GCSE Maths exam guide.

Timing strategy

• Budget about 1 minute per mark on AQA and Edexcel (90 minutes for 80 marks), leaving roughly 10 minutes to check. On OCR it's closer to 50 seconds per mark.
• Questions get harder through the paper. Bank the early marks quickly and accurately — they're worth the same as the hard ones at the end.
• Use the two-minute rule. If you've made no progress on a question in two minutes, write down any first step, mark it with a star and move on.
• Do a second pass for starred questions. They often look easier after a break.
• Final 10 minutes: check units, rounding, and that you've answered every part.

Showing working

• Method marks are where most marks live. A wrong answer with correct working can still earn most of the marks; a wrong answer with no working earns none.
• Write every step, one line at a time. Examiners can't award marks for working done in your head or on your calculator.
• "Show that" questions: the answer is given, so all the marks are for the steps. Write the final line in full to match the answer.
• Keep full calculator values. Write down the unrounded answer before rounding, so the examiner can see your accuracy.
• Label what you're finding ("Area of triangle = …"), especially in multi-step problems. It helps you and the examiner.
• Don't cross out working unless you've replaced it with something better. Crossed-out work isn't marked.

Calculator use

• Check degrees mode (a small "D" on the display) before every calculator paper.
• Use brackets generously, especially with fractions, negatives and powers. Type (−3)² not −3².
• Use the fraction button and the S⇔D key to switch between fractions and decimals.
• Use the ANS and memory functions to avoid retyping and rounding mid-calculation.
• Learn the key functions: powers and roots, standard form (×10ˣ), sin/cos/tan and their inverses, and the table function for plotting graphs.
• Sense-check every answer. Estimate first so a typing slip stands out.
• Non-calculator paper: practise written methods for long multiplication, division, fractions and percentages until they're automatic.

Revision checklist

• Number: fractions, decimals, percentages, indices, surds (Higher), standard form, bounds
• Algebra: expanding, factorising, solving equations, simultaneous equations, inequalities, sequences
• Algebra (Higher): quadratic formula, completing the square, functions, algebraic proof, iteration
• Graphs: straight lines (y = mx + c), quadratics, gradients and areas under graphs (Higher)
• Ratio, proportion and rates: direct and inverse proportion, compound measures, growth and decay
• Geometry: angles, area and volume, Pythagoras, trigonometry, transformations, constructions
• Geometry (Higher): circle theorems, sine and cosine rules, vectors, similar shapes
• Probability: tree diagrams, Venn diagrams, conditional probability
• Statistics: averages, charts, scatter graphs, cumulative frequency and histograms (Higher)
• Formula sheet: check which formulae are provided for your exam year and learn the rest
• At least six full, timed past papers, including two non-calculator
• Mistakes log reviewed weekly

Your ticks are saved on this device only.