Answering techniques – the missing piece to scoring in SPM

This article is part of Uni Enrol’s SPM Masterclass to be held in November 2020. Register now at unienrol.com/spm-masterclass

There is an often-neglected method that impedes students from excelling in their examinations. While it may sound simple, having a sound understanding of answering techniques is the edge that divides good students from excellent ones.

So what are answering techniques? This method is about understanding how students can maximise their scores when providing answers that adhere to the right format, terminologies, steps and optimal way of answering that checks all the things examiners look for. That is why even if you answered correctly you MAY NOT get full marks. Experienced teachers are more familiar with these SPM examination requirements.

Right format for free marks

By just adhering to the correct format requirements, students can pick up marks that an examination scheme has allocated for. For example, in the formal letter section for the English examination, writing dates in full like 27 September 2020 will give students one mark, instead of writing 27/9/2020 which carries zero marks.

For subjects such as Chemistry or Physics, answering in a different unit from the stated, although correctly converted, will still cause students to lose marks, for example giving in kg instead of gram.

Easily scoring marks

For subjects such as Accounting and Mathematics, marks are given when students can show the correct steps even if the answers are incorrect.

In Accounting, just by moving figures provided in the question to the correct account set-up such as capital account or realised profit and loss account, students will already gain, for example, four out of 20 marks easily. Examinations do provide easy-to-collect marks to reward the student’s understanding of basic concepts.

Get noticed by examiners

For essay or structured questions especially in Bahasa Malaysia, English and Sejarah, it is best to separate different points given into separate paragraphs so that examiners can easily distinguish where they should be marking and awarding marks. Examiners go through hundreds of papers and may easily overlook due to an untidy presentation.

Watching for clues

Read questions carefully to look for keywords that serve as clues to answers. For example, if a Physics question states that a ship is floating, it is a clue which tells students that the buoyant force of the water is the same as the weight of the ship and is crucial to solving the question.

Be alert on marks allocation as it is also an indication of how much students need to provide. If a question carries six marks but asks students to provide only two points, it means that examiners expect further explanation, elaboration or examples to each point given.

Teachers’ proprietary formula

In the SPM Masterclass, experienced teachers will also share their answering formulas so students can provide optimal answers.

For example, teacher Haslindar Nor Ismail’s BASuH method (Baca, Analisis, Subjek, Huraian) is a step-by-step method to tackle KBAT (

Kemahiran Berfikir Aras Tinggi) questions in a consistent manner and getting full marks. Watch her trial class videos in Uni Enrol’s Youtube channel and also join the Masterclass to learn more.

Teacher Nurshashimah Nawawi will share her FHC (Fakta, Huraian, Contoh) method to answer Sejarah KBAT questions. Every fact, elaboration and example given carries marks even though questions do not explicitly instruct students to provide.

The SPM Masterclass is designed to cover answering techniques, past year examination analysis and discussion of popular and challenging topics by experienced teachers.

Go to unienrol.com/spm-masterclass to quickly sign up as seats are limited or call 03-5613 7225, Monday to Friday, between 9.30am and 6pm.

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