Loads of you have been asking how I actually write them. Well, buckle up, because I'm going to give you a little peek behind the curtain! 🤫
Step 1: The Big Think! 🧠
Honestly, this is how it starts! I sit down with the official specification open, spread out the last few years' question papers in front of me, and then... I just think. 💡 This is one of the luxuries I have working from home – I actually get time to sit and ponder, something your teachers, who are crazy, crazy busy, probably don't get much of!
I just write down notes, jot down anything that comes into my head about what I think is going to come up on the paper. I'm looking for patterns, searching for trends, and trying to spot any big topics that haven't made an appearance in a while. 🕵️♀️
Step 2: Writing the Questions ✍️
Based on all those thoughts and topics, I start writing a whole load of questions. This isn't just a quick job; I really try to get into the mind of an examiner!
Step 3: The Super-Duper Review Process ✅
Once the questions are drafted, they get sent out for review. And not just by one person... oh no!
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University Students 🧑🔬: We get science students to check all the science is spot-on and, really importantly, to check the wording. Is the question clear? Do you actually understand what it's asking? Or is the wording a bit too confusing? We tweak it to make sure it's easy for everyone to understand.
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Examiners 👩🏫: Then, we get actual examiners to check them! They tell us if a question is an appropriate level – is it too hard? 🤯 Too easy? 😴 Do we have the right balance of assessment objectives in the paper? Their feedback is absolutely golden! ✨
Step 4: Pictures, Graphs, and Making it Pretty! 🎨📊
After the reviews, we go through and draw all the pictures and graphs needed for the papers. We want them to look as professional and clear as possible!
Step 5: Check, Check, and Check Again! 👍
These papers get checked so so many times. We get them formatted properly, and then... we check them again! We're obsessed with getting them right.
Step 6: The Video Walkthroughs 🎥
Once the paper is finally ready, we make a video walkthrough for it. This is honestly like the fifth or sixth time the paper has been checked! 😅 This final walkthrough really helps us spot any tiny, tiny mistakes. Like, if I've written "off" instead of "of" on a question (which happened on a chemistry paper! 😂), we fix it now.
By the time these papers get to you, they are going to be amazing. Just so good!
In the video walkthroughs, we don't just give you the answers. We:
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Pull out all the clues the examiners hide in the questions. (If they say this, they're actually looking for that! 🤫)
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Go through all the background science and adjacent topics that might come up. 🧪🧬
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Talk about how to structure your answer perfectly. 📝
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Highlight the keywords examiners are desperate to see. 🔑
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Give you extra tips to throw in there to make the examiner think, "Wow, I need to give this person loads and loads of marks!" 💯