How to Handle your Maths Mock Exams

For many Year 10 and 11 students it's that time of year when mock exams have started. The maths mock exam is often the one that students find the most difficult to handle so here are my top tips for getting through in one piece.

There is no doubt that a solid revision programme can make all the difference to how you feel going in to the exam. Very few of us can "wing" a maths exam although several of us think we can. Revise key formulas and write them on a card to look at just before the exam. Practice using past papers and worksheets. Maths is best revised by DOING rather than reading.

When you sit down in the exam hall take time to breathe slowly and deeply to get some oxygen to the all important frontal lobes (the part of your brain involved in logical reasoning). You want to be alert but calm as this is the state that is best for problem solving.

A good exam strategy will help you to manage your time during the exam. The rule of thumb is that each mark should take up about 1 minute of your time. If you save time when answering one question you will have a bit extra to spend checking through your work. Some three mark questions can be answered in under a minute if you use an efficient method and show your working clearly. You shouldn't rush any question as this may be when you make costly mistakes BUT don't stay stuck on one question for more than a few minutes, if you really cannot get started then move on, you can come back to it later if you have time.

Don't be afraid to answer part of a question. Some people won't start a question that they don't think they can finish but you can pick up valuable marks for getting started even when you cannot finish. Simple steps like finding the area of a shape or writing an unsimplified ratio will be worth method marks. Check out parts b) and c) of a question that your couldn't answer part a) for. Seize every opportunity to pick up a mark!

Consider how you show your working out. Too little and you risk losing marks, too much and you are wasting precious time. Some examples of topics where students write too much include angle reasoning and Pythagoras's theorem. Find out the most efficient way to show your working - Pythagoras's theorem is often worked over 4 or 5 lines when 1 line is enough and angle reasoning questions should be answered using key terms like "Vertically opposite angles are equal" rather than waffling sentences.

Unless you are aiming for a grade 9 (the old A*) then you shouldn't be looking to answer every single question on the paper. The last few questions on the Higher Tier will be aimed at the grade 8 and 9 students and these are the ones that often hit social media - anyone remember the one about the boiled sweets? Even if you are targeting a grade 8/9 you could still get it without answering the last question if you score highly enough on the rest of the paper. Time spent fretting over these questions may be better spent checking through your working on other questions.

Finally if you do find yourself with some spare time in the exam check through your answers carefully. Ask yourself the following questions "Have I answered the question that was asked completely?", "Is this answer sensible for the situation?", "Have I shown my working clearly and efficiently?" and most importantly "Can the examiner read my answer?". Many marks are lost in exams to missing or unclear decimal points, zeros that look like 6's and answers that have not been correctly rounded. Checking time can gain you four or five marks which could push you up a whole grade.

For all of you who are taking their mocks - Good Luck! Treat these as a learning experience to test out your revision and exam strategy so that you can improve it for the real thing.