How to check math exam paper
Powerful Math Exam Tips
As students, we have definitely heard the phrase “Remember to check your work”, but how exactly are we to do that?
Most of us simply attempt to redo the entire paper in an effort to check our answers, but this simply is not an efficient nor foolproof way to cop those marks! 😤😤
Here, the Paradigm team will teach you how you too can confidently walk out of the exam room, sure of the marks you’ve obtained!
Which type of student are you?
When trying out your mock papers, do give both approaches a shot to understand which strategy works best for you!
1. Sprinter
- Always completing your paper ASAP so you have sufficient time to redo and check through the entire paper later.
2. Marathoner
- After finishing each question, you take the time to immediately check through and guarantee your marks before moving on to the next.
No matter whether you are are sprinter or marathoner, remember these 4 letters.. CUTQ
C: Calculation
- ensure all calculations in each step are accurate!
U: Units
- each topic has certain units to keep in mind, ensure that all units are included and properly placed in the correct context. Both the SI units(cm/m/km) and rounding (3 s.f, 2 d.p)
- eg. for SI units, mensuation: degree vs radians
- eg. for roundings, bearings: leave in 1 d.p
T: Transfer
- between each step did you transfer your previous answer down to the next correctly? are you using the correct symbols? did you transfer the correct numbers down to the answer line? It may sound like a silly mistake, but you’d be surprised at how common this is!
Q: Question types
- small differences in the phrasing can mean you need to take a whole different approach! So do ensure you have addressed the question appropriately
- eg. in proportions, increase to vs increase by
Whats the difference between checking and validation?
Checking:
- a line by line check of each subsequent working
- this may not be foolproof!
Validation:
- validation ensures you are able to prove that your answer is accurate!
- validation strategies includes backtesting with various properties / substituting values back into their original equations
hence, always make an effort to know how to validate your answers!
It's that easy!
Now you know how to get those marks in the bag. Continue to practice your mock papers with the CUTQ method, we can’t wait to celebrate improvement with you 😊