How to use a past paper properly, and mark it like an examiner

1. Sit it like the real thing

Close your notes, set a timer for the real exam length and write your answers in full. Stopping to look things up hides the gaps you are trying to find.

2. Mark it honestly with the scheme

Use a different colour pen. Give a mark only when your answer makes the point the scheme asks for, not when it is close. A scheme usually gives one mark per distinct, correct point, so a long answer with three right points earns three marks.

3. Sort every lost mark into a cause

• Knowledge gap: you did not know it.
• Too few points: you knew the topic but did not write enough separate points.
• Misread question: you answered a different question to the one asked.
• Time: you ran out before finishing.

Worked example

A 60-mark paper. You score 38, which is 38 / 60 = 63%. Section A gives 22 / 30 and Section B gives 16 / 30. You lost 22 marks. Sorting them gives 9 from knowledge gaps, 8 from too few points and 5 from running out of time.

That tells you what to do next. The 9 knowledge-gap marks need topic revision. The 8 marks lost to too few points need a habit change: aim for the number of points equal to the marks available. The 5 marks lost to time mean you should plan long answers in two minutes and set a time limit per question. Section B, where you lost 14 marks, is the first place to look.

4. Fix, then re-test

Write one line next to each lost mark saying what you will do differently. Revise those topics, then redo the weakest questions three days later without looking at your first answers. If your mark on those questions goes up, the fix worked.