Study tips for Cambridge exams

Start with the syllabus

The syllabus for your subject lists everything that can be examined. Turn it into a checklist and mark each topic as confident, shaky or not started. That list tells you where revision time should go, and it is easy to update as you improve. If you are unsure how the exams are organised, read how Cambridge exams work first.

Revise topic by topic

Early in your revision, work on one topic at a time. Read your notes, close them, and answer questions on that topic only. Past papers by topic and topical sets make this easy because every question is on the same idea.

Do past papers under exam conditions

Once you have covered most of a syllabus, move to full Cambridge past papers. Sit them the way the exam is run:

• Set a timer for the real length of the paper.
• Use only what the exam allows, such as a calculator where permitted.
• Write your answers by hand, because that is how you will write them in the exam.
• Do not look at the mark scheme until the time is up.

Mark it against the mark scheme

The mark scheme shows exactly what earns each mark, so use it line by line. Notice where you lost marks for missing a key word, skipping a step or answering a different question from the one asked. Be strict with yourself: a mark you give yourself that an examiner would not give is a mistake you will repeat.

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Read the command word

Words such as state, describe, explain, calculate and suggest ask for different things. A one-line answer to an explain question usually leaves marks behind, and a long essay for a state question wastes time. Your syllabus lists what each command word means, and the mark scheme shows what that looks like in practice.

Keep an error log

After marking, write each lost mark in a notebook or a document, with three short notes:

• The topic and the question.
• Why the mark was lost: a gap in knowledge, a slip, a misread question or poor timing.
• What a full-mark answer would have said.

Read the log before your next paper. Repeated entries show the topics and habits that deserve extra time.

Space your practice

Coming back to a topic after a few days, then after a couple of weeks, is more effective than covering it once in a long session. Put topics from your error log back into your plan at gaps like these and test yourself without looking at your notes.

Plan the weeks before the exam

• Work back from your exam dates and put full past papers on the calendar.
• Give your weakest topics the most sessions, and keep a short revisit of your strong ones.
• Rest between papers, and take real breaks so your practice stays careful.
• In the final days, review your error log and the mark schemes rather than learning new material.