The heart

Common errors:

  • Left and right reversed: remember, in a labelled diagram, the left side of the heart is on the right side of the page (as if you are looking at someone facing you)
  • Missing valves: the tricuspid and bicuspid valves are between atria and ventricles; semi-lunar valves are at the base of the aorta and pulmonary artery
  • Wrong vessel connections: the aorta connects to the left ventricle, the pulmonary artery to the right ventricle
  • Equal-thickness walls: the left ventricle wall must be drawn noticeably thicker than the right

The nephron

Common errors:

  • Bowman's capsule not cupping the glomerulus: the capsule must surround the ball of capillaries
  • Missing labels: loop of Henle, proximal convoluted tubule, distal convoluted tubule, collecting duct
  • Arrows showing wrong direction of flow: filtrate flows from Bowman's capsule through the tubule to the collecting duct

Leaf cross-section

Common errors:

  • Palisade and spongy mesophyll in wrong positions: palisade is on top (near upper epidermis), spongy is underneath
  • Stomata on the upper surface: most stomata are on the lower epidermis
  • Missing air spaces in spongy mesophyll: these are essential for gas exchange

General drawing rules

Single clear pencil lines. No shading. Proportions must be accurate. Label lines drawn with a ruler, horizontal, touching the structure. Title and magnification included.