Resources · 5 min read
How VCE exams are marked — and how to stop dropping easy marks
Understand how VCAA allocates method and answer marks, why students lose marks they knew, and a checklist to secure them in the exam.
Most students lose marks not because they can't do the question, but because of how they write the answer. VCAA examiners mark against a scheme that breaks each question into discrete marks — and if the working that earns a mark isn't on the page, the mark isn't awarded, even when the final answer is right.
Method marks vs answer marks
Extended-response questions are split into method marks (M) and answer marks (A). A method mark rewards a correct step — setting up an equation, substituting values, choosing the right rule. An answer mark rewards the correct final result, usually with the right units or a concluding statement.
This is why "the answer is correct so I should get full marks" is a myth: a correct answer with no working often earns only the answer mark, and loses every method mark.
Where students actually lose marks
- •No working shown — the right answer appears with nothing to award method marks to.
- •Missing units, or the wrong number of significant figures.
- •Rounding too early, so the final answer is slightly off.
- •Not stating a concluding sentence when the question says "explain" or "justify".
- •Only giving one solution when an equation has two.
A 30-second checklist before you move on
- •Did I show the step that earns each mark, not just the final line?
- •Units and significant figures correct?
- •Did I answer what was asked (e.g. speed, not speed²)?
- •For "explain" questions: did I state the cause AND the effect?
Practise the way you're marked
The fastest way to stop dropping marks is to be marked like the real exam — mark by mark, with feedback on exactly what a step was missing. That's what ATAR99 does on written answers.