5 Effective Ways of Memorising Markschemes
Take advantage of our corrupt education system where regurgitating information is prioritised over learning! Memorising markschemes from past papers is honestly one of the best ways to revise. It seems boring and straightforward but not only does it help loads considering you have similar questions in exams every year, but you learn what the examiner looks for in your answers. I’ve found that the exams I got 100% in were always the ones where I memorised the markschemes.
1.) Remembering a list of things - pairing/association.
Let’s say you need to remember a markscheme where you were asked about stem cells. This is what it looks like:
You can remember all of them pretty easily, and not forgetting any, by associating them with each other:
Undifferentiated + Retained capacity to divide
Use in medical research + in treatment of Leukaemia
Totipotent + Produce cell cultures
Tissue repair + form organs
Notice how they’re all kind of related to each other? Also knowing there are four main pairs you need will prevent you more from forgetting single points.
2.) Making up silly stories
Okay, let’s use this markscheme on how samples of DNA are used in crime scenes as an example:
Basically just create a story (I usually like to use mean girls) using each point of the markscheme - the important terminology is bolded. For example:
a. This crazy bitch called Regina George is suspected of having snuck into Aaron Samuel’s, the victim’s, house. Cady suspected her so a DNA sample of a blonde hair was taken from the crime scene (Aaron’s room)
b. Cady, being all forensic now, goes to a lab and uses PCR to increase the amount of DNA because one piece of hair is, like, nothing.
c. She uses restriction enzymes to cut the DNA. No one can RESTRICT her from doing this!!! SHe’s gonna CUT this bitch!!
d/e. Apparently Cady now needs to use “Gel electrophoresis”?? . She’s confused as to what the hell that is so she googles it. Apparently it seperate the DNA fragments according to size. A bit like how Gel can separate hair and make different sized hair do’s with it?
f. This Gel electrophoresis creates a unique pattern of bands! They’re very pretty. She loves the unique pattern of bands created by Gel electrophoresis!!
g. She compares them with the pattern bands she got from hair she found on Regina’s hairbrush when she came over two nights ago.
h. IT’S REGINA OMG THE CRIMINAL WAS IDENTIFIED
i. Unlike Regina’s psychological state, the DNA is quite stable
Okay that was such a stupid story, but visualising the events in your head can basically make it much easier to memorise lots of facts/processes!
3.) If you’re a visual person, make visual representations of what you’re trying to remember
Have one picture representing each step/point you’re trying to make. For example, take this markscheme on the process of In-vitro fertilisation:
Here is a photo of a small drawing thing I did (excuse the quality, I used my webcam) for each step, and underneath I’ve labelled each one:
1. Drugs are used to stop the menstrual cycle
2. FSH is injected into many follicles to develop
4. Semen sample collected
5. Healthy sperm is selected
6. Through method of ICSI, sperm is injected into the egg
7. Semen is mixed with the egg in a dish
8. Embryo develops in an incubator at 37 degrees C
9. Embroys are examined, healthiest is chosen
10. Embryo is injected into the Uterus
11. 1, 2, 3 or 4 embroys are implanted
12. Pregnancy test to see if process was successful
The trick here is not just to draw it and memorise the drawing straight away, but to try and explain the whole process by just looking at the drawing. Once you’ve done that a few times, you’ll see that it may be easier to remember it without even seeing the drawing as you may have visualised it automatically. Again, drawing little stupid things that get you to remember works really well :)
tangentwithtanner
jacobvanloon
andulkaphoto
2087
pixelskylines
origamiaround
