QCE 2024: Ultimate guide to smashing the biology exam

More than 13,000 Year 12 students will sit their QCE biology exam papers next week. Here, a former student who received 100 per cent in last year’s paper shares her tips and tricks.

The QCE biology exam is on Monday November 4.

More than 13,000 Year 12 students will sit their QCE biology exam papers in less than a week.

We spoke to Kingaroy State High School 2023 Graduate and Distinguished Achiever Charlotte Landherr, who received 100 per cent on her biology paper last year, for tips on what you need to know going into the exam including how to study, what to study and what resources she found most helpful.

QCE Distinguished Achiever of 2023 and Kingaroy State High School Graduate Charlotte Landherr

What is your advice for students when sitting the exam?

“A lot of people can underestimate the multiple choice but it does add up to about 20 marks in total. So I wouldn’t underestimate it because that’s a good way to get marks and generally, a bit easier.

“Another thing I noticed in my exam was that people would tend to leave the exam early, once they finish. I would stay till the end and just check over everything, and I found that really helped me. Just to stay as long as you can, because you don’t know what you’ll find and what will come up.”

What biology resources were helpful for you?

“I watched a lot of YouTube videos. What I would do with that, is I would get the syllabus up, and then I would watch YouTube videos on each syllabus and dot point them. I found that to be really helpful. I also had some books which helped me. I had a Cambridge study guide, and also an Oxford study guide. For YouTube, Crash Course and the Amoeba Sisters are very good.

“Another thing that I found really helpful for biology was making mind maps of all the different topics and everything, and sort of trying to relate them together.”

How should students answer questions?

“I think the most important thing for biology is to is to really look at what the question is asking, because the way they mark biology exams is they have a very specific Marking Guide. You need to hit the specific points so be very specific about how you’re answering the questions in regards to what the question is actually asking.

“To help with that, really look at the cognitive verbs. QCAA has a dictionary of all their cognitive verbs.”

How did you navigate the topics?

“With the biology Year 12 syllabus, it does interconnect quite a bit as well, like, it’s all related. So I also find it helpful to study it all together as well and to form those connections between the different topics helps to strengthen your knowledge overall.”

What is your general advice for students when it comes to biology?

“I was quite nervous. But yeah, I just told myself I was prepared well. You just have to sit back and think, ‘I’m prepared for this. I’m capable of doing well, and whatever happens, I’m just going to do my best’. And I think it helped on the morning of the exam, just to sort of talk to your friends, not stress too much about studying, just try and get in a good head space for the exam.”