Short answer technique: marks per minute
How to read mark allocations, match response length to marks and stop losing easy marks in Section I.
Section I is where well prepared students quietly lose marks. The content is known, but the response is the wrong size, answers the wrong verb, or spends four minutes earning two marks.
Match the response to the mark allocation
- 2 marks: two developed sentences. One point, one piece of support.
- 3 to 4 marks: a short paragraph with two points and specific evidence for each.
- 5 to 6 marks: two paragraphs, a stated judgement, and evidence in every paragraph.
Read the verb before the topic
Outline asks for the features in sequence. Explain asks for how or why. Assess and evaluate ask for a judgement. Students who read the topic first tend to write everything they know about it and then attach the verb afterwards, which reads as padding.
The two minute rule
Allow roughly 1.5 to 2 minutes per mark, including reading. If you are past that, stop writing, take the marks you have earned and move on. Time taken from Section III to perfect a 3 mark answer is the most expensive time in the paper.
Common errors
- Writing an introduction for a 3 mark question.
- Naming a case without saying what it demonstrates.
- Answering a question about effectiveness with a description of process.
- Leaving a question blank because it looks unfamiliar. Write the legal principle you do know.
What is included
- Mark allocation guide
- Worked short answers
- Common errors and corrections
This resource is free. Read it here, and use it in your next practice response.
See the full libraryResources are most useful when the writing is checked. Bring your attempt to a session and it will be marked with you.
Book a sessionReady to start?
Book a session, or send an enquiry and ask anything first.