Guide
Timed exam sits, marking, and paper answers
Practise under real conditions: reading time, writing time, handwritten answers by QR, and honest self-marking.
5 min read
Knowing the content and performing in an exam are different skills. Timed sits train the second one: real reading and writing time, a countdown, and marking against the actual solutions.
Running a sit
- Build a practice exam on a subject's Exams tab — pick the topics or knowledge points to cover — or open a saved one. On a single knowledge point's practice page, “Build a timed sit” does the same from that point's own questions.
- Start the sit. The sidebar and header drop away so only the paper is on screen. Reading time comes first: read the paper, plan your attack, no answering yet.
- Writing time begins with a countdown. Answer in the app, or on paper if that's how you'll sit the real exam. Written answers have an equation editor for maths and chemistry; QCE questions with a separate stimulus booklet have a Stimulus book button that docks the pages beside your answer.
- Writing on paper? Scan the QR code with your phone to photograph your handwritten working and attach it to the question.
- When time's up, a “Now mark your sit” banner takes over. Self-mark each answer against the solutions and examiner guidance — nothing counts until every question is marked.
Tech-free and tech-active
Maths questions carry the technology condition of the paper they came from: Tech-free means no calculator or CAS was allowed on that paper, so practise it by hand; Tech-active means a CAS or graphics calculator was. The badge appears only where the paper's condition could be detected confidently.
Watch out for
- Marking generously — your marks feed your readiness forecast and review schedule, so a soft mark now means a nasty surprise later.
- Pausing mid-sit to look things up — you're training exam conditions; note the gap and revise it after.
- Only ever practising untimed — pacing is a skill that just doesn't develop without a clock.