the first ever book handing you everything you need in order to gain the maximum marks in this most challenging part of the AQA Biology A-Level exam. Comes complete with 20 sample essays, an account of what's expected, advice on choosing the right essay. How to plan and organise your essay. What to do if you get stuck and help on getting your essay timing right.
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How to answer A-level Biology essay questions
The Synoptic essay questions in paper 3 of the AQA A-level biology course carries 25 marks, so can make a big difference to your overall grade. The essay encourages you to think across different topics (some call this “synoptic” or “holistic” thinking). This is also valuable for other areas of the exams, particularly the application questions .
Here are a few tips for tackling your A-level biology essay: (As an example, Let’s use the title “The importance of movement in cells and tissues”)
Think broadly…
Essay titles are deliberately vague to give you the chance to show your knowledge in a variety of topics. To help you to choose what’s most relevant, look out for subjective words like “movement” and “cells”. Think of the possible alternatives. “Cells”, for example, hints that you could discuss plants, animals, single-celled organisms etc. in your essay. “Movement” could mean short distances (across a membrane) or much further (circulation or mass flow) or even the whole tissue moving (phototropism).
Visualize and catastrophize!
If you can’t think of enough topics for an “importance” essay, flip the question around – what would happen if movement in cells suddenly ground to a halt? Or if ATP suddenly vanished, or our cells were robbed of their ions? Sometimes catastrophizing in this way frees up thoughts, and helps you see what is really important. Another way is to picture every diagram in your notes or textbook that features the thing-that’s-important-in-the-question. If it’s in a diagram, it could go in your essay.
Pick your strongest topics
It’s possible to drop marks on the essay for scientific errors. With that in mind, even if you have lots of ideas for things to include, always pick the topics you can write confidently about. For bonus marks, try to order them in a way that “flows” like a story. Take care to use A-level (and not GCSE) language too.
Keep an eye on the question
While you’re writing, keep asking yourself “Where am I placing the emphasis?”. If the essay is about movement, perhaps you don’t need a whole page about nervous responses, only the bits where movement is involved – sodium ions flowing through channels, waves of depolarisation etc. Movement is the focus of the essay, after all, not neurons. Always ask yourself “Does this sentence fit with the title of the essay?”
Use outside knowledge
The top marks for the essay are reserved for displaying “evidence of reading beyond specification requirements”. Often you can drop recent scientific research or news into your writing – how vaccines tackle COVID might work in an essay about viruses, for example. I often encourage students to have a quick look at the news pages of New Scientist pages (eg https://www.newscientist.com/subject/health/ ) before paper 3 for inspiration – you don’t need to spend ages doing this, just long enough to have one or two ideas up your sleeve…
Good luck with your essay!
If you’d like to work through some example essay questions, please get in touch with me at Woolton Tutors (or Woolton Biology) and we can set up some online biology tutoring sessions.
Best wishes,
Dr John Ankers
Specialist online A-level biology tutor
www.wooltontutors.co.uk
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AQA Synoptic Essay (Paper 3)
Subject: Biology
Age range: 16+
Resource type: Other
Last updated
21 May 2019
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An introduction to the synoptic essay on paper 3 of the AQA Biology A-level. Lesson includes the following…
- choose topics relevant to the essay title
- understand the mark scheme and why essays are awarded each band of marks.
- Explore ways in which we can link topics to the main theme of the question ie the importance of (this is what students find hardest to do and what they need to be able to do gain the top 2 bands of marks)
I designed this ppt to introduce essays to my year 12s at the end of the AS course. Topics relevant to the essay titles from year 13 could certainly be added if you were using this year 13 students.
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A bit short for a fiver....it's one 15 slide PPT. The description of how marks are awarded is pretty much the same as the AQA resources and, of course, it's limited to the Y12 content (as you describe) but it means that a full discussion of 'the importance of.....' part of the question is rther threadbare.
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Biology is detailed and comprehensive A-level content, uses appropriate terminology, and is very well written and always clearly explained. No significant errors or irrelevant material. For top marks in the band, the answer shows evidence of reading beyond specification requirements. 16-20. Relational.
This document contains the essay titles and mark schemes used in AQA A-level Biology examinations since 2007. The specifications these exam questions came from are no longer in use, but the marking method has largely remained unchanged. Further guidance on the marking method used with the essay can be found in Paper 3 Essay marking guidance.
AQA - Biology Unit 5 The Essay: 2 Marking the essay Scientific content Is the essay Good (12 marks) ... required at A-level content If the essay has been classed as good, add 2 marks if there is one tick in the box, or 4 marks if there are two or more ticks. Breadth ... Heart disease is one example. Another cause of disease is genetics. Some ...
The levels scheme states that more than two A-level topics need to be addressed to get higher than 10 marks. A minimum of four topics is required to get higher than 15 marks. A topic area is a numbered sub-section in the specification. For example, for the 2017 'diffusion' essay, gas exchange (3.3.2) was a topic area.
I have been working with some tutees to improve their approach to the AQA Paper 3 Extended Essay - so here are a few tips, and all of the essay titles (and markschemes) since 2007. A Few Points Raised By The Exam Boards Feedback. The essay is designed to assess whether you can bring together material from a range of topics to illustrate and ...
The importance of shapes fitting together in cells and organisms. 1) Enzyme properties and digestion. 2) Protein structure. 3) Plasma membrane structure and cell transport. 4) Antigens, antibodies, B cells & T cells. 5) Vaccines. 6) Structure of DNA. 7) DNA Replication (not PCR) 8) Transcription & translation.
This essay has described some of these roles learned during the a -level study and has ... [email protected] 0800 040 7901 4 AQA A2 Biology : Writing the synoptic essay ESSAY 02: DNA AND THE TRANSMISSION OF INFORMATION Deoxyribonucleic acid, DNA, carries the genetic code for all living organisms on this ... So for example, if GCA ...
Learn how to write the 25 mark essay on the AQA A-level paper 3. I fully explain the mark scheme, how to analyse the titles, how to structure your paragraph...
4 AQA A2 Biology: Writing the synoptic essay. ESSAY 02: DNA AND THE TRANSMISSION OF INFORMATION. Deoxyribonucleic acid, DNA, carries the genetic code for all living organisms on this planet. It is variation in the information it carries in form of genes and alleles that produces the wide diversity of life, and the variations within and between ...
Remember that an essay is worth 25 marks out of maybe 78. In candidates overall AQA Biology A-level exam score it is often the part that shows the most variation. However as well as information for the essay, reading the sample essays will also help with covering synoptic information from year 1 studies.
Resource type: Assessment and revision. File previews. docx, 23.74 KB. This guide is for A-Level Biology students in Year 13 doing the AQA spec. It contains advice for the essay at the end of Paper 3 along with four example essays. It's useful for understanding how to write your own essay.
AQA A2 biology: writing the synoptic essay. Writing the Synoptic Essay, the first ever book handing you everything you need in order to gain the maximum marks in this most challenging part of the AQA Biology A-Level exam. Comes complete with 20 sample essays, an account of what's expected, advice on choosing the right essay.
The Synoptic essay questions in paper 3 of the AQA A-level biology course carries 25 marks, so can make a big difference to your overall grade. The essay encourages you to think across different topics (some call this "synoptic" or "holistic" thinking). This is also valuable for other areas of the exams, particularly the application.
I want to help you achieve the grades you (and I) know you are capable of; these grades are the stepping stone to your future. Even if you don't want to stud...
Focusing on the essay performance on the 7402 biology specification only, we can see how the 2017-2019 essays have performed in isolation in Figure 2. The 7402 essay has shown performance that skews slightly to the higher end of the mark scale, which is understandable given the mean mark sits just above 50%.
Every student reviews essay number 5 and then use the comments from the PowerPoint to match the examiners comments, and give the essay a mark using the marking guidelines (in 'The Essay' handout). However, the second essay is different (essay no. 1 or no. 8) and I tend to give out alternate essays to students sat next to one another.
Holistic Synoptic, drawing from different topics (usually sections of the specification) A fully integrated answer which makes clear links between several different topics and the theme of the question. All topics relate to the title and theme of the essay; for example, explaining the biological importance of a process.
20 AQA A2 Biology: Writing the synoptic essay ESSAY 10: CARBON DIOXIDE IN ORGANISMS AND ECOSYSTEMS An ecosystem comprises all the interactions between the biotic (living) and abiotic (non- living) features in a given area at a given time.
The AQA Biology essay may fill you with dread, but that's why I am going to make it easier and boost your confidence. In this video, I talk you through two ...
Synoptic Essay Practice: AQA A-Level Biology. This document contains a list of previous titles found in AQA's paper three for A-Level Biology which are intended to be used as revision/practice. To ensure quality for our reviews, only customers who have downloaded this resource can review it. Report this resource to let us know if it violates ...
AQA A-level Biology: Synoptic essay plans. Cycles. Click the card to flip 👆. 1. Water cycle + Phosphate cycle. *ADP + Pi = ATP. 2. Krebs cycle. *Decarboxylation.
A marked A* example of an AQA A-level Biology essay in paper 3, containing 4 paragraphs and a mind-map essay plan on the importance of membranes in living organisms. This essay is synoptic, detailed, coherent and links back to the question, which scored 20+ marks.
Age range: 16+. Resource type: Other. File previews. pptx, 451.3 KB. An introduction to the synoptic essay on paper 3 of the AQA Biology A-level. Lesson includes the following…. choose topics relevant to the essay title. understand the mark scheme and why essays are awarded each band of marks. Explore ways in which we can link topics to the ...