How big a factor is neatness in an Edexcel Maths exam?

Hey, I have pretty much gotten all the answers alright but my biggest problem is neatness in my c4 paper...
I had crossed out a lot in a vector problem, have got the final answer right and its legible, but will they cut marks for the surrounding mess?
and also, how do you attach extra sheets to an examination paper when part of a problem is done in the extra sheet and part of it in the original answer booklet?

Reply 1

Dr Watto

Neatness is going to be a factor in any exam you take. The bottom line is if the examiner cannot read what you are writing, then the marks cannot be awarded.

Maths in particular needs to be layed out in a clear and concise way. Examiners are looking for the method you have used, and will want to be able to follow it exactly, or near enough, in order to give you the marks. :wink:

With the majority of marks being method marks in maths, I would heavily advise you to get the layout correct :smile:

Being specific to your example,

I had crossed out a lot in a vector problem, have got the final answer right and its legible, but will they cut marks for the surrounding mess?

The surrounding mess wont have any effect on your marks. If you have written your working in a clear concise method (which you say you have) then there is no way they can penalise you for having a messy page! You've got the correct method, correct answer, thats what they are looking for.

Hope this helps!

Reply 2

Bap_on_wheels

astrophoenix

Hey, I have pretty much gotten all the answers alright but my biggest problem is neatness in my c4 paper...
I had crossed out a lot in a vector problem, have got the final answer right and its legible, but will they cut marks for the surrounding mess?
and also, how do you attach extra sheets to an examination paper when part of a problem is done in the extra sheet and part of it in the original answer booklet?

I also crossed out a lot of the vector question in yesterday's C4 (from Edexcel). Are we talking about the same thing? It was part (a) about proving that two lines don't intersect.

Anyway, that whole part of the answer is scribbled over and I wrote big letters nearby, saying "SEE PAGE 23" because that's where I put the correct version of the answer. It would be nice if Edexcel had a procedure where there were some blank pages at the end of the paper, which are specifically for ammending previous questions or for using if the person runs out of space.

Reply 3

mathakhali

i guess im gonna fail in c4...
my AS mark for c1, c2 and m1 was 273...
if i get something around 450 in all 6 units...and fail in c4...
am i gonna get a B or an E overall ?

plz someone help me....

Reply 4

Bap_on_wheels

mathakhali

i guess im gonna fail in c4...
my AS mark for c1, c2 and m1 was 273...
if i get something around 450 in all 6 units...and fail in c4...
am i gonna get a B or an E overall ?

plz someone help me....

450/600 will give you a B anyway.

When you combine the results of the six modules together, then you need 360 for a C, 420 for a B and 480 for an A. Even if you fail C4, you'll still get a B if the rest of them are worth 420 (or more) altogether.

All that is required is that you actually do all the papers, but you don't necessarily need a good grade in all of them.

Reply 5

NewUniGuy

mathakhali

i guess im gonna fail in c4...
my AS mark for c1, c2 and m1 was 273...
if i get something around 450 in all 6 units...and fail in c4...
am i gonna get a B or an E overall ?

plz someone help me....

273 at AS is a very high mark considering 240 is an A, gives you 33 marks to work with. No matter how you do in C4, 450 overall will give you a B.

Tbh though, with 273 already, unless you mess up very badly on C3 and S1 (or whatever unit you did) then you could get a C on C4 and still pull of an A.

Neatness is important, but if your final answers are right the examiners will give you full marks generally, and they will usually try pretty hard to understand your working. If my work gets messy I tend to number my workings out to show the examiners where each step is, and sometimes use arrows to direct them around my working lol.

I think you'll be fine though. My friend is the messiest worker ever, he still gets B's (and his Maths level is around a C-B level, so he is obviously bot getting marked down for neatness)

Reply 6

twiddleman

Haha...yeah...
All of my maths exams are messy...to be honest I dont even care seen as tho I have SO failed Maths this year lol...I'm not even kidding I think I got like 5 marks on C4 lmao.

Reply 7

-G-a-v-

16

There aren't marks specifically awarded/deducted for presentation - as long as your work is legible you'll be fine and you'll get all the marks you should be awarded. Having a clear method maximises your chances of getting all the method marks though.

Reply 8

7589200

18

Yeah that is true, making sure the examiner can see every step is quite important for a show that exam question.

The examiners will however try and look through your work quite hard to make sure that they haven't missed any important logic you may have written down. Unless you fudged something or it was more or less unreadable, don't worry about it - they know that they are marking work which is make or break for a lot of people.

Reply 9

danniella

4

Dr Watto

Neatness is going to be a factor in any exam you take.

Oops. I have *so* failed all my exams then. :rolleyes:

My teachers never stop going on and on about my handwriting. Oops.

I don't think they'd penalise you if your answer was clear though, and they could read it. :smile:

Reply 10

dans

12

It's true. Take doctors for instance.

Reply 11

coldplasma

16

Crossing out is not going to affect your marks unless it is so abysmal that the examiner cannot follow what comes after it. As long as it is easy and simple to follow, then you will be okay.

Reply 12

Sync

14

Dr Watto

The bottom line is if the examiner cannot read what you are writing, then the marks cannot be awarded.

If the examiner considers it illegible, then the exam must then be passed to the head examiner in that subject to see if he/she can make sense of it. Only if the head examiner can't read it will the marks not be awarded.

How big a factor is neatness in an Edexcel Maths exam?

Related discussions

Articles for you