The Mock Exam Playbook
Written by tutors who sat these exams recently and got top grades. What actually earns marks, a four-week revision plan, and how parents can help without adding pressure.
Read the command word first
Examiners mark against what the question asks for. Answering "describe" when it says "explain" can cap you at half marks, even if everything you wrote is correct.
| Command word | What it means | What to write |
|---|---|---|
| State / Give | A short fact | One word or line. Don't over-explain. |
| Describe | Say what happens | Trends, features, steps. Quote data if given. |
| Explain | Say why it happens | Use "because…", "this leads to…", "therefore…". |
| Evaluate | Weigh it up and judge | Both sides, "it depends on…", then a clear conclusion. |
| Compare | Similarities and differences | Link the two in each sentence ("whereas…"). |
| Calculate | Work out a number | Equation, substitution, answer, units. Method marks count even if the answer is wrong. |
The four-week countdown
Start a month out and the final week becomes about fixing a few patterns, not cramming everything.
- 4 weeks out
List every topic and rate it
Red, amber or green for each topic on the specification. Spend two-thirds of your time on red and amber.
- 3 weeks out
Switch from notes to questions
Re-reading feels productive but doesn't stick. Try "blurting": write everything you remember about a topic in 5 minutes, then fill the gaps in a different colour.
- 2 weeks out
Do full past papers, timed
Mark them with the official mark scheme from your exam board's website. Note the type of mark you lose: timing, command words, or content.
- Final week
Fix the patterns, not everything
Go back over the mistakes you keep repeating. Sleep counts as revision; late-night cramming before a paper usually costs more than it gains.
- In the exam
Marks per minute
Roughly a minute per mark. If a 2-mark question has taken 5 minutes, move on and come back to it.
One tip per subject
The single habit each of our tutors would fix first in their subject.
Maths
Mohammad A, Gemma W & Scarlet BCheck the units and the accuracy asked for (e.g. "to 2 significant figures"). Easy marks are lost there.
GCSE Maths tutoring →English
Frankie BFind the contradiction in the text, then dig into it. That's what lifts a good answer to a top-band one.
GCSE English tutoring →Biology
Mohammad A & Gemma WNever write "it". Name the thing: "the rate of photosynthesis increases", not "it increases".
Biology tutoring →Chemistry
Mohammad A & Gemma WLearn key definitions word for word (isotope, relative atomic mass, catalyst). Mark schemes look for the exact phrases.
Chemistry tutoring →Physics
Mohammad AWrite the equation, substitute the values with units, then rearrange. The method earns most of the marks, even if the final answer slips.
GCSE Physics tutoring →Spanish & German
Frankie B & Gemma WEnsure you have tenses, opinions and complex structures in your writing. Examiners reward variety.
Spanish · German →Latin
Jonah HLearn vocab with English cousins first: aqua → aquarium, porta → portal, mors → mortal.
GCSE Latin tutoring →Geography
Scarlet BLearn three specific facts or figures for every case study. Without them, 9-markers stay mid-band.
Geography tutoring →Business
Eleanor HPoint, explain, then apply it to the case study. Generic answers cap at half marks.
Business tutoring →Psychology
Eleanor HFor each key study, memorise one strength and one weakness. That's your evaluation ready-made.
Psychology tutoring →Politics
Jonah HBack every point with a real, recent example, then judge it: "this shows… but…". Description without evaluation caps your mark.
A-Level Politics tutoring →How to help, no nagging required
- Ask "what did you get wrong?" rather than "have you revised?". It gets a real conversation going.
- Help them test themselves. Reading out flashcards for ten minutes helps more than supervising an hour of note-copying.
- Treat mocks as a diagnosis. A disappointing mock grade tells you what to fix, with months still to go before the real exams.
- Protect sleep and breaks. A tired student retains far less.
- Get support early. A tutor is most useful straight after mocks, while there is still time to change the result.
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Always check the specification and past papers from your own exam board (AQA, Edexcel, OCR, WJEC/Eduqas).
Subjects: Maths · English · Spanish · German · Latin · Geography · Business · Psychology · Politics · Sciences · More free resources