Recommendations to Teachers and Students

It is recommended that teachers

• regard the ‘Biology Syllabus’ and ‘Guidelines for Teachers’ as the primary sources of what is to be studied and the appropriate depth of treatment that applies to the various topics. These documents, together with the document ‘Laboratory Handbook for Teachers’, are available on the website of The Department of Education and Skills at
• note that all topics in the syllabus not specifically designated as topics to be studied by Higher level candidates only are integral parts of the syllabus for Ordinary level candidates and will continue to be examined at Ordinary level www.education.ie •

provide opportunities to students to cover all topics in appropriate depth, including those topics specifically designated as Higher level material

• advise students to follow all instructions in questions, particularly instructions which require them to copy diagrams or tables from the question paper into an answer book
• advise students to learn and to explain compound terms in full
• provide opportunities for students to appreciate and learn the difference between the names of disorders and the symptoms of the disorder
• provide opportunities for students to appreciate and learn the difference between anatomical adaptations and adaptive techniques of organisms
• provide opportunities for students to become familiar with and learn the terminology that is used in the biology syllabus and teacher guidelines
• advise students not to rely on any key word or form of such word included in a term when defining or explaining the meaning of the term. For example, if the word abiotic is to be defined or explained, then do not rely on the word ‘abiotic’ in your answer
• provide appropriate opportunities to students to carry out all mandatory practical activities in field and laboratory and explain the reasons behind the various steps in each activity
• help their students to combat any tendency to respond to questions that have not been asked and to practise the careful reading of questions in order to ascertain and give priority in their responses to the information or analysis actually sought.
• advise their students of the value of taking due time and care to read and evaluate questions in order to choose the best ones to attempt, based on each student’s strengths

• advise their students to know the different meanings of similar-sounding or similarly spelled terms, to work on accuracy in such cases, and to pay attention to this issue during their coverage of the syllabus and when preparing for examination
• give appropriate time and emphasis in class to the ‘Contemporary Issues and Technology’ sections of the syllabus.

It is recommended that students

• use past examination papers for practice
• follow instructions in questions carefully
• practise drawing large, tidy, accurate diagrams and labelling their parts clearly
• learn to explain compound terms in full
• learn to define terms without relying on key words from the term
• appreciate and learn the difference between the names of disorders and the symptoms of the disorder
• appreciate and learn the difference between anatomical adaptations and adaptive techniques of organisms
• become familiar with and learn the terminology that is used in the biology syllabus and teacher guidelines
• practise the careful reading of questions in order to make sure that the questions being answered are the ones that were actually asked
• learn the different meanings of similar-sounding or similarly spelled terms and work on accurate explanation of these terms.