Edexcel examiner Tip #1 Do not cross out your workings on the exam script

We will all have moments of doubt in an exam situation. And it is always our instinct to cross the working out and start again. In a classroom setting, I would advise crossing work out using a single line. However, if you are taking maths with Edexcel, you must not cross out your workings on the exam script. The reason is the examiner must take this as an instruction not to mark that work. If do not cross it out, and produce an alternative solution, the examiner is obliged to mark both and apply the higher mark. Most students do not know this. They will only know if their teacher has Edexcel examiner experience. I have marked papers where I have seen a correct solution crossed out and replaced with an incorrect solution. Examiners must follow strict rules, so even in this case where the correct solution is still legible you cannot give the marks. The work has been crossed, so the student is giving the examiner the instruction-do not mark this work. I tell my students that if they start to doubt themselves, and decide to produce an alternative solution, leave both untouched. Someone will be paid to decide which solution is worth more marks. The student does not need to take on the burden of making that decision during their exam. Some students take this as great news and tell me they will write multiple solutions for every question. This is a bad tactic; they will never finish the paper. If they are confident and their skills are in place, they will only find themselves in doubt from time to time. If you are doubting every question; something is very wrong. So, to summarise, if a student wishes to produce an alternative solution, do not cross out the original workings, it may be worth more marks than the alternative. Often our fist attempt is the correct one, alternative solutions are often just the result of panic, rather than a moment of enlightenment.