Past Paper Approach
Work through OCR past papers under timed conditions
What the Research Says
Practising with past papers is the closest simulation of the actual exam. It combines retrieval practice, time management, and exposure to examiner language. Students who complete multiple past papers consistently outperform those who only revise from notes.
Evidence Base
| Study | Finding | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Roediger & Karpicke (2006) | Testing under exam-like conditions produces the strongest long-term retention. | Best retention |
| Bjork (1994) | “Desirable difficulties” like timed conditions force deeper processing and better learning. | Stronger encoding |
| Dunlosky et al. (2013) | Practice testing ranked as the highest-utility learning technique in a comprehensive review. | Top-rated strategy |
Step-by-Step Method
- 1Get the papers — Download OCR past papers and mark schemes from the OCR website or SaveMyExams. You need both Paper 1 and Paper 2.
- 2Set exam conditions — 1 hour 30 minutes, no notes, no phone, no internet. Use a clock you can see.
- 3Attempt the full paper — Answer every question. If you are stuck, write what you can and move on — never leave a blank.
- 4Mark with the mark scheme — Be honest. Award marks exactly as the mark scheme says, not for what you “meant to write”.
- 5Review your mistakes — For each lost mark, write the correct answer in a separate “corrections” notebook. These are your priority revision topics.
- 6Redo weak questions — After revising the topic, attempt just the questions you got wrong. Repeat until you can answer them correctly.
Paper 1 is theory-heavy. Start with the short-answer questions (1–4 marks) to build confidence, then tackle the extended response last. Budget roughly 1 minute per mark: 80 marks in 90 minutes gives you 10 minutes of spare time for checking.
Paper 2 includes coding and algorithm questions. Do the trace tables and binary calculations first (they have definite right/wrong answers and build confidence). Leave the longer pseudocode-writing questions for later, as they benefit from careful planning.
Common Pitfalls
- Only doing papers untimed — Time pressure changes everything. You must practise under timed conditions to build speed.
- Not using the mark scheme — Guessing whether your answer is “close enough” teaches you nothing. The mark scheme shows exactly what the examiner wants.
- Doing papers too early — If you have not revised a topic yet, you will just guess. Revise first, then test yourself.
- Not reviewing mistakes — Completing a paper without analysing your errors is a wasted opportunity. The corrections notebook is where real learning happens.
When to Use This
Start past papers 4–6 weeks before the exam, after you have covered most topics. Do one full paper per week initially, increasing to 2–3 per week in the final fortnight. Always mark and review before doing the next paper.