So you have a huge end-of-the-year comprehensive biology test coming up, and since you’ve been cramming every chapter test since the beginning of this year, you don’t remember anything. What do you do? Where do you even start? To begin, you should realize that for a huge subject such as biology, cramming all the details just isn’t going to work. There are way too many intricate details to be able to memorize each and every one from all the chapters. And before you think about cramming again for this final, consider this: most science majors require at least a year of biology in college, and a good chunk of the information is overlap from what you learned in high school. Therefore, the better a foundation you set for yourself now, the more it’s going to pay off not only now in high school, but in college, and maybe for the rest of your future as well.

To begin, break down biology into manageable chunks of information. Don’t just rush through reading every chapter and then realize you’ve already forgotten everything, but break it down by paragraphs and really try to visualize what’s going on. Carefully analyze the diagrams, draw your own pictures, watch (relevant) youtube videos, etc. There are lots of excellent visual resources online that can make understanding the material much easier, and they’re free! After visualizing the information, you’ll find it a lot easier to memorize, and then it’s just about reviewing the information consistently to reinforce what you’ve learn, while slowly adding more details to your knowledge.

Another great way to study biology is to review the information with your friends. Choose a topic, and popcorn each other to begin describing everything you know about the topic. Everyone always focuses on different aspects, and you’ll be able to take notes on what points you forgot to pay attention to.

Remember: there’s something in biology for everyone! Whether or not you love or hate science, biology plays a very relevant part to our everyday lives. Whether you want to learn the most effective way to work out, want to learn what to do to eat healthy and stay fit, or just how to prevent breakouts, biology will teach you the basics of how the human body works and allow you to make educated decisions to improve your health!