Past Papers: The backbone of exam preperation
Why should you do them?
Get you used to the way questions are asked. It’s really important to understand what is being asked in exams or you can find that you know the information but are going down the wrong path.
Gets you used to how answers are marked. When marking you may find that certain words are needed for marks and see the best way to phrase things.
Get used to exam condition. This is really important if you have long papers and lots of writing to do in the exam. You need to know that you can pay attention or write a lot in that period of time.
Help you be more confident before the exam. It can be nerve wracking to have no idea what the exam is going to be like or how to deal with what is in it. Doing past papers helps deal with that.
Brings the syllabus together. It’s one thing to be able to regurgitate the facts you learnt but it’s another thing to be able to apply it. Past papers questions help give you the opportunity to think critically about what you have learnt, unify concepts and maybe understand it better.
Tips to get the most out of past papers
Time yourself. It is one thing to be able to answer all of the questions but remember that the exams are times and you need to be able to work with that. Remember to factor in going through your work into your time as you may not be as careful doing the past paper as you would be in the real deal.
Work in exam conditions. This means that there should be no distractions, no music, no talking yourself through the questions, no books in front of you etc. You need mimic the environment you will be in to be prepared for it.
Do the whole thing in one sitting. If you can’t concentrate through a whole long paper imagine how hard it will be when you are in the exam room. Make sure you don’t lose steam and give it your all from beginning to end.
Mark them. You put in all the work. Now you have to just see how well you did. Don’t trust yourself to always know where you went wrong or know if you are going down the wrong path. It can be surprising how you can lose marks for things you didn't realise were wrong until you look at the mark scheme.
Every now and then get a teacher to mark them. We cut ourselves slack. We say to ourselves, “I knew what I was talking about. It’s sort of right.” But the examiner won’t do the same. It can be good to get a second opinion on whether you deserve the marks and force you to really make sure answers are as clear as possible. It doesn’t have to be a teacher but even a friend doing the same subject. Just someone that isn’t you.
Try different techniques for doing them. Do the shorter questions first? Leave the multiple choice for last? Change your planning technique? Try new ways out and see if it makes any difference to your time and quality. This way you will have a tried and tested strategy for acing your exam.
Comment on how the paper went. Note mistakes that you made and how to fix them/things you need to work on. I write what I have improved on as well as what I need to work on. It can be things like a messy diagram to working on your spelling. Also comment on how new techniques (like mentioned above) worked out. You can do this on a sticky note in front of your past paper and order them or just have a book.
Go over areas where you went wrong. It’s useless to do past papers if you don’t learn from them. Make sure you go over the topics that you couldn’t get right before you do another one. Don’t learn your mistakes or they can become a habit that is hard to break.
Keep records of your past papers. Note the marks you get, when you did them, how long it took and your comments like mentioned earlier. This can help you track your progress.
Do them in context. Some years have harder papers than others. You can use grade boundaries and UMS to help you figure that out. This will help you not be disheartened if you see that you didn’t do as well in one paper as you usually do.
Do lots of them. You need as much variance as possible so that you are ready for any type of question that gets thrown at you. You may also notice patterns in the papers through the years that can allow you to guess what will come out in the real thing. The more you do, the more prepared you are.
Be consistent. Spread them out as much as possible because the mind is capable of forgetting. However try not to do one too close to the exam because if it goes badly it can put you in a bad mindset before you go in.
Keep a folder with all the possible past papers. Its harder to settle down and do a past paper if I have to start looking all over the internet or you need to go somewhere to print it. I kept a folder on my computer with all the past papers for my subjects and put the same folder on google drive in case I am out and need to work.
Tick off past papers. It sucks to be halfway through and realise that you’ve done the paper before. It can also give a sense of accomplishment to see how much you’ve done.
Use as little paper as possible. Keep your past papers that you’ve done somewhere so that you can use them for revision. It can be a bit difficult to find the space for all of that paper. I like to look at the paper online and write the answers numbered on some lined paper. The environment also matters.
Study on!
