The question paper, section by section

Before any revision, understand the paper. Every mark you lose to the format is a mark you knew the answer to.

The shape of it

The II PUC History paper is 100 marks in 3 hours 15 minutes. The extra fifteen minutes are for reading the paper, and you should use them for exactly that.

• Part A — ten one-mark questions. Answer in one sentence. Not two.
• Part B — two-mark questions. Two points, one line each.
• Part C — five-mark questions. Four or five points, a line or two each.
• Part D — ten-mark essay questions, with choice.
• Part E — the map question, and a source-based question.

The mistake that costs the most

Writing a ten-mark answer for a five-mark question. It earns you five marks and costs you the twelve minutes you needed at the end. Look at the mark, then decide how long the answer is. This is a skill and it is learnable in a week.

What to do in the first fifteen minutes

1. Read the whole paper.
2. Mark the Part D questions you will answer. Do not decide this at the end when you are tired.
3. Note the map question and picture the map.
4. Start with the section you are surest of. Confidence in the first twenty minutes is worth real marks later.