Mock season is still rolling across the country. Trinity Academy St Edward’s in Barnsley says its Year 11s are “fully prepared for their mocks next week”, and King Charles I School in Worcestershire has announced that its Year 11 mocks start on Friday 20 November.
Whether mocks are next week or later this month, here is something worth knowing: most marks go missing in the middle of a question, not at the start. The student knew how to begin. Then the line went quiet, the working got messy, and the answer never arrived.
The fix is small. Say out loud, or write in the margin, what you’re doing right now. “I’m checking the inverse.” “I’m labelling the sides.” “I’m substituting back.” It sounds almost too simple, but it works, and parents can use it at the kitchen table without having to teach the whole topic.
Why naming the strategy works
When students are stuck, they usually aren’t missing knowledge. They’re missing direction. They’ve done a step, and now they don’t know what the next step is for.
Naming the strategy does two things:
- It slows the rush. You can’t name what you’re doing while scribbling at speed. That half-second pause is often enough to catch a slip.
- It makes the next step obvious. Once you’ve said “I’m checking the inverse”, you know exactly what to do: undo the last step and see if you get back to where you started.
Tutors do this in almost every lesson. We ask “what are you doing in this line?” far more often than we explain anything new. The good news is that this question doesn’t need a maths degree to ask.
Three phrases that cover a lot of GCSE Maths
You don’t need a long list. These three phrases cover a surprising amount of the GCSE Maths papers.
“I’m checking the inverse.”
Undo the last step to check it. This is the one that saves the most marks.
- Equations: if you went from 3x = 21 to x = 7, multiply back: 3 × 7 = 21. Correct.
- Percentages: if a number went up by 20% to 60, the original isn’t 60 minus 20%. Check the inverse: divide by 1.2 to get 50, then 50 × 1.2 = 60.
- Fractions: if you divided by a fraction, multiply back to see if you land on the number you started with.
“I’m labelling before I calculate.”
Before any numbers go in, label what you have. This matters most in:
- Ratios: write which part is which before you share anything out.
- Pythagoras and trigonometry: label the hypotenuse, opposite and adjacent first. Most wrong answers come from using the wrong side.
- Similar shapes: match the corresponding sides before you work out a scale factor.
“I’m substituting back to check.”
Once you’ve solved something, put the answer back into the original question. If x = 4 and the equation was 2x + 5 = 13, then 2 × 4 + 5 = 13. If it doesn’t fit, the algebra slipped somewhere above. It takes ten seconds and catches a lot of sign errors, especially in simultaneous equations.
How a parent can use this in five minutes
You don’t need to know the topic. You just need one question.
- Pick one homework question your child got wrong or got stuck on. Just one.
- Don’t re-teach it. Resist the urge to explain the method, even if you remember it.
- Ask: “What were you trying to do in this line?” Point to the line where it went wrong.
- If they can’t name it, offer one of the three phrases. “Were you checking the inverse? Labelling? Substituting back?”
- Re-try just that step. Not the whole question, just the line where it went wrong.
Then stop. Tonight is not a full mock paper. Five minutes, and they’ve practised the habit that matters most in the exam hall.
If they can name the strategy mid-question, they can usually finish it.
What not to do
A few things tend to make this harder rather than easier:
- Don’t mark every question. One stuck question is plenty for one evening.
- Don’t say “try harder”. Students who are stuck usually are trying. What they need is a direction, not more effort.
- Don’t turn one stuck line into a lecture on the whole chapter. The point is that they name the strategy, not you.
One named strategy per stuck question is enough for tonight.
The same habit in the exam hall
This links straight to mocks. In our recent post on what to do between mock papers, we talked about closing one paper and sharpening for the next. Naming the strategy is the sharpening that works inside the paper itself.
In the exam, a short margin note such as “inverse”, “label” or “sub back” takes a second to write. It keeps you moving after a wrong start, rather than staring at a blank line. It also shows the examiner your method, and method marks are often available even when the final answer slips. Keeping a mistake log is a good partner to this: the log tells you which questions go wrong, and naming the strategy helps you fix them.
FAQ
Is it okay to write notes in the margin of a GCSE Maths paper?
Yes. Rough working and short notes on the paper are fine, as long as your final answer and working are clear. Ask your teacher if your school has any specific rules for mocks.
What if my child doesn’t know which strategy to use?
That’s exactly what the three phrases are for. Offer them as a choice. Over time, students start picking the right one themselves.
Does this only work for Maths?
It works best in Maths and Science calculations, but the idea carries over. In English, for example, “I’m finding a quotation” or “I’m explaining the effect” does the same job.
My child gets annoyed when I help with homework. Any tips?
Keep it short and keep it to one question. Asking “what were you trying to do here?” feels very different from “that’s wrong”.
Free revision sheet from The Revision Lab
Want something quick to work through alongside Maths? Get our free Black History revision sheet: key people and dates from Mary Seacole to the Macpherson Report on two A4 pages, with a timeline, exam tips and a quick quiz with answers.
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The Mock Booster for GCSE Maths (Percentages & Number) is available now.
Name the strategy, finish the question. One stuck question at a time is all it takes.
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