How to Improve Your Exam Technique in OCR A-Level Chemistry
Many A-Level Chemistry students understand the content but still lose marks in tests and exams.
The problem is often not a lack of knowledge - although this may also be true. It is often an issue of poor exam technique.
To improve your OCR A-Level Chemistry exam technique, you need to practise turning what you know into the precise answers the question is asking for. That means interpreting command words properly, showing calculation methods clearly, using accurate scientific language and learning from mark schemes rather than simply checking whether your final answer was right. As a current A-Level examiner, these are my top tips to up your exam technique.
1. Stop treating reading and exam practice as the same thing
Reading Chemistry notes and answering Chemistry exam questions are related, but they are not the same skill.
You might understand enthalpy changes perfectly, but still lose marks because you:
miss a stoichiometric multiplier
reverse a sign
skip part of your working
give the wrong units
Likewise, you might understand an organic mechanism but lose marks because a curly arrow starts in the wrong place or you forget a dipole.
Once you know the content, your revision needs to include deliberate practice in how OCR expects you to communicate that knowledge.
2. Pay close attention to command words
Words such as state, describe, explain, suggest and calculate tell you what type of answer is required.
For example, if a question asks you to describe an observation, writing an explanation of why it happens may not gain the available mark.
If it asks you to explain, simply stating what happens is usually not enough. You need to give the Chemistry behind it.
These command words are closely linked to the different skills OCR is assessing. If you want to understand this in more detail, read my guide to how OCR A-Level Chemistry questions really work, including AO1, AO2 and AO3 questions and what each one expects from your answer.
Before answering, ask yourself:
What is the question asking for exactly?
That small pause can prevent a lot of unnecessary lost marks.
3. Show the examiner your method
This matters particularly in calculations.
Students often try to do too much mentally and write only a final answer. That makes it harder to gain method marks when something goes wrong. Remember that the examiner marking your work will have no idea of your ability, you have to demonstrate it in full.
For a mole calculation, I often encourage students to think:
Equation → Moles → Reacting Ratios → Answer
Write the balanced equation. Calculate the moles you know. Apply the reacting ratio. Then convert to whatever the question asks for.
Clear working makes your Chemistry easier to check and gives the examiner more opportunities to award marks.
4. Use mark schemes to diagnose mistakes
Don’t use an OCR Chemistry mark scheme simply to decide whether you were right or wrong.
Ask yourself these further questions:
What wording earned the mark? - Don’t ignore this, pay attention especially to emboldened words and incorporate them in your answer
Which part of my answer was too vague? - Practise re-writing your answer with the missed mark points until you feel more confident.
Did I answer the command word? If you’re asked to explain, make sure you state an observation and then provide a justification for your initial response.
Did I misunderstand the content wrong, or was my communication unclear? - If you find yourself reading through the mark scheme and still not sure about how to score more marks after reading the guidance, then revisit the content.
Is this a mistake I have made before? - Keep a log of your mistakes and what you must do to fix them.
This is where past-paper practice becomes much more useful.
What I often see students do
One of the biggest obstacles to progress in Chemistry is students doing lots of questions without analysing why they lost marks.
10 past papers completed quickly will not necessarily improve your grade.
3 papers reviewed carefully, with recurring mistakes identified and corrected after each go, can be far more valuable.
Each past paper should give you valuable intel on what to focus more or less of your attention on the next time round.
What to do next
After your next OCR Chemistry test or past paper, don’t just record your final percentage.
Choose your five most important lost marks and classify them: knowledge, calculation method, command word, scientific language or careless error.
That gives you something specific to improve on before the next paper.
If you understand the Chemistry but your marks are not reflecting what you know, better exam technique may be the missing piece. My A-Level Chemistry tuition focuses heavily on helping students turn their knowledge into the precise, structured answers exam questions require. And if you’re not sure what the issue is, contact me to arrange a diagnostic assessment.
