Exam Technique and Skills Toolkit

Worked examples (6)

• 1Drill the decode routine (command → focus → scope → constraints → plan)
• 2Decode a Paper 1 Q1(a) prompt (form, audience, purpose from the command)
• 3Decode a Paper 2 'Discuss' essay question
• 4Distinguish 'Compare' from 'Contrast'
• 5Handle 'How far' (degree and evaluation, not description)
• 6The same verb ('Analyse') in a Paper 1 commentary vs a Paper 2 essay

Model answers (6)

• ✓Model answer — Cambridge 8695 Paper 1 Section A style
• ✓Model answer — Cambridge 8695 Paper 2 passage-based style
• ✓Model answer — Cambridge 8695 Paper 2 comparison style
• ✓Model answer — Cambridge 8695 Paper 1 Section B style
• ✓Model answer — Cambridge 8695 Paper 2 drama essay style
• ✓Model answer — Cambridge 8695 Papers 1 u0026 2 cross-paper style

Worked examples (6)

• 1Build the Paper 1 time plan (Q1(a) + Q1(b) + Section B)
• 2Build the Paper 2 time plan (two 25-mark essays — equal marks, equal time)
• 3Allocate time by marks (the mark-to-minute rule)
• 4The planning window: how long, and what to produce
• 5Recover when you are 10 minutes behind
• 6The end-of-paper checking routine that lifts marks

Model answers (6)

• ✓Model answer — Cambridge 8695 Paper 1 whole-paper time strategy
• ✓Model answer — Cambridge 8695 Paper 2 whole-paper time strategy
• ✓Model answer — Cambridge 8695 Paper 1 Section A timed approach
• ✓Model answer — Cambridge 8695 Paper 2 recovery plan
• ✓Model answer — Cambridge 8695 Paper 2 optimised balancing plan
• ✓Model answer — Cambridge 8695 cross-paper checking routine

Worked examples (6)

• 1Write a thesis + roadmap introduction from a question (the 3-job template)
• 2Build a P-Q-A-C paragraph from the template (Point → Quotation → Analysis → Connection)
• 3The Connection move ('This matters because…') — the Band 3→5 lift
• 4Signposting between paragraphs (link by LOGIC, not sequence)
• 5Adapt the scaffold to a PASSAGE-BASED question (add the connect-outward paragraph)
• 6Write a judging conclusion from the template (decide the question, don't summarise)

Model answers (6)

• ✓Model answer — Cambridge 8695 Paper 2 (Poetry) style — annotated template artefact
• ✓Model answer — Cambridge 8695 Paper 2 (Poetry) style — single-paragraph scaffold exemplar
• ✓Model answer — Cambridge 8695 Paper 2 (Poetry) style
• ✓Model answer — Cambridge 8695 Paper 2 (Drama) style
• ✓Model answer — Cambridge 8695 Paper 2 (Prose) style — open essay
• ✓Model answer — Cambridge 8695 Paper 2 (Drama) style — passage-based

Worked examples (6)

• 1Fix comma splices and sentence boundaries (the most expensive error)
• 2Fix subject-verb agreement and tense consistency (incl. the literary present)
• 3Fix apostrophes (possession vs contraction; its/it's; plurals)
• 4Embed and punctuate a quotation in a literary essay (Paper 2)
• 5Use semicolons and colons for sophisticated sentence control
• 6Sustain the literary register (present tense, formal analytical voice) in a Paper 2 essay

Model answers (6)

• ✓Model answer — Cambridge 8695 Paper 1 Section B accuracy (AO2) style
• ✓Model answer — Cambridge 8695 Paper 2 Section B accuracy (AO4) style
• ✓Model answer — Cambridge 8695 Paper 1 Section B (review/critical) style
• ✓Model answer — Cambridge 8695 Paper 2 Section B (passage-based) style
• ✓Model answer — Cambridge 8695 Paper 2 Section B (passage-based) style
• ✓Model answer — Cambridge 8695 Paper 1 Section A Q1(b) reflective commentary style