Ten past papers or three? Why more is not always more.
The students who improve fastest are not always the ones who do the most papers. They are the ones who keep a log.
Magdalena SastreIB Spanish tutor · MallorcaEvery year, some students arrive in April having done ten past papers and still making the mistake they made in October. The papers were not the problem. Nothing connected one paper to the next.
The three-column log
After every paper, write down three things for each mistake worth fixing:
- What I wrote.
- What the examiner would reward instead.
- The rule for next time, in one short sentence.
A row might look like this: “El texto habla de la desigualdad” becomes “El texto denuncia / cuestiona / pone en evidencia la desigualdad”, and the rule is “choose a verb that shows what the author does, not just what the text is about”. After three papers, you will see the same two or three rows again and again. Those rows are your real study plan.
A realistic schedule
- One paper every two weeks, with a full review, beats four papers in the last week.
- Between papers, practise only the rows of your log, in five-minute drills.
- Before the next paper, read the log out loud once. It takes two minutes.
When the same mistake keeps coming back
Do not write the rule a fourth time. Change the exercise: write five new sentences using the right form, say them aloud, and ask someone to check them. A rule you only read does not move into your writing until you have produced it yourself.
A word for higher-level students
If your course includes extra higher-level tasks, keep a separate log for them, and check the current subject guide for what each component asks, since details can change between sessions.
Practice shows you the mistake. Review is what removes it.
If you are the parent
Ask your child to show you the log, not the paper. A page of honest rows is a better sign of progress than a high score on one attempt, and an empty log usually means the review did not happen. You can help by protecting the review time in the calendar, because it is the first thing to disappear when the week gets busy.
If you would like help turning your mistakes into a plan, book an assessment lesson below.
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