Illustration: Vincent Kua Lunario |
They say that “firsts” are always the
happiest and most exciting— first love, first kiss, first year in college,
first baby, first salary; basically all other things you have tried or have gotten for the first time. But the questionnaire in BIO 30 begs to disagree.
We’re not here to say or create an
impression that every BIO 30 exam is something to fear about. However, it is
definitely something you have to prepare for, like any other exams you’ll take
in UP (Who says exams in UP are a piece of cake, by the way?).
From chromosomes to genotype to phenotype
to test and hybrid crosses, you’ve probably heard a lot from upperclassmen who survived BIO 30 already or from those fanboys and fangirls of the course taking it for the nth time that
the test is really a “test of patience” because it is quite long and difficult.
We do know by now, you are almost reaching
the finish line in reviewing the coverage for your first exam in Genetics. Yet
still, we would like to extend our hands to remind you of the things that you already know but tend
to forget and care less about due to the pressure you and your peers are
putting on yourselves. So, here are the five ordinary yet powerful tips on how
to pass and hopefully help you ace
the most-awaited and most-talked about Dr. Mendioro’s first BIO 30 examination:
Aside from the notes that you effortlessly
made as the slides fly in full speed during lecture, you can count on Lectures in Genetics manual for better
understanding of the lessons. Also, there might
be missing ‘chunks’ in your written notes, so it is better to keep your red book handy while reviewing— compensate for the unwritten ones and even for those
essential details which you might have overlooked by reading through the pages
of the one and only life saver manual. The red book will never let you
down!
Practice
makes perfect. That may appear too mainstream but those
who will seriously abide by that statement have nothing to lose. Try
solving the sample problems listed on the laboratory manual or those provided
in any Genetics book. You can also change the given
values or genotype of particular problems to make yourself familiar with the
ways or techniques in which a certain problem may be solved. Still, if you’re
feeling unsatisfied, consume the rest of your ATP by searching more problems online.
The most important thing is to stay composed. We always tend to
panic and rush things out during examination, resulting to bad penmanship and
messy shading of answers in the sheet. Take everything as if you’re breathing
in and out while chewing your favorite gum, if you have one. After all, you do
not want to get comments from your teacher like “???” on your paper once you
receive it back, do you? So, do away with the test jitters and nervousness! Calm
yo’ pens, men!
Girls, whether or not you feel like making a
scene by showing off your OOTD, please bear in
mind that wearing miniskirts or shorts is a no-no! Those who do not follow are
told to go out and change it right away. Swear to you, the exam will consume
one full hour (or more) of your life and you don’t want to waste half of it
changing your clothes.
Convince yourself that you have to do everything to
pass the exam and make it to the topnotchers list! Just as what Mario Novak once
said, “Mind is everything. Every thought you create manifests itself in the
real world. If you did not achieve something you strived for, you simply did
not believe in it enough.” But also
be reminded that having a good score doesn’t account for anything if you really
haven’t understood and learned the concepts well enough.
And there you
have it, BIO 30 peeps! We wish you the best of luck in the examination. May you
enjoy the rest of the semester studying the science of Genetics!
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