1.7 External examination

1.7

External examination

KEY IDEAS

There is no external examination for this course, but your teacher may set their own formative examination to assess how much you know about the content you learn in this course. Should you progress to the Units 3 and 4 Biology course, you will be assessed by an external end-of-year external examination, which contributes to 50% of the study score. Therefore, examination it is important to practise answering exam questions throughout this course. an external test that assesses your knowledge of a subject Exam techniques It is important to use every minute of your time in the examination room. Using reading time • First, scan the examination paper to check that all the pages are there and determine the kinds of questions so that you can start to plan your writing time. • Multiple-choice questions are normally designed to take approximately 1 minute each. So if there are 40 questions in this section, aim to spend approximately 40 minutes on the multiple-choice questions. • When reading through the short-answer questions, check the mark allocation to get an idea of the time you should spend, which is approximately 1 minute per mark. Read each question carefully and assess the question to consider the key knowledge and/or key science skills that are being assessed. • Make a mental note of questions that may be more difficult, may take more time to complete or may need further reflection. It is recommended that you complete those questions last to give you more time to consider the responses and possibly more time to write the responses if you have been able to finish the other questions more quickly. Strategies for writing time • Read each short-answer question three times. On the first read, try to understand the overall view of the question, and on the second read, try to find the key information. Do the third read after you have written your answer to make sure that you have included everything that is needed. • Highlight or underline the key words within the question and reflect on those while writing your response or selecting the correct answer. • For the short-answer questions, consider the concept being addressed and the key scientific terminology you may need to include in your answer. • Make sure you format your responses as dot points, where each dot point represents a piece of information. It can also be helpful to underline the scientific terminology in your response, to demonstrate clear understanding. Do not repeat the stem of the question in your response.

In this topic, you will learn that: ✚ reading time should be used carefully in an examination ✚ there are different strategies for writing time in an examination ✚ revision strategies can help you to prepare for assessments. DRAFT ONLY - NOT FOR SALE

• Keep track of the time to make sure you are keeping to the plan you set during reading time. If you get stuck on a question, circle it and come back to it later.

Different types of questions

Multiple-choice questions may emphasise a definition or may require you to analyse and interpret data. • Only one option is completely correct and the other options may be distractors; therefore, you should read all of the options before selecting the best response. • If unsure, cross out the options you know are definitely incorrect. This improves your chance of selecting the correct answer. • Never leave a multiple-choice question unanswered, because you have a 25% chance of selecting the correct response, even if you guess. Marks are not deducted for an incorrect response.

Short-answer questions will most likely be one of the following: name, describe/draw, explain how, explain why, media response or experimental design. • ‘Name’, ‘state’, ‘list’ and ‘what is?’ questions would be worth 1 mark. Your response should be brief, concise and clear. • The marks allocated for ‘describe’ and ‘draw’ questions reflect how much detail is required and how much time to spend on the response. If you are asked to draw, you can use a pencil but make sure the drawing is clear and labelled. Do not shade or include irrelevant detail in your drawing. • ‘Explain how’, ‘outline how’ and ‘state the way’ questions are generally worth 2 or more marks. If the question asks for an outline of a process, think about the step-by-step stages of the process. Make sure you use dot points to formulate your response. You can also respond with a labelled diagram. Consider the key terminology you should include in your response before writing it. • ‘Explain why’ and ‘justify’ questions require you to apply key content knowledge and are generally cause-and-effect questions. These questions generally require a higher level of thinking and more detail in the response. • ‘Compare’, ‘contrast’ and ‘what are the differences/similarities between’ questions require you to compare concepts or key terms. It is a good idea to draw a line down the centre of the space allocated for the response. On one side of the line, describe one term or concept, and on the other side make the comparison with the other term or concept. • Media response questions assess the application of content as well as analytical and literacy skills. Be clear with your response – many students get off track and go on tangents. • Experimental design questions assess your understanding of experimental processes. If the question asks you to design an experiment, it is a good idea to answer with a flow chart as shown in Figure 1.

Short-answer questions may also ask you to ‘refer to results’ or ‘use data’. Make sure your response uses quantitative or qualitative data from the results provided in the question. These results may be in a table or a graph or within an article.

multiple-choice question

an examination question that requires you to select the most appropriate option from four possible alternatives short-answer question an examination question that requires a written response DRAFT ONLY - NOT FOR SALE

Classify experimental group and sample size (if feasible, approx. 100)

Group (approx. 50) with independent variable

Revision strategies

The key to revising is to start early, which requires organisational and time management skills. Making a study timetable and setting goals are two strategies that can assist with those skills. Each individual learner will have a preferred method of revision. Here are some strategies to consider. • Use the pomodoro technique where you revise in manageable time chunks such as 20 minutes. Set a goal and work on that task for a set time (20 minutes) and then at the end of that time period stop for a short 5-minute break. Start the timer again and begin on a new task after the break. After several sessions, take a longer break. Using this method can maximise efficiency and productivity because it breaks up the learning into manageable sections. • Have a study group with peers who are also studying biology. Make sure the group members are those who will motivate you during study sessions.

Group (approx. 50) without independent variable (control group) Describe the dependent variable Expected results for group with independent variable

Expected results for group without independent variable FIGURE 1 A flow chart for planning your experimental design question in the external examination. It is worth including at least two variables that are controlled. DRAFT ONLY - NOT FOR SALE FIGURE 2 The pomodoro technique is a time-management technique that involves breaking time into manageable chunks.

• Complete a set of practice questions. You may wish to do these under open book or exam-style conditions. Time yourself completing questions to get an idea of time allocation and the pace you should be working at or towards. • Produce a mind map or concept map to overview a concept, Area of Study or unit. This technique will help you to make connections, identify big ideas and visualise concepts. • Translate a concept or key idea into a flow chart or diagram. Work space Each student will have a space at home where they complete schoolwork and revise. There are important things to consider to make this space an efficient study environment. Where possible, the environment should be silent (or at least quiet) with adequate light and ventilation. The table should be large enough for all of your resources, and you should have a supportive chair. When completing work or revising, it is important to minimise distractions and one of the biggest distractions is a mobile phone. If you know your device distracts you, turn it off, put it on aeroplane mode or leave it in another room.

mind map

a graphical way to represent key ideas and relationships between concepts

Study tip

Check out your local and school libraries for suitable quiet spaces where you can study, because you might find you are more productive in this space than at home.

Describe and explain

1 Identify the percentage of the external examination that contributes to the study score for VCE Biology. 2 Explain how you could determine the amount of time you should spend on each question. 3 Explain the pomodoro study technique.

Apply, analyse and compare 4 Explain why a productive workspace is important. 5 Analyse revision techniques and strategies you currently use. Identify two things you might do differently and explain why. CHECK YOUR LEARNING 1.7 FIGURE 3 Focus study groups can be a great way to share your questions and listen to different explanations of key concepts.DRAFT ONLY - NOT FOR SALE

Design and discuss

6 Discuss important considerations when answering short-answer questions.