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Suk 2012 Tips For Success Gcse Igcse
Suk 2012 Tips For Success Gcse Igcse
GCSE and IGCSE
Mrs Anne‐Marie Slack
Registrar
International College Sherborne School
General Certificate in Secondary Education
Key skills
The Teacher, the Student and the Examiner
TEACHER
• INFORMS, GUIDES, ASSISTS
Over the months and years ……………
the teacher gets to know the student,
their learning style,
their way of answering questions,
their handwriting and presentation.
The Student
LISTENS, OBSERVES, LEARNS, FOLLOWS
Over the months and years the student…..
attends lessons,
practises work,
learns,
does homework and tests,
feels “comfortable” working with the teacher.
The Examiner
• READS, EVALUATES, AWARDS
In a few minutes………
the examiner assesses a complete stranger’s
knowledge,
understanding and skill
in a particular subject.
Be user friendly!
• Follow instructions.
• Presentation.
• Answer clearly.
Follow instructions!
• Have you filled in the cover sheet correctly?
Centre number, Student Name Student Number
• How many marks are awarded for an answer?
• Identify key question words* (more on next slide)
• Check that you have answered
the question asked
all the parts of the question
all the questions asked….
including those on the back page
*Key Command Words
• Define: explain what something means.
• Explain: give details why something is the way it is.
• Describe: state what something is like, its appearance and
characteristics.
• List: short answer, use key words/phrases
• Compare: state the similarities and differences between
two things.
(Useful link words/phrases for comparisons: more than…less than, whereas,
unlike, as well as, as opposed to)
Presentation
Answer clearly
• Two frequent reasons for loss of marks
• Insufficient detail
• The word “it”
Insufficient detail
• Example question from a Biology GCSE Exam:
State three factors that could increase the loss of
moisture from a plant. (3 MARKS)
1 Temperature (wrong)
2 Humidity (wrong)
3 Light (wrong)
Biology GCSE Question
1.Increased temperature (correct)
2.Low humidity (correct)
3.Increased light intensity (correct)
The word “It”
• One of the most common words in the English
language. Be careful how you use it.
• Example Question from a GCSE Biology Exam:
• Describe the difference between an artery and a vein.(TWO MARKS)
Answer:
It has thicker walls.
It carries blood back to the heart.
THE MEANINGS ARE UNCLEAR.
THEREFORE THE ANSWERS ARE MARKED WRONG.
The word “It”
• Correct Answer:
• The artery has thicker walls.
• The vein carries blood back to the heart.
Multiple Choice Answers
• If you don’t know which answer to choose in a
Multiple Choice question,
have a guess!
• You have a one in three chance of being right!
Revise from different sources!
Check everything carefully
Good Luck!
Copyright: International College Sherborne School 2010