I also went through Cliffs..but I skipped some accordingly because I know it was way too detailed.
Some main points to know about taxonomy.
Chordates:
Deuterostome Vs. Protostome - which phylum is which.
Acoelomate Vs. Coelomate - which phylum is which
Bilateral Vs. Radial symmetry - which phylum is which (be careful about Echinoderms, growing up bilaterally; radially as adults)
Chambered hearts of chordates - 2, 3, 4, which is which.
Plants:
Distinguish between....
Nonvascular Vs. Vascular
Seedless Vs. Seeded
Gymnosperms Vs. Angiosperms
Dicots Vs. Monocots
Protists - for protozoans, focus on characteristics of rhizopds (amoebas), paramecium. then some characteristics with algae.
I think other kingdoms are straightforward. Again, I recommend Alan's notes (that 18 pages of bio notes). Hands down the most helpful notes I ever found on this website.