![\"ap](\"\/\/www.catharsisit.com\/hs\/files\/2016\/06\/citric_acid_cycle_noi-600x477.jpg\")
<\/p>\nback in high school, i was quite the nerd. though i wasn\u2019t the stereotypical math genius and\/or computer programmer type, i loved biology. it was the one science class where i actually did well. dissection days were always a treat, and at one point i could tell you all about the krebs cycle straight from memory.<\/p>\n
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photo by\u00a0 wadester16<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n <\/p>\n those days may be long gone, but for the future doctors and scientists out there, the ap biology exam is a big stepping stone between you and the m.d.\/ph.d. of your dreams. also, a high ap biology exam<\/a> score looks mighty nice on a college application.<\/p>\n as this article is long<\/strong>, here is a table of contents if you just want to learn something specific about the exam:<\/p>\n the ap biology exam is a three-hour exam that assesses you on a variety of skills and abilities learned in your ap biology course. below is a condensed version of the ap biology curriculum framework, which influences the 100+ learning objectives ap biology students should master over the course of an academic year:<\/p>\n that may not seem like a lot to know for the exam, but each of these bullet points represents a unit (or more) worth of information in your ap biology class.<\/p>\n in this section, i will break down the length of the ap biology exam, and offer suggestions on how to make sure you successfully finish each section of the test. first, a piece of recycled advice from my act articles: take multiple timed practice tests<\/strong> to become used to the exam’s format, content, and pacing. for students will a college board account, a full-length test is available for you to take. also, please remember<\/strong> that the test recently underwent a revision in the fall of 2015. any full-length practice tests dated before fall 2015 are no longer valid test prep tools.<\/p>\n section i: multiple choice\/grid-in (68 questions, 90 minutes, 50% of total exam score)<\/strong><\/p>\n first, take a look at my article on act time management<\/a>. the same basic rules apply to the ap biology exam\u2019s multiple choice section. you have roughly 1 minute and 20 seconds for each question. don\u2019t forget, though, answering these questions will take time<\/strong>, and the grid-in questions will have you performing some math, too. the clock can easily creep up on you in these situations, thus the value of becoming comfortable with the exam through practice tests.<\/p>\n break (10 minutes)<\/strong><\/p>\n break is an important time during any ap exam, and even if you\u2019re a seasoned ap veteran, don\u2019t waste it. visit the restroom and drink a little water. but most importantly, eat something! <\/strong>section ii of the biology exam will have you reading and writing, which takes a lot of brain power.<\/p>\n section ii: free response (8 questions, 90 minutes, 50% of total exam score) <\/strong><\/p>\n the free response section is split up into two parts: long free response (2 questions), and short free response (6 questions). both parts are worth 25% of your exam score. here is your time breakdown for these questions.<\/p>\n now, can you give a little more\/less time to the questions as long as you finish them all? sure. my point is that the goal of your practice tests<\/strong> should be comfortably finishing a long free response question in 20 minutes and a short free response question in 5 minutes. on test day, how you get the time to work out is completely up to you.<\/p>\n now that we\u2019ve talked about time management, let\u2019s talk about what to expect on the test.<\/p>\n even though the test\u2019s structure may be relatively new, multiple choice questions from previous years\u2019 ap biology exams are still a valid way to introduce students to this section\u2019s difficulty level. if your teacher knows what he or she is doing, you will see old exam questions on just about every one of your unit tests.<\/p>\n the multiple choice\/grid-in questions will test your biology knowledge in a variety of different ways. some questions will be straightforward, but very few, if any, will ask you any direct \u2018memorization\u2019 type questions. in fact, paring down this type of question was one of the main reasons for the ap biology exam\u2019s recent update.<\/p>\n instead of memorization questions, most questions on the multiple choice section will ask you to analyze a small set of information (passage, graph, chart, other graphic) and come to one or more conclusions about the data. some questions are stand-alone, while sometimes the exam will group 2-3 questions around one data set.<\/p>\n the five grid-in questions will come at the end of the multiple choice section. as you might expect, these questions are much more hands on, and require more steps to answer than the multiple choice questions that you have just completed. if you’ve had time management issues in the past, it might be worthwhile to try practicing the multiple choice section from end to beginning. doing these more challenging problems first could save you time later.<\/p>\n like many of the questions on the multiple choice section, to answer the free response questions, you will need to read and analyze data. that\u2019s why you have your 10-minute reading period. use it well; mark up your test and make comments in the margins. organizing your thoughts during this important time will save you later as the minutes begin to tick away.<\/p>\n unlike the ap english literature exam, the writing section on the ap biology exam doesn\u2019t ask you to produce different types of writing. for example, think back to your english classes. the difference between \u2018short answer\u2019 and \u2018essay\u2019 is more than just the number of words. essays have introductions, conclusions, and transition sentences. fortunately<\/strong>, you do not need to worry about these type of writing conventions on the ap biology free response section.<\/p>\n as you discover on the long free response, your \u2018long\u2019 answer is merely a series of shorter answers about the same data set. as each task is compartmentalized, you are less likely to leave out or miss important information in your replies.<\/p>\n but how much is enough? three sentences? a whole paragraph? in my time, i\u2019ve taught a lot of subjects, and no matter what type of writing you\u2019re doing, it all boils down to three steps (aka the jane schaffer method<\/a>):<\/p>\n in summary, every<\/strong> short free response question and every part<\/strong> of a long free response question requires a paragraph to answer fully.<\/p>\n as ap biology is a course designed for 12th<\/sup> grade students, after the exam is over, you\u2019re likely to get caught up with graduation and plans for the future. but never fear, i am here to remind you that…<\/p>\n the college board will release ap biology scores in early july.<\/strong><\/p>\n one thing to note is that most ultra-selective colleges only award credit for ap biology when the score is a 5. you may think this is a bit unfair, as a 4 on just about any one of the liberal arts ap exams will earn credit. but there is a reason most colleges will only accept a 5 in biology:<\/p>\n biology (and all science) is hard. really hard. <\/strong><\/p>\n yep, in the past many smart and talented students with a 4 just couldn\u2019t cut it in a second year biology class. for you 4s (or less) out there, don\u2019t let it discourage you. even if you think you\u2019re \u2018retaking\u2019 the course your freshman year of college, you\u2019ll soon discover that true college-level biology is a different beast altogether from what you saw in high school.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n
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how you\u2019re assessed on the exam<\/h2>\n
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successful time management<\/h2>\n
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test content: section i (multiple choice and grid-in)<\/h2>\n
test content: section ii (long free response and short free response)<\/h2>\n
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the end<\/h2>\n
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