How to study Biology for NEET

Hello future docs! Let’s talk about the ‘easiest’ and the highest-scoring subject in NEET which is Biology.

Although most students would agree that biology is the simplest subject in NEET they still complain that they are unable to score 360/360 in biology. So, I have discussed the strategy for biology that has been used by NEET toppers and have also included a few memorization tips for you in this blog.

Let’s start

Where to study from:

This has a very straightforward answer: NCERTs. It is very very clear from the trends that questions are taken directly and only from the NCERTs. 

Reading any resource for information except for the NCERTs is a waste of time. 

You can read up some books to make sure you understand the concepts better in conceptual topics like ‘Genetics’ and ‘Biotechnology’ but you need not remember any material except for the NCERTs. 

How to read the NCERT? 

Firstly, make it a habit to read EVERYTHING given in the NCERTS. 

Tables? Yes. 

Diagrams? Yes. 

Scientists? Yes.

Description under tables and images? Also yes. 

Basically, any word written in the NCERT is a possible 4 mark question in your NEET exam, you don’t want to take a risk.

So, even though data from chapters like ‘ecology’ does not appear in the NEET exams a lot, it is advisable to memorize even the data from the latest NCERT editions. Biology marks are marks that you can not afford to lose out on. You need to be smart about it. 

How to study Biology? 

Now that we have decided on the material that you are going to use, let’s see how you are going to use it. Out of all the three subjects, biology is the easiest to understand, and thus requires the least time. Yes, you heard that right. Even though Biology has the highest number of questions in the NEET exam, you should not give it as much time as physics or chemistry. This is the number one mistake that you can make. 

So how are you going to manage biology in a minimum amount of time? You will either attend classes or watch lectures on YouTube. 

Watching it once is enough for most chapters. Because, even though you feel like you did not understand the chapter, you don’t have to watch the entire lecture series again and again. There is honestly not much to understand in biology.

Once you are done with the lectures, you should read the book. When you first read the NCERTs, underline the important words, examples, and dates with a pencil. Then, throughout the week, you can read it again and again and highlight it according to the three color rule. Click here to understand what I mean by the three color rule. 

You must have the habit of reading the book again and again. Biology can only be understood and remembered by repetition. 

What after 3-4 reads? 

We know that however determined we try to be, it gets boring to read the exact same material again and again. So, what we used to do was, after 3-4 reads, we shifted to solving line-by-line questions based on the NCERTS. 

This helped us break the monotony/boredom of reading the same thing again and again but also helped us get an idea of how much we actually remember from what we have read. 

Some question modules and books that we recommend are NEET Prep question bank, NEET current pattern biology and PW NCERT Punch Biology. 

These question books are very good and will give you an understanding of the sections that you have not understood very well. How are you going to learn these weak sections then? 

By preparing your own question banks and revision sheets. 

You will note down all the lines that you do not remember on a sheet of paper. This sheet will then be used for quick revision once every two weeks or once every month. 

Understand how to revise your revision sheets without having to spend extra time. 

Questions banks will be made after attempting mock tests. Every question that you have gotten wrong even after repeated revision and new types of questions that you find difficult will be noted down in this book. This is the book that you will use for revision before every mock test and the final NEET exam. 

By using revision sheets and question banks you will keep in touch with the NCERT content and also make sure that you are working on your weaknesses. 

Do not forget

Biology is the easiest subject and should be treated as the easiest subject and given the least time. 

As per your weekly strategy, we recommend getting done with biology as early in the week as possible and then revising it multiple times within the week. As I said, ‘Biology is all about revision and repetition’

Try to avoid long biology sessions, and focus the energy on physics and chemistry instead. 

You can always watch a quick one-shot video of the chapter if you feel like you do not remember it at all, but do not waste a lot of time on watching the entire lecture series again and again.

The last tip: check the PYQs and use memory aids.

I know the anxiety of being unsure. We tend to deviate from the NCERTs because of thoughts like ‘what if they ask questions from outside the NCERT.’ 

The only way you can be sure about this and avoid wasting your time is by referring to the PYQs. Solve the PYQs for each chapter to get an orientation of the difficulty level. It helps to become laser focused on the NCERTs and also gives you the confidence that you need to perform well in NEET. 

You should also use mnemonics to remember examples from chapters. A good source of mnemonics is Vipin Sharma sir, his mnemonics helped me a lot.

Conclusion.

All in all, biology is the only subject where getting a perfect score is so easy. You cannot afford to lose marks in this subject. So keep your strategy clear and keep revising biology till the day of the NEET paper. 

Remember, in the end, it is all about consistency and repetition. 

All the best, dear aspirant.