5 Revision Tips for Biology: How To Remember Diagrams, Technical Terminology, and Biological Processes

Are your upcoming biology exams leaving you feeling more than a tad worried? If so, you’re not alone. Many students feel like their exams are the most challenging part of getting through school. To ease your worries, all you have to do is use these five revision tips as you study to easily remember diagrams, technical terminology, and biological processes.

Roll Out the Memory Tricks

Memory tricks make biology concepts sticky, allowing them to adhere to your mind through testing and beyond. Mnemonics, for example, take ordinary data and turn it into something your brain loves to remember. To do that, turn complex terminology into rhymes, outline biological processes with poems, or use acronyms to map out diagrams.

Don’t forget to help your brain focus on the info as you study by always going over your biology notes in the same spot each time. Whether at the library or your desk, studying in the same location tells your brain it’s time to focus on what’s ahead. Once you’re done studying, bring it all together by taking a quick nap, which will transport the info from your short-term memory to long-term storage.

Put Pen to Paper More Often Than Not

Taking notes on a laptop is all the rage these days, but you can do yourself a big favor by switching back to pen and paper. Simply jotting down the words by hand logs them as spatial details, making it easier to recall them visually.

Go one step further with this trick by drawing and labeling diagrams from memory. You can start with the makeup of a cell and then move on to more complex concepts, like the Krebs Cycle. Repeat this process as much as possible to log the key details about each concept in your long-term memory.

Review Flashcards Wherever You Go

Flashcards are a great way to memorize biology terms and processes, but you need to use them early and often to have the best results. To do that, just punch a hole in the corner of your flashcards and put them on a binder ring.

With your flashcards ready to go, you can whip them out whenever you find yourself with a free moment. You can efficiently study on the go as a result, improving your biology knowledge while waiting for coffee or enjoying a quiet moment in class.   

Teach Someone Else the Concepts

If you can effectively teach someone else about biology terminology, diagrams, and processes, acing the exam will be a cinch. The easiest way to do this is by joining study groups and taking turns instructing each other on the concepts.

But you don’t actually have to teach humans to enjoy the benefits of becoming an impromptu biology instructor. You can use a rubber ducky as a stand-in or even teach your cat all about biological processes and the like.

Review Homework, Quizzes, and Exams

Instructors rarely stray far from past homework, quizzes, and unit tests while creating each mid-term and final exam. Knowing that, you can get the inside scoop on what will show up on your next exam by reviewing your past work.

To make this approach even more effective, go through your past quizzes and exams and find the correct answers for anything you missed. Then, go through each question on the prior assignments to fill your head with endless knowledge about biology.

As you put these revision tips to work before each exam, studying will feel more productive than ever before. You will undoubtedly find it easier to remember your biology terminology and diagrams. Even remembering biological processes will become second nature for you. So, try one out—or give all five a go—to change your approach to studying and get great results.