In addition to knowing the content of the course, exam technique is crucial. TES has published an article written by the head of curriculum for science at exam board AQA to make sure you are prepared for the summer exams.
- Expect the Unexpected
This may sound cliché but 40 per cent of exam marks are awarded to application-based questions – which are questions where existing knowledge is applied to unfamiliar situations. To prepare for this, it is best to practice as many past papers as possible to gain an understanding in answering these unfamiliar situations.
Another aspect is to time your answers to practice papers and not to ‘dwell’ on a question for too long. It is better to answer all the questions you find ‘easy’ first to maximise your marks before addressing the challenging questions.
- Understand your GCSE Tier
You have the choice of either Foundation or Higher tier, although you have to take the same tier for all science subjects and cannot take some as Foundation and others as Higher. More information about Tiers can be found on the link here:
- Understand your Calculator
You should make sure to use the same make/model calculator as you will be using in the summer exam. You do not want to be unsure of the features of your calculator during the exam.
- Practice, Practice, Practice
There is no better way to prepare for the real exam than practicing as many papers as possible from your exam board. Even though exams are changing, you can still use the previous syllabus papers to help understand the style of question that will be asked.
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