Revision Tips

Some top tips for past paper revision and actual exams

Ensure your basic skills are up to scratch, and you have methods that produce correct solutions every time:

Don’t leave any question blank - the papers last 1 hour and 30 minutes each (there are three papers in total), and students should attempt every question.
Don’t sit with your arms folded for half an hour when you have questions with no attempt at working in your booklet! What’s the worst that can happen if you try something?
Work at a steady and methodical speed, and ensure that you don’t make careless errors. 1 x 2 is never 3, though a large number of students (who should, and do, know better) write calculations like this.
Spend quality time checking your answers
In the calculator exam, use your calculator! Often students use non-calculator methods.

Read the question carefully. What topic are they testing? What do you know about that topic? Which bits can you apply to the question?

Often students answer questions they haven’t actually been asked, or miss important information in the question. Underline/highlight key words.
Check how they want the answer rounded.
Try to break longer questions down into manageable chunks. If it’s a five mark question, often you can get working marks for doing the basics.

Approach past papers and the exam with a subtle, yet profound, change in attitude.
Instead of approaching questions with an ‘I can’t do this’ attitude, try looking at questions as opportunities to demonstrate what you can do.

A positive growth mindset helps!