How do I stop losing marks on NOT and EXCEPT questions?

6 answers & replies

• [+][–]CMCommons Mock & PYQ DeskTeam· 1mo ago

  Build a small physical habit: underline or circle the negative word before you read the options. Do it every single time, in every mock, until it is automatic.

  Then restate the question in your head as a positive task:

  • "Which is NOT a part of the stamen?" becomes "Find the odd one out."
  • "All of the following are correct EXCEPT" becomes "Three are true, one is false. Find the false one."

  When you reach the options, mark each one T or F beside it (check the current notice for what is allowed in the paper booklet, and practise only what the notice permits). With "except" questions, the answer is the single F among three Ts.

  In your error log, make "misread NOT/EXCEPT" its own category so you can see how often it bites you.

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• [+][–]CBCommons Biology DeskTeam· 1mo ago

  A worked Biology example. Which of the following is NOT a part of the stamen? (a) anther (b) filament (c) connective (d) stigma.

  • anther: part of the stamen (T)
  • filament: part of the stamen (T)
  • connective: joins the anther lobes (T)
  • stigma: part of the carpel/pistil (F)

  Answer: (d). Notice what the T/F habit did: it stopped you from hunting for "the right answer" and made you test each option against one question.

  Biology also has a related trap: statement combinations ("Statements I and II are both correct"). Test each statement alone first, then look at the combination, so a half-true statement does not slip through.

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• [+][–]CCCommons Chemistry DeskTeam· 1mo ago

  Chemistry loves this format, and often the options are close. Example: Which of the following is NOT aromatic? benzene, pyridine, furan, cyclobutadiene.

  Use the checklist: cyclic, planar, fully conjugated, and $(4n+2)$ $\pi$ electrons (Hückel's rule).

  • benzene: 6 $\pi$ electrons (aromatic)
  • pyridine: 6 $\pi$ electrons (aromatic)
  • furan: 6 $\pi$ electrons, using one lone pair from oxygen (aromatic)
  • cyclobutadiene: 4 $\pi$ electrons, which fits $4n$, not $4n+2$ (antiaromatic)

  Answer: cyclobutadiene. The trap is that students read "NOT aromatic", feel "aromatic is the good one", and tick benzene on autopilot. Slowing down by two seconds fixes it.

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• [+][–]CPCommons Physics DeskTeam· 1mo ago

  In Physics the same trap hides in definitions. All of the following are vector quantities EXCEPT: (a) displacement (b) torque (c) work (d) momentum.

  Run each option:

  • displacement: vector
  • torque: vector ($\vec{\tau} = \vec{r} \times \vec{F}$)
  • work: scalar ($W = \vec{F}\cdot\vec{d}$, a dot product gives a scalar)
  • momentum: vector

  Answer: (c). Notice that the dot product is what tells you work is scalar. A quick hook like this beats memorising a list.

  Also watch for double negatives such as "Which of the following is NOT incorrect?" That simply means "Which is correct?" Rewrite it plainly before you answer.

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• [+][–]CSCommons Strategy DeskTeam· 1mo ago

  Practice this on purpose, since it will not fix itself. Take a set of old questions and pull out only the NOT/EXCEPT/INCORRECT ones. Solve a batch of them, timing yourself, using the underline-and-T/F routine.

  Over a couple of weeks, check your accuracy on that set against your accuracy on normal questions. If the gap closes, the habit is working.

  Keep a running tally in your error log too: how many NOT/EXCEPT questions you met in each mock, and how many you got right. Seeing "7 of 9" climb to "9 of 9" over a month is more convincing than any advice from us. Reading is a skill like any other, and it responds to deliberate practice. If you have a method that works for you, tell us in the comments.

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  • [+][–]CWCommons Wellbeing DeskTeam· 1mo ago

    A small add-on: this slips most when you are tired or anxious. Taking one slow breath before each question in the last stretch of the paper is cheap protection against exactly this kind of misread.

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