How to Tackle Difficult GCSE Questions Under Exam Pressure

When a GCSE question looks impossible, the temptation is to panic or skip it. But most difficult-looking questions are harder to decode than they are to answer — and a calm, structured approach will unlock more marks than you expect. The techniques below work across subjects, and they get better with practice.

Why GCSE questions feel harder in the exam than in revision

There are two reasons a question that looks manageable in revision can feel impossible in the exam. First, anxiety narrows focus — under stress, the brain's working memory is partly occupied by worry, leaving less capacity for retrieval and reasoning. Second, exam questions often use unfamiliar contexts or phrasings for familiar content. A question about osmosis set in a potato experiment and one set in a hospital drip are testing the same concept, but one phrasing may feel alien.

Understanding this helps, because it means the difficulty is often in the packaging of the question, not the underlying concept. Your job in the exam is to unwrap the packaging.

Step 1 — Read the question twice before writing a word

This sounds obvious but is frequently skipped under time pressure. The first read gives you a general sense of the topic. The second read is where you decode it:

Underline the command word (explain, describe, evaluate, calculate, compare, assess, suggest).

Circle the topic (e.g. osmosis, the Treaty of Versailles, quadratic equations).

Note the mark allocation — a 1-mark question needs one clear point; a 9-mark question needs extended, structured analysis.

Spot any source material — if there is a graph, photograph, or extract, you are almost certainly expected to reference it in your answer.

Reading twice takes thirty seconds. It prevents the most common exam error: answering a different question from the one asked.

Step 2 — Decode the command word

Command words are the examiner's instructions. Misreading them costs marks even when you know the content well. The most commonly confused pairs:

Command word | What it actually means
Describe | Say what you observe — features, patterns, facts. No reasons needed.
Explain | Say why or how — give the mechanism or reasoning.
Evaluate | Weigh up strengths and weaknesses; come to a justified conclusion.
Compare | State similarities AND differences; avoid discussing each in isolation.
Suggest | Give a plausible idea — there may be no single correct answer.
Calculate | Show full working; include units in your final answer.
Assess | Judge the significance or importance; balance evidence.

If a question says "explain", every sentence in your answer should include a because, so, therefore, which means, or this causes. If it says "describe", statements of fact are sufficient.

Step 3 — Use the "I know something about this" technique for blank-mind moments

If you read a question and your mind goes blank, do not leave the page empty and move on immediately. Instead, spend 90 seconds doing this:

Write down anything you know that is loosely related to the topic — even fragmented facts.

Look at those notes and ask: which of these is closest to what the question is actually asking?

Build an answer from there, even if it feels partial.

Partial answers earn partial marks. A blank page earns nothing. Examiners are trained to award credit for any relevant understanding, even when an answer is incomplete.

Step 4 — Structure your answer before you write it for longer questions

For questions worth 6 marks or more, spend sixty to ninety seconds planning before writing. A rough structure prevents the most common higher-mark failure: writing lots without saying much.

A worked example for an 8-mark "assess" question in GCSE History:

"Assess the importance of the Treaty of Versailles in causing the rise of Hitler."

Planning notes (60 seconds):

Point 1: War guilt + reparations → economic hardship → resentment ✓ (explain link to Hitler)

Point 2: Loss of territory → national humiliation → appeal of nationalist message ✓

Point 3: BUT also Great Depression, weak Weimar Republic, propaganda — not just Versailles

Conclusion: Versailles important but as one of several factors; economic crisis more immediate trigger

These four bullet points, written in the margin or on rough paper, mean the actual answer has a clear structure before a word is written in the answer space.

Step 5 — Manage time so difficult questions do not eat the whole paper

A common mistake is spending too long on one hard question and running out of time for questions you could have answered well. A useful rule:

Allocate roughly one minute per mark as a baseline.

If you are genuinely stuck after double the allocated time, move on and return at the end.

Mark skipped questions clearly so you find them again.

At the end of the paper, return to skipped questions. The rest of the exam may have jogged your memory, and you may now find partial answers come more easily.

How to stay calm when the paper looks harder than expected

If the paper opens and your first reaction is this looks awful, that feeling is normal and does not predict your result. What to do:

Take two slow, deliberate breaths before writing anything.

Quickly flip through the whole paper to identify the questions you are most confident about — start there to build momentum and score early marks.

Remind yourself that if a question is hard for you, it is hard for the whole cohort. Grade boundaries shift to reflect the difficulty of each paper.

The NHS notes that acute stress can impair memory retrieval — slow breathing genuinely helps by reducing cortisol and giving the brain's retrieval systems a moment to function more effectively.

Frequently asked questions

What should I do if I run out of time in a GCSE exam?

Move to bullet points rather than full sentences for any remaining answers. Examiners can award marks for bullet-pointed content that demonstrates relevant knowledge, even without fully developed paragraphs. Writing something is always better than writing nothing. If you have time for only one sentence on a 6-mark question, make that sentence your clearest, most specific point.

How do I know how much detail to include in a GCSE answer?

Use the mark allocation as your guide. One mark typically needs one clear point or correct fact. Two to three marks usually need a point, an explanation, and either an example or a link. Six marks and above require structured paragraphs with multiple developed points and often a conclusion. Read the question again after writing to check every part has been addressed.

Is it worth guessing on GCSE papers?

For multiple-choice questions, always guess if you are unsure — there is no negative marking in UK GCSEs. For short-answer questions, write your best attempt rather than nothing. A guess based on partial knowledge often picks up a mark. For extended writing, do not pad with irrelevant content — examiners are trained to ignore filler and assess only the relevant content.

What if I misread a question and realise mid-answer?

Stop, cross out what you have written clearly (a single diagonal line through it — do not scribble), and start again. Examiners do not penalise neat corrections. If you are close to the correct answer, add a bridging sentence that redirects: "However, the question asks about X rather than Y, so…" and continue. Composure after a mistake is itself a skill worth practising.

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