Learning to Answer Questions (1 Viewer)

[proletariat]

Hey guys do you guys have any tips on answering questions?

Like, when I write responses I spend agessss on one question and I might get the marks, but where I write 5 lines someone else writes 3.

 

[ilikebeeef]

Hey guys do you guys have any tips on answering questions?

Like, when I write responses I spend agessss on one question and I might get the marks, but where I write 5 lines someone else writes 3.

Be more succinct and only give what is asked of you.

 

[sinophile]

Be more succinct and only give what is asked of you.

I disagree. This would be a good idea in other subjects, where you are under stress for time, something which is not the case in biology. In addition, you will find that the last few marks for a large question are often awarded for added details not explicitly specified in the question (if you look at the marking criteria you will know what i mean).

What I recommend instead is 'the scattergun method'. Answer the question directly in the first few lines, then if you have time, go out and add more detail to them.

If you're at the band six level, you'll easily finish the test with two hours to spare. Take the liberty to pad out your answers. Yes, it is INCREDIBLY ASSHOLISH to do this, but they will not deduct marks for extra information, they will only do so if you contradict yourself or say something incorrect.

(spoilers: i did three pages of writing for the last question in the exam. the examiner must want to kill me :| )

 

[fullonoob]

I disagree. This would be a good idea in other subjects, where you are under stress for time, something which is not the case in biology. In addition, you will find that the last few marks for a large question are often awarded for added details not explicitly specified in the question (if you look at the marking criteria you will know what i mean).

What I recommend instead is 'the scattergun method'. Answer the question directly in the first few lines, then if you have time, go out and add more detail to them.

If you're at the band six level, you'll easily finish the test with two hours to spare. Take the liberty to pad out your answers. Yes, it is INCREDIBLY ASSHOLISH to do this, but they will not deduct marks for extra information, they will only do so if you contradict yourself or say something incorrect.

(spoilers: i did three pages of writing for the last question in the exam. the examiner must want to kill me :| )

2hrs to spare for the exam? O_O
meaning you practically finish it within an hr or so
What i tend to do is look at how many pages there are first and the time limit which restricts the amount of info. If i believe i can finish it in time with excess info, i'd go for it, but if it seems too long i'd go for succint and straightforward.
In biology, the questions don't really require long answers but the markers accept your resposne as long as you identify and describe what they want.
Carrying on abt something irrelevant will perhaps just waste space, and even worse, time.

 

[study-freak]

I disagree. This would be a good idea in other subjects, where you are under stress for time, something which is not the case in biology. In addition, you will find that the last few marks for a large question are often awarded for added details not explicitly specified in the question (if you look at the marking criteria you will know what i mean).

What I recommend instead is 'the scattergun method'. Answer the question directly in the first few lines, then if you have time, go out and add more detail to them.

If you're at the band six level, you'll easily finish the test with two hours to spare. Take the liberty to pad out your answers. Yes, it is INCREDIBLY ASSHOLISH to do this, but they will not deduct marks for extra information, they will only do so if you contradict yourself or say something incorrect.

(spoilers: i did three pages of writing for the last question in the exam. the examiner must want to kill me :| )

+1 to the scattergun method

But I strongly disagree with the underlined part. I didn't do Biology but I usually finish HSC exams with 0-30 minutes left for both Phys and Chem. I'm surely at the band 6 level in both.
But then, bio may be more straight forward... I don't know since I haven't done it lol

lol, 3 pgs is quite a lot, but sounds like my Phys astrophysics, haha. Although mine was like 2 pages and a bit more, I think.

 

[ilikebeeef]

I disagree. This would be a good idea in other subjects, where you are under stress for time, something which is not the case in biology. In addition, you will find that the last few marks for a large question are often awarded for added details not explicitly specified in the question (if you look at the marking criteria you will know what i mean).

What I recommend instead is 'the scattergun method'. Answer the question directly in the first few lines, then if you have time, go out and add more detail to them.

If you're at the band six level, you'll easily finish the test with two hours to spare. Take the liberty to pad out your answers. Yes, it is INCREDIBLY ASSHOLISH to do this, but they will not deduct marks for extra information, they will only do so if you contradict yourself or say something incorrect.

(spoilers: i did three pages of writing for the last question in the exam. the examiner must want to kill me :| )

I was suggesting OP to be more succinct because his post suggested that he writes too much for his own liking. Maybe he doesn't want to be "INCREDIBLY ASSHOLISH"? xD

And if a student knows their stuff well enough, they shouldn't need to add stuff which doesn't answer the question - they should already know what does and what does not. It would simply be a waste of time doing something that doesn't give you marks, it is better to check over your answers and see if you're missing anything.

HOWEVER, scattergun method imo would be good for extended responses in Science, where you'll probably be expected to write more per mark given.

And study-freak, bio is less straightforward than chem/phys in my opinion.

 

[sinophile]

I was suggesting OP to be more succinct because his post suggested that he writes too much for his own liking. Maybe he doesn't want to be "INCREDIBLY ASSHOLISH"? xD

And if a student knows their stuff well enough, they shouldn't need to add stuff which doesn't answer the question - they should already know what does and what does not. It would simply be a waste of time doing something that doesn't give you marks, it is better to check over your answers and see if you're missing anything.

HOWEVER, scattergun method imo would be good for extended responses in Science, where you'll probably be expected to write more per mark given.

And study-freak, bio is less straightforward than chem/phys in my opinion.

This discussion has been had before, you can read it here somewhere in the mid to latter section of the topic:
http://community.boredofstudies.org/16/biology/196160/writing-notes.html

Both parties agreed that the scattergun method is incredibly assholish. However, DP (who happened to get 100 uai) said that you can't afford to lose marks by being succinct. The otehr perosn, Katie Tully, preferred to spend her spare test time thikning of how to best write a succinct answer.

Let me reassure you that if you're of Band 6 level (about top 3-2%) its within your capability to finish the test in an hour.

 

[ilikebeeef]

This discussion has been had before, you can read it here somewhere in the mid to latter section of the topic:
http://community.boredofstudies.org/16/biology/196160/writing-notes.html

Both parties agreed that the scattergun method is incredibly assholish. However, DP (who happened to get 100 uai) said that you can't afford to lose marks by being succinct. The otehr perosn, Katie Tully, preferred to spend her spare test time thikning of how to best write a succinct answer.

Let me reassure you that if you're of Band 6 level (about top 3-2%) its within your capability to finish the test in an hour.

Woops, I forgot about this thread lol.

My bad communication. I meant that you should be succinct enough to answer the questions properly in your first "go" at the paper, BUT if you have time after you finish, THEN it would be advisable to add more content (because why not utilise your time effectively, rather than twiddling your thumbs for the remainder of the exam).

EDIT: This doesn't sound like the Scattergun method, does it?

EDIT: Wait, yes it kind of does ^_^

 

[bio_nut]

No, I agree, finished the exam easily and then padded out answers and gave extra info within an hour, and got a band 6.

 

[sinophile]

+1 to the scattergun method

But I strongly disagree with the underlined part. I didn't do Biology but I usually finish HSC exams with 0-30 minutes left for both Phys and Chem. I'm surely at the band 6 level in both.
But then, bio may be more straight forward... I don't know since I haven't done it lol

lol, 3 pgs is quite a lot, but sounds like my Phys astrophysics, haha. Although mine was like 2 pages and a bit more, I think.

Biology is mainly braindumping all your knowledge. Thats why its possible to finsih the exam in an hour. I dont consider myself a genius and ive done it- many of my freinds have done the same too.

Not everyone can do it though..

 

[DInfinity]

Underline the key verbs, know what they are asking, and stick to that if you feel as if you write too much.

Personally, I like having one hour+ left over to pad out my answer in case the bare minimum I had before doesn't get me the full marks, or to check over the entire exam. Usually, the number of lines provided indicates how much they expect, but nobody is going to mark you solely on how many lines you write (or don't write).

 

[Jayson89]

+1 again to Mr. scattergun

Trick is being able to give the perfect-seeming succinct answer, but also have little extras here amd there, becuz sometimes the marking guidelines can ask for stuff u wouln't think of.

Write more if you have to, and ask xtra booklets, but don't overkill it.
Overkill is many pages for a 4 marker. At that point, probability of saying something that's incorrect + general pissing off the marker outweighsd any benefits