Exam Technique and Past Paper Strategy
Across a large set of one-to-one IGCSE Maths lessons, exam technique was the single most-discussed non-topic subject — more than any individual piece of mathematics. The advice below is what came up most often, with the reasoning behind it.
1. Show your working — this is the biggest one
Marks are awarded for the METHOD, not just the answer.
Mark schemes award M marks (method) and B marks (independent results) alongside A marks (accuracy). If your final answer is wrong but your method is visible and correct, you still earn the method marks. If you write only an answer and it is wrong, you get nothing.
A wrong answer with visible working can score most of the marks. A wrong answer with no working scores zero.
What “showing working” means in practice:
- Write the formula before substituting
- Show the substitution with the numbers in
- Show the intermediate values
- On a calculator paper, still write what you typed
Do the steps on paper, not in your head. This was repeated in lesson after lesson — mental arithmetic is where sign errors and slips happen, and it leaves nothing for the examiner to give credit for.
One clarification worth having: you may hear that “marks are deducted for wrong steps even when the answer is right.” That is not how Cambridge marking works — there is no negative marking, and a correct answer normally earns full marks. The real risks are different: if the question says “show that” or names a method, working is required; and if your working clearly contradicts your answer, the examiner may not be able to award the method marks. So the advice — write it all down — is right, even though the reason given is not.
2. Read the command word
The instruction tells you what method is acceptable.
| Command | What it requires |
|---|---|
| Work out / Calculate | any valid method |
| Solve | any method, unless one is named |
| Factorise | factorising only — the formula scores nothing |
| Show that | full working towards a given answer |
| Estimate | round to 1 s.f. first — don’t calculate exactly |
| Describe fully | every required detail (transformations) |
| Give a reason | a named theorem or rule |
| Use your graph | read it off — don’t solve algebraically |
| Exact / in terms of π | leave surds and π in |
If a method is named, using a different one can score zero even with the right answer.
“Show that” questions give you the answer, so the working is the answer. Every step must be visible.
3. Accuracy and units
Give 3 significant figures unless the question says otherwise — 2 decimal places for money, and follow any stated accuracy.
Never round intermediate values. Carry the full figure through and round only at the end. This came up in almost every topic, and it is the most common source of “nearly right” answers.
Always write the units. cm, cm², cm³, km/h, degrees. A correct number without units can lose the final mark.
4. Calculator
Check it is in DEGREE mode. If it is in radians, every trigonometry answer will be wrong while looking plausible. Check before the exam starts.
- Use brackets around negative numbers: (−3)² = 9, but −3² = −9
- Use brackets around whole numerators and denominators
- Know your S⇔D key for switching between fractions and decimals
- Check whether your paper allows a calculator at all
The calculator does not replace working. A bare answer earns fewer marks, and you cannot get method marks for something you didn’t write down.
On calculator rules specifically: the advice given in lessons was contradictory — different tutors named different paper numbers as the non-calculator one. The 0580 assessment structure has changed in recent years and now includes both calculator and non-calculator papers. Check your own exam timetable and syllabus version rather than relying on a paper number you heard.
5. The formula sheet
Some formulae are given in the exam and some must be memorised. Which is which depends on your syllabus version.
Find your formula list now and read it. Then you know exactly what you must learn — and you won’t waste revision time memorising something that will be printed for you.
From lessons: the mensuration formulae (volumes, surface areas) are generally provided, and the quadratic formula appears on the Extended list. The midpoint formula and completing the square method generally are not. Confirm against your own sheet.
Open the formula sheet while you practise, so you get used to finding things on it quickly.
6. Timing
Roughly one mark per minute is the standard guide. A 4-mark question deserves about 4 minutes.
- Attempt every question — there is no penalty for a wrong answer
- On a multi-mark question, write something: partial credit is real
- If you’re stuck, move on and come back
- Don’t spend too long on a low-mark question
Never leave a graph question blank. Tutors singled these out: they carry a lot of marks and the early parts (completing a table, plotting points) are usually accessible even if the later parts aren’t.
Practise under timed conditions. Working through papers untimed builds knowledge but not exam pace — and running out of time was the most commonly reported problem.
7. Using past papers properly
This was the most consistent advice across every tutor.
A workable schedule: start two papers a week, building up as the exam approaches. Aim to have done 15–20 papers by the end.
How to get value from each one:
- Do it timed, in one sitting, without notes
- Mark it yourself against the mark scheme
- Study the mark scheme, not just the answers — it shows you where the marks actually are
- Log every question you got wrong, with the paper and year
- Redo those questions a week later, without looking
Download the mark scheme with every paper. Seeing how marks are allocated teaches you what to write, which is a different skill from being able to do the maths.
Bring an unrevised paper to a lesson to find your weak areas. Several tutors suggested this — revising first hides the gaps you most need to find.
Cover a spread: use different variants and months (papers are set for several zones), and prioritise recent papers, which best match the current syllabus.
Check your syllabus to make sure you have covered every topic. Past papers show you what’s examined, but only the syllabus tells you what could be.
8. In the exam
- Read each question twice before starting — this was tutors’ most repeated single instruction, and most errors recorded were misreadings, not gaps in knowledge
- Underline the key information and what is being asked
- Draw a diagram whenever one isn’t given, especially for bearings, trigonometry and geometry
- Use a sharp pencil for graphs and constructions
- Check that you answered the actual question — if you solved for x but the question wanted the perimeter, you’re not finished
- Sanity-check every answer: is a length negative? Is a probability greater than 1? Is the hypotenuse the shortest side?
- Recheck at the end if there’s time
9. Quick checklist before you hand in
- Every question attempted
- Working shown for every multi-mark question
- Answers to 3 s.f. unless told otherwise
- Units on every answer that needs them
- Graphs drawn in pencil, curves smooth, arcs left visible
- Transformations described fully
- Reasons given where asked
- “Exact” and “in terms of π” answers left exact
- Both solutions given for quadratics
- Answers sensible in context
Frequently asked questions
Do I get marks for working if my answer is wrong? Yes — method marks are awarded for a correct method even when the final answer is wrong.
Is there negative marking? No. Always attempt every question.
What accuracy should I give? 3 significant figures unless the question specifies, and 2 decimal places for money.
Should I round as I go? No — carry full accuracy and round only the final answer.
What calculator mode should I use? Degrees, for all IGCSE trigonometry.
Which papers allow a calculator? Check your own timetable and syllabus version — the structure has changed in recent years.
How many past papers should I do? Aim for 15–20, timed, with the mark schemes.
How much time per question? About one minute per mark.
What if I get stuck? Write down what you can for partial credit, move on, and come back.
This page covers exam technique for Cambridge IGCSE Mathematics (0580) and is written for Grade 9–11 / Year 10–11 students. It is based on the advice given most often across a large set of one-to-one IGCSE Maths lessons, together with how Cambridge mark schemes actually allocate marks. Where advice heard in lessons was inconsistent — particularly about which papers allow calculators — this page says so rather than picking one version. Always check the current syllabus, formula list and assessment structure for your own exam series.
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