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Most of the time, multiple-choice questions (MCQs) are the easier section of the paper as answers are provided and your child needs to pick the right one.
However, they have the most deceptive types of questions in any paper for Science.
The questions themselves are often incredibly tricky. Thus, your child needs to be alert and meticulous if they wish to score full marks in the MCQ section.
Here are 3 common mistakes that students make according to our Science HOD, and your child may make them too. Read below to avoid these mistakes and score full marks for the paper.
Not reading the question and answer options carefully
Science questions can be long and contain many words. Most students may not have the time to read and would rather skim through the questions instead. This leads to key information being missed out.
Sometimes the question has the word ‘not’ in a true or false question and the student may have skipped over the word and writing down the wrong answer.
Hence, your child needs to read the question carefully and highlight important keywords which can aid in answering the question.
Assume diagram and question is the same as practise
Some students would assume that the question is exactly the same as one in the practice because the diagram looks the same. Thus, the student did not read the question properly and picked the answer from their memory.
The question may look the same but the question may have been modified. So students should read the question properly and do not assume.
Not answering the question
Picked the answer which is logically correct but does not answer the question.
For example, the question shows a round bottle-shaped bottle and water is poured in. Then asked what does this experiment show?
a) Water has a definite volume
b) Water has no definite shape
Students picked (a) which is a correct statement but not correct as it is not the concept asked in the question.
It is recommended that your child practise MCQ on school exam papers. It can either be other school exam papers or your own child’s school exam papers. School papers are recommended as they are the closest practice your child can get to practise for the actual exam since they are set by teachers themselves.
So, it is recommended that your child should practise the exam paper MCQ set 3 times.
The 1st time your child does the paper, it is where they should clarify any misunderstandings in their wrong answers. This is where your child should understand why was their answer wrong after clarification. They do not have to count the score for this trial as it is a learning attempt.
The 2nd attempt is to be done after 1-2 weeks, your child can redo the same paper again. This is where they have to look for cracks as some of their 1st round right answers may be due to luck. This round of practice helps with the recap. Especially for wrong answers previously.
The final attempt is where your child targets the wrong answers only. And they can do this 1 week before the exam. This is to make sure they know how to answer the questions and the understanding and knowledge is there.
We hope these tips can help your child achieve their desired marks for Science MCQ!
Check out our Science resources page for revision papers, exam papers and study guides if you think your child needs the extra practice! They are split into lower and upper primary for easier revision.