How to use worked solutions: the three-pass method that turns mistakes into marks

The worked solution is the most valuable page in any practice paper, and the most commonly misused. The usual pattern is to read it, think "oh, that makes sense", and turn the page. Unfortunately "that makes sense" is not the same as "I can do it". Here is a simple method that closes the gap.

The three-pass method

Pass 1: try again, solution closed

For every question that was wrong, guessed or slow, cover the solution and attempt it again with a fresh mind. About half the time your child will now get it right, which tells you the first error was a slip rather than a gap. Mark those as slips.

Pass 2: study the solution, then explain it

For questions still wrong, read the worked solution slowly. Then close it and explain the method out loud, or write it in your own words. If you cannot explain a step, that is the step to study. Finish by writing the takeaway line: one sentence that would help with a different question of the same type.

Pass 3: retry in two to three days

The most important pass, and the one most often skipped. After a gap, retry the same question or a close variant from memory. Retrieving something after a delay is far more effective for long-term learning than rereading it, which is why spaced practice is such a reliable study technique.

Read the "why the other options are wrong" notes

On multiple-choice papers, the wrong options are rarely random. They are the answers that students produce when they make a specific mistake: forgetting to convert units, adding instead of multiplying, picking the extreme statement. Learning to spot those traps is one of the fastest ways to lift a score, because the same traps return paper after paper.

Keep an error log

Paper and Q	Why I lost the mark	Takeaway	Retried on
P3 Q14	Did not convert minutes to hours	Convert units first, then calculate	Thursday: correct
P3 Q22	Picked the "all" statement	Extreme words (all, never) are usually wrong	Saturday: correct

Review the log briefly once a week. After a month it becomes a personalised revision guide, and the same types of mistake tend to fade.

Common mistakes when reviewing

• Reviewing only the questions that were wrong. Guessed and slow questions hide gaps too.
• Copying the solution. Copying feels like work but produces little learning. Explain it instead.
• Never retrying. Without retrieval, most of the benefit is lost.
• Reviewing straight after a hard paper. A short break, or the next morning, gives better focus.

For parents: your role

You do not need to know the content. Ask your child to teach you one mistake each session. "Show me one question you got wrong and tell me what you would do differently" is enough, and explaining it to you is itself a powerful form of review.