Edexcel SNAB Biology AS LEVEL
Visit / Issue Report Guidance
The visit / issue report…

must be a word-processed report taking an analytical and critical look at a biological
problem and how it is being solved;

It need not be related to what your studying in Year 12, but must be related to either a
visit made or an issue researched;

must be all your own work - all reports will be checked by your teacher so if reports
are seen to be too similar you will have to start again;

should refer clearly to biological methods and processes, have a clear structure
(using headings, sub-headings and visuals), and be written using technical
vocabulary where appropriate;

must not be just a descriptive essay - ideas and opinions must be expressed and the report must contain supportive visuals (photographs, diagrams, charts,
graphs, etc.) properly referenced in the text.

should contain personal comment and / or explore controversial areas;

will invariably be better if there is clear discussion of pros / cons hazards / benefits,
advantages / disadvantages, positives / negatives, etc., as this will give better access
to higher levels in the assessment criteria.
Checklist
Check your report carefully against the assessment criteria in the tables that follow before
submitting your report.
You might also find it useful to mark your own work against the Assessment Criteria given in
a second set of tables at the end.
1. Describe the biological methods and processes used in a chosen area of
Biology in the context of a problem or question identified during a visit made
or issue researched.
Have you clearly Identified and described a question or problem in an area of
Biology relevant to the visit made or issue researched? (4 marks)

The question or problem you are writing about must be CLEARLY stated or
identifiable in the introduction to your report.
o
2 marks for clearly stating the question or problem Biologists are trying to
solve; 1 mark if not.
o
2 further marks for a full description; only 1 if it’s too brief.
Have you described the biological methods and processes involved in producing
data or solutions to the above? (4 marks)

Your description must be relevant, thorough and detailed…
o
2 marks for a good description of the identified biological methods and
processes. Don’t forget that they must be fully explained in terms of the
science involved. 1 mark for less well described material.
o
2 further marks if you also provide supportive data or specific examples
that illustrate how the biological methods or processes described can
provide (or have already provided) data or solutions relevant to the question
or problem. 1 mark for data or examples that just skim the surface.
Have you explained how the biological methods or processes described are
appropriate in terms of producing both valid and reliable data, and effective
solutions to the identified question or problem? (4 marks)

Your explanation must include critical opinion backed by evidence…
o
2 marks for a full explanation of why the identified biological methods and
processes are actually appropriate to the solution, only 1 if it’s too brief.
o
2 further marks if you add a discussion that includes valid and relevant
quantitative data (graphs, tables, photographs or diagrams) to support the
explanation. 1 mark for a less detailed discussion.
Hints:
Look up the meaning of “valid” and “reliable” data in SNAB Skills Support.
If you use “I” or “we” it will be assumed you are giving personal opinion.
This is more likely to be interpreted by the marker as “discussion”. Make
sure the discussion is yours and not taken directly from your source
material – this will be checked.
2. Identify applications and implications of the Biology encountered within the context
of the visit made or issue researched.
Have you identified, considered and thoroughly explained at least TWO implications of the
biological applications encountered? (Maximum 4 marks)

Carefully describe how the biological methods and processes you’ve researched are, or
could be, applied in real life – now and / or in the future.

The implications considered can be ethical, social, economic or environmental – choose
at least two out of the four.

The biological applications and their implications must be described in such a way that it is
very clear you understand the Biology of what you’ve written. Higher marks will be
available if you discuss the implications thoroughly (see the previous hint). You’ll get
lower marks if your discussion is pure description, too brief, not very clearly explained, or
a rehash of someone else’s ideas.
Have you evaluated the benefits and risks to humans, other organisms and the
environment (as appropriate), of the implications of the identified biological applications.
(Maximum 4 marks)

For example, you might be using information from one scientific group giving their view of
the benefits and risks of the biological application you’re examining - you could simply
believe it to be true, but it would be much better to check it out by comparing its
information with that from other similar groups. This is not difficult using “Google”, let alone
direct conversations, telephone calls, e-mails, or a well crafted questionnaire that you
could send to the groups concerned.

Remember that you can’t trust everything you read! If one source says one thing,
check another two to see if they agree or not. If they do, say why; if they don’t, evaluate
their arguments to decide which is the most reliable. This must not just be a passing
reference.

Higher marks will only be available if you consider both sides:
o
pros / cons, hazards / benefits, advantages / disadvantages,
positives / negatives, etc.,
Have you discussed some alternative views or solutions to the present or future
implications of the Biology encountered? (Maximum 4 marks)

You must consider TWO alternative solutions, worth a maximum of 2 marks each.
Detail must be given – a simple description of or reference to an idea will only get low
marks. You’ll get better marks for adding informed speculation, especially if it uses
properly referenced source material to provide evidence. Top marks will be awarded for a
full discussion, personal speculation, evidence from source material and a reasoned
argument as to the further implications of the alternative views or solutions.
VERY IMPORTANT!
The three components of this section must flow seamlessly in terms of content.
For example, if you have discussed a ethical problem you must evaluate the benefits and risks
associated with specifically that problem, not another, and follow it up with a look at two
alternative solutions that might help to avoid that problem.
The same goes for your second (and possibly, third) social, economic or environmental choices.
3. Use information or arguments obtained from three or more sources (including at least
one web-based and one non web-based) when researching the visit made or issue
researched.
Have you used the Internet, books, journals, magazines, professional literature, personal
correspondence, etc. to inform your report and clearly identified any quotes from those
sources? (Maximum 4 marks)

You must provide information from three or more sources to compare viewpoints, ideas,
methods, etc.

At least one of these must be sourced from the Internet, and at least one from books,
journals, personal correspondence with a researcher, etc.

Top marks will only be available if it is absolutely clear that you are using the information
from your chosen sources within the discussion, not just quoting it in isolation.

ALL sources must be acknowledged in the text and identified clearly (see below).
Have you provided information about the source, author and date of THREE or more
references used in your report, and linked those references to the appropriate text within
your report? (Maximum 4 marks)

You must provide a properly constructed bibliography of ALL sources at the end of your
report. See SNAB coursework support for information on how to present this in the
appropriate style. The minimum requirement is:
o
Source – full publication information, or webpage title and URL. Please note that
URL of the specific webpage containing the source material must be given, not
just the generic homepage.
o
Author(s)
o
Date of publication or, for internet sources, date of access

You should link information obtained from sources and used in the text of your report to the
bibliography using reference marks (usually superscripted numbers at the end of sentences
– MS Word can do this automatically for you).

IMPORTANT: Do not specify Wikipedia as a source. Use Wikipedia if you must but look
at the end of the article for the original sources, look them up, and quote them only.
Have you evaluated at least TWO references used in the report? (Maximum 4 marks)

You must have used your sources selectively and commented on their relative reliability.
o
Don’t quote a source just for the sake of quoting a source – you must have USED the
information.
o
Reliability of information can be judged by how often the same information is given
by independent sources (the more the better!), or the recognised reputation of the
source. NOTE: information repeated verbatim by different sources does not make it
reliable!
o
1 mark is available for any informed comment being made about the validity of each
of two sources. The other 2 marks are available if you back up your comments with
some research giving the evidence itself AND your own opinion.
4. Communicate clearly, concisely and logically with appropriate use of visuals.
Have you ensured your spelling, punctuation and grammar are correct?
(2 marks)

Use a spelling and grammar checker!
Have you included appropriate scientific / technical terms, and used visual material
appropriately? (2 marks)

If you don’t understand the meaning of terms used don’t assume your audience will –
explain them if required. Biological terminology and technical language must be used
appropriately.

As in examinations, terms that can be abbreviated must be fully written out on first use
with the appropriate abbreviation in brackets, but may then be used in abbreviated form
only later in the report, e.g. Cystic Fibrosis (CF), but from then on just as CF.

Have you used helpful headings, sub-headings, and organised your report
carefully so it flows from one thing to another in an easily followed sequence?

Have you included appropriate visuals?
o
Your visual material must have been referred to in your text, not just used as
attractive space-fillers. Without this, you gain no credit.
FINALLY…
Is your presentation logical, concise and, above all, interesting?

Put simply – does it flow seamlessly from one thing to another so that the reader is
almost forced to read on to the end? Or as one examiner put it - is it a “good read”?
Is your report between 1800 and 2000 words?

This includes the text attached to any diagrams, figures, graphs and tables but
excludes the bibliography and numbers.

Caution: if you’re too low, it’s almost impossible for it to be worth good marks!
Examiner’s Assessment criteria for the Visit / Issue report
The MARKSCHEME
Assessment Criteria
Describe the
biological methods
and processes used
in a chosen area of
Biology in the context
of a problem or
question identified
during a visit made or
issue researched.
Level of Response
Identify and describe a question or problem in an area of
Biology relevant to a visit made or issue researched
0-4
Describe the biological methods and processes involved in
producing data or solutions to problems or questions relevant
to a visit made or issue researched.
5-8
Explain how the methods and processes used in the chosen
area of Biology are appropriate in terms of producing both
valid and reliable data and effective solutions to address the
problem or question identified.
9-12
Identify two implications (ethical, social, economic or
environmental) of the applied Biology encountered within the
context of the visit
0-4
Identify applications
and implications of the
Evaluate benefits and risk to humans, other organisms and
biology encountered
within the context of
the environment (as appropriate) of the identified implications
the visit made or issue of the applied Biology being studied.
researched.
Discuss alternative views or solutions for implications of the
Biology encountered within the context of the visit
Use information or
arguments obtained
from three or more
sources (including at
least one web-based
and one non webbased) when
researching the visit
made or issue.
Communicate clearly,
concisely and logically
with appropriate use
of visuals.
Mark
Range
5-8
9-12
Use information or arguments obtained from three or more
sources (including at least one web-based and one non webbased) when researching the visit or issue. Clearly identify
any quotes from sources.
0-4
Provide information about the source, author and date of
three or more references used in the visit or issue report.
Link references to the appropriate text in the report.
5-8
Evaluate at least two references used in the report.
9-12
Spelling, punctuation and grammar are largely correct,
presentation is mostly clear and logical, and there is some
use of technical language. The report is word processed.
This is the max. mark for reports exceeding 2000 words.
0-1
Spelling, punctuation and grammar are correct and the
presentation logical and concise. Good use of technical
language. Visuals are present, but not referred to in text.
2-3
The organisation and layout of the report is well planned and
enhanced by carefully selected graphs, tables, diags or
photos, which are referred to in the text. Sub-headings of
graphs, tables and diagrams are appropriate and helpful.
4-5
Mark