How I Got FULL MARKS on my IGCSE MCQ Papers!

Summary

Aaryan Mehta says he earned full marks on the IGCSE Biology, Chemistry, and Economics MCQ papers, and 39/40 in Physics. He shares preparation and exam-day strategies for improving MCQ performance.

Preparing for MCQ Papers

• Build a solid understanding of the syllabus first. Read the relevant textbook topics and practise topical questions before relying on past papers.
• Target weaker areas. Use topic-based question collections to identify and work on difficult topics.
• Practise past papers once you have the basics. Work through several years of papers—around the last five or more years, if time allows.
• Look for recurring patterns. Past papers can reveal repeated questions, useful keywords, and common question styles.
• If you are short on time, review papers quickly. Look at each question and its choices, then check the mark scheme. The speaker says this can be especially useful for knowledge-heavy subjects such as Biology and Economics.
• Practise calculations for calculation-heavy subjects such as Physics. Simply viewing questions and answers may not show whether you can solve them yourself. If time is limited, reviewing papers can still help refresh the theory.

On Exam Day

• Skim the entire paper before answering. Spend about two to three minutes scanning the questions and options. This can help you anticipate the topics and judge the paper’s difficulty.
• Move on from questions that are taking too long. If a question is stalling you—roughly more than 30–60 seconds—skip it and return later. Information or clues in later questions may help with earlier ones.
• Mark your choices on both the question paper and answer sheet. Circle or tick your selected option in the question paper as you fill in the answer sheet. This makes it quicker to review your intended answer and check that the answer sheet matches it.
• Use process of elimination. Cross out options you know are wrong to reduce confusion and narrow the choices.
• Watch for absolute wording. Treat options containing words such as “always” or “never” cautiously, since a single exception can disprove an absolute claim.
• Circle important instructions and keywords. In particular, notice whether the question asks for the correct or incorrect option, so you do not answer the opposite of what is requested.
• Be alert to “incorrect” or “except” questions. These can take longer, especially when each option requires calculation, so consider returning to them after completing easier questions.
• Do not leave answers blank if there is no negative marking. Narrow the choices as much as possible, then make a guess.
• For last-minute unanswered questions, the speaker suggests using the same letter for each guess rather than choosing options based on a perceived preference for B or C. However, if answer choices are equally likely, consistently guessing one letter does not increase the expected score compared with guessing another letter.

Speaker

• Aaryan Mehta — the video’s presenter and sole speaker.