1. COMMAND WORD MISTAKES

Mistake: Treating every question like an essay

Bad:

• Writing long paragraphs for 1-mark or 2-mark questions
• Explaining when the question only says state
• Wasting time

Better:

• State = direct answer
• Describe = what is shown
• Explain = why/how
• Suggest = sensible applied point
• Compare = both sides
• Evaluate = benefits + limits + judgement

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Mistake: “Describe” answered as “explain”

Question:

• Describe the trend in the graph.

Bad:

• It increased because more people had better healthcare.

Better:

• It increased from 23 000 to 56 000, then remained constant.

Why bad:

• The question asks for the pattern, not the reason.

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Mistake: “Explain” answered as “describe”

Question:

• Explain how urbanisation causes groundwater shortages.

Bad:

• There is less groundwater.

Better:

• Urbanisation increases water demand. More groundwater is pumped from aquifers. Buildings and roads reduce infiltration, so less water recharges the aquifer.

Why better:

• Cause → process → effect

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2. VAGUE ANSWER MISTAKES

Mistake: Writing “it affects the environment”

Bad:

• Tourism affects the environment.
• Mining damages nature.
• Pollution is bad.

Better:

• Tourism increases litter and sewage, which can pollute beaches and seawater.
• Mining removes vegetation, destroying habitats and reducing biodiversity.
• Pollution may reduce dissolved oxygen, causing fish to die.

Exam rule:

• Vague answer = weak answer.
• Paper 2 wants specific damage.

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Mistake: Writing “people are affected”

Bad:

• People are affected by drought.

Better:

• Drought reduces crop yield, so food prices rise and poorer people may not afford enough food.

Use:

• impact on food
• impact on water
• impact on income
• impact on health
• impact on housing
• impact on migration

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3. KEYWORD MISTAKES

Mistake: Using keywords wrongly

Bad:

• Ozone depletion causes global warming.
• Energy is recycled in food chains.
• Abiotic means living things.
• Biodiversity means lots of animals.

Better:

• Greenhouse gases cause global warming.
• Energy flows through food chains and is lost as heat. Nutrients are recycled.
• Abiotic means non-living factors.
• Biodiversity means variety of species, genes and habitats.

Mark scheme warning:

• Keywords only score if used correctly.

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4. CONTRADICTION MISTAKES

Mistake: Giving opposite answers in same response

Bad:

• The population increased and decreased from 1950 to 2020.

Better:

• The population increased from 1950 to 1990, then remained stable from 1990 to 2020.

Bad:

• Fish increase because of overfishing.

Better:

• Fish decrease because they are caught faster than they reproduce.

Why this matters:

• Mark schemes say contradicted correct points may not be credited.

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5. REPETITION MISTAKES

Mistake: Same point written three times

Bad:

• Tourism creates jobs.
• Tourism gives employment.
• Tourism gives people work.

Better:

• Tourism creates jobs.
• Tourists spend money in local businesses.
• Government earns tax revenue.

Rule:

• Repeated point = usually one mark only.
• Different wording does not magically become a new point. Examiner isn’t fooled, sadly.

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Written and Compiled By Sir Hunain Zia (AYLOTI), World Record Holder With 154 Total A Grades, 11 World Records and 7 Distinctions, Educate A Change.

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6. CALCULATION MISTAKES

Mistake: Missing units

Bad:

• 1348

Better:

• 1348 people/km²

Bad:

• 30.1

Better:

• 30.1°C

Common units:

• population density = people/km²
• percentage = %
• temperature = °C
• distance = km or m
• mass = kg, tonnes, g
• yield = kg/ha

Mark scheme warning:

• Missing or incorrect units can lose the final calculation mark.

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Mistake: Wrong population density formula

Bad:

• area ÷ population

Correct:

• population ÷ area

Example:

• 62 000 ÷ 46 = 1348 people/km²

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Mistake: Wrong percentage increase formula

Bad:

• increase ÷ new value × 100

Correct:

• increase ÷ original value × 100

Example:

• old value = 16 597
• new value = 17 348
• increase = 751
• percentage increase = 751 ÷ 16 597 × 100 = 4.5%

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Mistake: Negative temperature range error

Bad:

• -36.7 - -6.6 = -30.1°C

Correct:

• highest minimum temperature = -6.6°C
• lowest minimum temperature = -36.7°C
• range = -6.6 - (-36.7)
• range = 30.1°C

Range is normally positive.

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Mistake: Rounding too early

Bad:

• Rounding halfway through working
• Final answer becomes inaccurate

Better:

• Keep full value in calculator
• Round only at the end

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7. GRAPH MISTAKES

Mistake: No axis labels

Bad:

• x-axis has numbers only
• y-axis has numbers only

Better:

• x-axis: year
• y-axis: population
• y-axis: temperature / °C

The 2025 mark scheme gave graph marks for axis labels, suitable scale and accurate plotting.

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Mistake: Uneven scale

Bad:

• 0, 10, 30, 60, 100
• random jumps

Better:

• 0, 10, 20, 30, 40
• equal intervals

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Mistake: Tiny graph

Bad:

• Graph squeezed into one corner

Better:

• Use at least half the grid
• Spread data clearly

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Mistake: Wrong graph type

Bad:

• Drawing a bar chart when asked for a line graph
• Drawing a line graph for separate categories

Better:

• Time series = usually line graph
• Categories = bar chart
• Proportions = pie chart

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Mistake: Not joining plotted points

Bad:

• Points plotted but no line when line graph required

Better:

• Plot accurately
• Join points with straight lines unless told otherwise

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8. DATA DESCRIPTION MISTAKES

Mistake: Saying “it increases” only

Bad:

• It increases.

Better:

• It increases from 23 000 in 1950 to 56 000 in 1990, then remains stable until 2020.

Add:

• start value
• end value
• highest value
• lowest value
• period of change
• plateau/fluctuation

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Mistake: Giving no data in “use the data” questions

Bad:

• The fertiliser is best because yield is higher.

Better:

• Field C has the highest yield at 450 kg/ha, so this insecticide appears most effective.

Rule:

• If question says use data, quote numbers.

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Mistake: Making conclusions beyond the data

Bad:

• This proves climate change everywhere.

Better:

• This shows a temperature increase in this data set, but more long-term data from more locations is needed to make a climate change conclusion.

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9. MAP MISTAKES

Mistake: Not using direction/location words

Bad:

• They are all over the place.

Better:

• Most settlements are along the coast, on ice-free land, and near ports or airports.

Useful words:

• north
• south
• east
• west
• coastal
• inland
• clustered
• dispersed
• linear
• near rivers
• near roads
• near ports
• absent from mountains/desert/ice

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Mistake: Describing one feature only

Bad:

• Settlements are near the sea.

Better:

• Most settlements are near the coast and on ice-free land. Few or none are found in the ice-covered interior.

Why better:

• Gives pattern + absence
• Easy marks

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10. CASE-STUDY MISTAKES

Mistake: Ignoring the opening country information

Bad:

• Same generic answer for every country

Better:

• Use the given:
  • climate
  • terrain
  • economy
  • population
  • resources
  • hazards
  • map location

Example:

• If the place has hot dry summers
  • mention drought
  • irrigation
  • wildfire risk
  • water shortage

Example:

• If the place is an island
  • mention limited land
  • tourism pressure
  • sea level rise
  • ports/fishing
  • waste disposal difficulty

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Mistake: Not applying to the location

Bad:

• People migrate because they want better jobs.

Better:

• Young adults may move from Greenland to Denmark because Greenland has long cold winters, limited jobs mainly in fishing/tourism, and fewer higher education options.

Context = marks. Use it.

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11. QUESTIONNAIRE MISTAKES

Mistake: Weak pilot survey answer

Bad:

• To check the survey.

Better:

• A pilot survey tests whether questions are clear and whether they give the information needed, so the questionnaire can be improved before the main survey.

The 2025 mark scheme accepted pilot survey ideas such as pretesting questions, improving them, checking whether the survey gives the needed information, and checking response rate/time taken.

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Mistake: Weak questionnaire limitations

Bad:

• Questionnaires are bad.
• People may not like them.

Better:

• Some people may not return the questionnaire.
• Some answers may not be truthful.
• People may misunderstand questions.
• The survey may not include tourists or homeless people.
• A lot of data may be time-consuming to process.

The mark scheme accepted limits such as literacy issues, non-return, untruthful answers, cost, time, excluded groups, and large data processing.

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12. SAMPLING MISTAKES

Mistake: Confusing random and systematic sampling

Random sampling:

• every item/person has equal chance

Systematic sampling:

• every nth item/person is selected

Bad:

• Every second tree is random sampling.

Correct:

• Every second tree is systematic sampling.

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Mistake: Not explaining reliability

Bad:

• It is reliable because it is good.

Better:

• It is more reliable because a larger sample size reduces the effect of anomalies.

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Mistake: Not explaining validity

Bad:

• It is valid because the answer is correct.

Better:

• It is valid if other variables such as soil type, water and sunlight are controlled, so the result is caused by the factor being tested.

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13. INVESTIGATION MISTAKES

Mistake: Forgetting the control

Bad:

• Field E has no treatment because they forgot.

Better:

• Field E is untreated so it acts as a control for comparison with treated fields.

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Mistake: Invalid conclusion from limited data

Bad:

• Field B has poor soil because yield is low.

Better:

• This may not be valid because other factors such as insecticide type, water, pests, sunlight or soil nutrients may have affected yield.

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Mistake: Ignoring anomalies

Bad:

• Treating every value as normal

Better:

• Identify the odd value
• Say it may be an anomaly
• Suggest repeat testing

Example:

• If values are 423 and 32 for the same sample area, 32 is likely anomalous.

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14. ADVANTAGES / DISADVANTAGES MISTAKES

Mistake: Mixing them together

Bad:

• Machines are fast and expensive and reduce jobs and harvest quickly.

Better:

Advantages:

• Machines harvest faster.
• Machines reduce labour costs.

Disadvantages:

• Machines are expensive.
• Machines may reduce employment.

Use headings. Old-school, clean, examiner-friendly.

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Mistake: Giving only one side

Question:

• Suggest advantages and disadvantages...

Bad:

• only advantages

Better:

• at least one advantage
• at least one disadvantage

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15. COMPARE MISTAKES

Mistake: Describing only one side

Bad:

• Males are high from 0–54.

Better:

• From 0–54, males and females are mostly similar. From 55+, females are generally higher than males.

Compare means:

• both sides
• same age range/category
• higher/lower/similar
• data if available

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16. EVALUATION MISTAKES

Mistake: One-sided evaluation

Bad:

• Recycling is good because it reduces waste.

Better:

• Recycling reduces landfill and raw material extraction. However, it requires collection, sorting and processing, which can be expensive. Overall, it is useful but works best with reducing and reusing.

Evaluation needs:

• benefit
• limitation
• judgement

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Written and Compiled By Sir Hunain Zia (AYLOTI), World Record Holder With 154 Total A Grades, 11 World Records and 7 Distinctions, Educate A Change.

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17. TOPIC-SPECIFIC SCIENCE MISTAKES

Climate change

Bad:

• Ozone hole causes global warming.

Correct:

• greenhouse gases cause global warming
• ozone depletion allows more UV radiation through

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Sea level rise

Bad:

• Melting sea ice causes sea level rise.

Better:

• melting land ice adds water to oceans
• warmer seawater expands

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Acid rain

Bad:

• Carbon dioxide is the main cause of acid rain.

Better:

• sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides cause acid rain

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Food chains

Bad:

• Energy is recycled.

Better:

• energy flows through food chains
• energy is lost as heat
• nutrients are recycled

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Biodiversity

Bad:

• Biodiversity means many animals.

Better:

• biodiversity means variety of species, genes and habitats

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Overfishing

Bad:

• Overfishing means illegal fishing.

Better:

• overfishing means fish are caught faster than they reproduce

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Eutrophication

Bad:

• Fertilisers poison fish directly.

Better:

• fertilisers cause algal bloom
• algae die
• decomposers use oxygen
• fish die due to low oxygen

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Bioaccumulation vs biomagnification

Bad:

• mixing them randomly

Correct:

• bioaccumulation = toxin builds up inside one organism over time
• biomagnification = toxin concentration increases up the food chain

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Plastic

Bad:

• Plastic dissolves in water.

Better:

• plastic breaks into microplastics
• microplastics enter food chains
• plastic does not biodegrade easily

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Sewage

Bad:

• Sewage only smells bad.

Better:

• sewage spreads pathogens
• sewage increases decomposition
• oxygen decreases
• fish die

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18. ENVIRONMENTAL / ECONOMIC / SOCIAL MIX-UP

Mistake: Wrong impact type

Question asks:

• Suggest environmental impacts of tourism.

Bad:

• It creates jobs.

Better:

• It increases litter and sewage pollution.
• It destroys habitats for hotels and roads.
• It disturbs wildlife.

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Know the difference

Environmental:

• pollution
• habitat loss
• biodiversity loss
• erosion
• water quality
• climate change

Economic:

• jobs
• income
• exports
• tax revenue
• costs
• trade

Social:

• health
• education
• housing
• migration
• quality of life
• access to water/food

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19. “STATE TWO” LIST RULE MISTAKES

Mistake: Writing too many random points

Bad:

• coal, oil, trees, wind, gas

If asked for two renewable energy sources, this can go badly because wrong early answers may count.

Better:

• solar
• wind

Rule:

• Put your strongest answers first.
• Do not panic-spray the page with guesses.

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20. OVERWRITING MISTAKES

Mistake: Huge paragraphs for small marks

Bad:

• 7 lines for 1 mark
• repeating yourself
• losing time

Better:

1 mark:

• exact answer

2 marks:

• two bullets

3 marks:

• cause → process → effect

4 marks:

• four bullets or two developed chains

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21. COMMON BAD PHRASES TO AVOID

Avoid:

• good for the environment
• bad for nature
• affects people
• causes problems
• it changes
• pollution happens
• animals die without saying why
• climate change happens without greenhouse gas link
• it is not sustainable without explaining resource use

Replace with:

• reduces biodiversity
• destroys habitats
• pollutes groundwater
• reduces dissolved oxygen
• increases greenhouse gas emissions
• increases water demand
• reduces crop yield
• causes food insecurity

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22. FINAL EXAM CHECKLIST OF MISTAKES TO AVOID

Before moving to the next page, check:

• Did I answer the command word?
• Did I give enough points for the marks?
• Did I use the case-study information?
• Did I add units?
• Did I show working?
• Did I quote data where needed?
• Did I avoid vague phrases?
• Did I avoid repeating the same point?
• Did I separate advantages and disadvantages?
• Did I compare both sides?
• Did I give a judgement in evaluation?
• Did I avoid contradictions?
• Did I label graph axes?
• Did I use an even graph scale?
• Did I identify anomalies?
• Did I control variables in investigation answers?

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Written and Compiled By Sir Hunain Zia (AYLOTI), World Record Holder With 154 Total A Grades, 11 World Records and 7 Distinctions, Educate A Change.

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23. ONE-LINE CORRECTION BANK

Bad → Good

• Pollution is bad.
  → Pollution reduces water quality and may kill aquatic organisms.
• Tourism affects animals.
  → Tourism disturbs wildlife, reducing feeding or breeding success.
• Mining damages land.
  → Mining removes vegetation and topsoil, causing habitat loss and erosion.
• Urbanisation causes water shortage.
  → Urbanisation increases demand and reduces infiltration due to impermeable surfaces.
• Fertilisers kill fish.
  → Fertilisers cause algal bloom; decomposition uses oxygen, so fish die.
• Climate change melts ice.
  → Climate change melts land ice, adding water to oceans and raising sea level.
• Questionnaires are unreliable.
  → Questionnaires may be unreliable because people may not return them or may give dishonest answers.
• The conclusion is wrong.
  → The conclusion may not be valid because other variables were not controlled.
• Biodiversity is animals.
  → Biodiversity is the variety of species, genes and habitats.
• Overfishing is illegal fishing.
  → Overfishing is catching fish faster than they can reproduce.

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24. THE BIGGEST PAPER 2 MISTAKE

• Students write knowledge but not applied knowledge.

Bad:

• Cold places are hard to live in.

Better:

• In Greenland, long cold winters and short cool summers make living conditions difficult, so young adults may move to Denmark for better opportunities.

Bad:

• Tourism causes pollution.

Better:

• On a small island like Ischia, millions of tourists increase vehicle use, sewage and waste, putting pressure on limited land and water resources.