Using Cliff's AP Biology to study o.O

[ZzZzSleepyhead]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hey guys!
So I'm just diving into the bio portion of my studying and I'm not exactly sure how to start. I have cliffs AP Bio, KBB and Destroyer 09. Did you guys use these resources in any particular order? Also, should I be actively taking notes (seems impossible unless I want to rewrite the book), or just read over it again and again?
Thanks!

 

[orangutan777]

read your kaplan BB (to get warmed up) and then read the apcliff's book. only rewrite things if that helps you retain information (or if youre having trouble remembering something). after you read apcliffs once or twice, go over the destroyer to see what concepts you still have to understand. i would then keep rereading the cliffs book

 

[nze82]

Hey guys!
So I'm just diving into the bio portion of my studying and I'm not exactly sure how to start. I have cliffs AP Bio, KBB and Destroyer 09. Did you guys use these resources in any particular order? Also, should I be actively taking notes (seems impossible unless I want to rewrite the book), or just read over it again and again?
Thanks!

Start with Cliffs, supplement that with KAPLAN, and use destroyer to evaluate your knowledge.
I wouldn't spend too much time taking notes. What I did was that I made notes in the margins as I read through the text.

 

[ZzZzSleepyhead]

Ah thanks for the suggestions guys! How many times did you guys read over Cliffs bio/KBB and do destroyer(bio section) before your test? I'm trying to gauge how long this will take me b/c I haven't started prepping for QR/RC :/.

 

[orangutan777]

as many times as you need so that you are familiar with all the material in those books. my experience was a little different. i only used kaplan bb bio section for endocrinology. I used shaums bio outlines for most of my bio studying and only got cliffs a week before my test (i read over it 3 or 4 times since it's a pretty easy read) i regret not using cliffs first and then just using shaums for extra info

as for worrying about the qr/rc, you should go over a little bit of all the subjects each day so that everything feels somewhat fresh you in your mind (rather than just focusing on bio for now and then focusing on qr/rc later). i hope some of that helped! lol

 

[Kneecoal]

yeah i wouldn't waste my time reading kaplan except for the like the above poster said with endocrinology - there's relatively very litte in cliff's on that. otherwise you'll get more out of cliff's and save a lot of time by not going through kaplan. i'd say go through cliff's twice, really know what's in there regarding cell respiration, biodiversity, and the animal form and function chapters too. that's your priority. if you have time, try to get through as much as you can in destroyer and take notes on the computer of what you didn't know - i learned a lot that way. good luck!

edit: also, i don't know exactly how you're prepping - you said you haven't started doing QR or RC yet - if you're doing everything section by section, consider doing a little bit of each at the same time - it keeps everything fresher!

 

[Philippines03j]

I dont know anyones opinion on this but for me unless i KNOW the information it is difficult for me to answer detailed questions. I just scheduled time out for the next week to memorize Cliffs AP Biology. I have finished four chapters in two days. I hope I can keep the pase up for a week. I wake up check SDN and then write everything out on a white board without my notes. If i struggle a little bit in an area I review it quickly and hope to get it the next because eventually I will. Then I spend the next 4 hours memorizing the next two chapters. After thats memorized I will work on destroyer and a bunch of practice questions/ review physiology,cell biology and other class notes. Thats what I am doing because thats how I perform best. Some can just read and be fine others of us cant.

Should only take about 7-8 days and this willl allow you to bring the book into the test with you! So if you wake up and start by 8 you should be done by 12,1 or 2 depending on how fast you memorize and still have time to study the other subjects.

 

[DrTootle]

I say scan through Kaplan BB to get an idea about what it has and doesn't have.

Then go through Cliffs really well.

Then go back through Kaplan.

Repeat that about 100 times!

 

[Valigator00]

Hey guys!
So I'm just diving into the bio portion of my studying and I'm not exactly sure how to start. I have cliffs AP Bio, KBB and Destroyer 09. Did you guys use these resources in any particular order? Also, should I be actively taking notes (seems impossible unless I want to rewrite the book), or just read over it again and again?
Thanks!

Read through everything once. Write down what you don't know. Study only the stuff that you do not know.

 

[Sugafoot79]

would you guys recommend doing the practice test at the end of the book(cliffs ap)? its about 120 review questions... is it worth doing? or is destroyer enough?

 

[ZzZzSleepyhead]

Sweet, thanks for the great advice everyone. Everything is helpful to me so feel free to post your own experiences as well. Anyone else have methods that worked well for them that haven't been mentioned?

I think I will skip KBB and just jump straight to cliffs first, then maybe go back later and browse through (Except endocrinology, seems like you guys think KBB rocks for that).

Philippines03j, that's a really cool method. I think I'm gunna do that but slightly differently.

 

[Philippines03j]

Sweet, thanks for the great advice everyone. Everything is helpful to me so feel free to post your own experiences as well. Anyone else have methods that worked well for them that haven't been mentioned?

I think I will skip KBB and just jump straight to cliffs first, then maybe go back later and browse through (Except endocrinology, seems like you guys think KBB rocks for that).

Philippines03j, that's a really cool method. I think I'm gunna do that but slightly differently.

I am curious what you are going to do different. It might be better than what I am doing. Let me know!

 

[pinetar321]

sleepy, a highlighter is your very best friend when it comes to CliffsNotes. Mark anything you weren't sure of and go over it later. Also, their illustrations are pretty good when it comes to stuff like the Krebs Cycle, etc