Cambridge International · study method
How to revise from Cambridge mark schemes
A Cambridge mark scheme lists exactly what each mark is awarded for. In maths, M marks are for method, A marks for accuracy (and need the method mark first), and B marks stand alone. Revising from one means sitting a paper, marking it strictly against those criteria, recording why each lost mark went, and redoing the work until you produce the mark-earning step without thinking.
Read just for the answers, a mark scheme teaches very little. Read for what earns the mark, it is the most precise revision document Cambridge publishes.
Updated 1 October 2026
Written by the Quanta team. How Quanta marks papers
What the codes mean
These appear at the front of every Cambridge maths mark scheme. In our words:
| M | Method mark — for applying a valid method to this problem. Not lost for an arithmetic slip, but quoting a formula without using it does not earn it. |
| A | Accuracy mark — for a correct answer or step. Only available if the method mark it depends on was earned. |
| B | Independent mark — for a correct result or statement, whatever the method. |
| DM / DB | A method or independent mark that depends on an earlier one; lose the first and this one goes too. |
| FT | Follow through — the mark can still be earned using your own wrong value from earlier, if the work from there is right. |
| AG | Answer given on the paper ("show that"): every step to it must be valid, because the answer itself is worth nothing. |
| CAO | Correct answer only — no follow through from an earlier error. |
| CWO | Correct working only. |
| AWRT | Answer which rounds to — the value is accepted if it rounds to the one in the scheme. |
| AEF / OE | Any equivalent form, or equivalent — 0.5 and 1/2 both score, for example. |
| SOI | Seen or implied — the step does not need to be written if a later line shows you did it. |
| ISW | Ignore subsequent working — once the right answer is written, later slips are not penalised. |
| SC | Special case — a specific mark for a specific wrong approach the examiners anticipated. |
| WWW | Without wrong working. |
One more rule from the same notes: a numerical answer is accepted if it is correct to 3 significant figures, or 1 decimal place for an angle in degrees.
Rules every examiner follows
- Marks are awarded positively. You gain marks for what is right; nothing is deducted for errors or for things left out.
- Only whole marks. There are no half marks.
- The scheme decides, and is applied consistently. If your method is valid but not the one printed, examiners credit it — which is why schemes often list alternative methods.
The practical consequence: show the step. A correct answer reached in your head can lose every method mark; a wrong answer with the right method written down can keep most of them.
A five-step method
- Sit the paper properly. Timed, no notes. Marking work you did with the book open tells you nothing.
- Mark strictly. Go criterion by criterion. If the scheme wants the method written and you skipped it, the M mark is gone — even though you “knew it”.
- Log why each mark went. Method not shown, accuracy slip, reason missing, didn’t attempt. The pattern in that column is your revision plan.
- Write the mark-earning step. For every lost mark, write the exact line the scheme would have credited. This is the step that sticks.
- Redo it a week later. Same question, cold. If the mark comes back without the scheme in front of you, it is learned. Then rank your weak topics.
Quanta does steps 2 and 3 for you: papers are marked against the official criteria and every lost mark is logged against its skill. How that works.
Business and Economics answers
Longer written answers are not marked point by point. They are marked in levels against assessment objectives — knowledge, application, analysis and evaluation — and the scheme gives indicative content rather than a single right answer. Revising from them means checking which level your answer reached for each objective, and what the next level asks for: usually a developed chain of analysis, or a judgement tied to the specific business or economy. How 9609 essays are marked.
Traps the schemes reveal
- Calculator answers with no working. The 9709 Paper 11 scheme for May/June 2024 gives 0 out of 3 for a calculator answer to question 1(b) with no working shown.
- “Show that” (AG) questions. The answer is printed, so all the marks are in the steps. Skipping one to arrive at the given answer loses it.
- Premature rounding. Rounding mid-calculation can push the final answer outside what the scheme accepts. Keep full values until the end.
- Dependent marks. Where a mark is DM, losing the earlier method mark costs both — the first step matters twice.
Common questions
Why did I lose marks when my final answer was right?
Because most marks are for the steps, not the answer. Method marks need the method written down; an accuracy mark only counts if its method mark was earned; and on a “show that” question the answer is printed, so it is worth nothing on its own. The 9709/11 June 2024 scheme, for example, gives 0 out of 3 for a calculator answer to question 1(b) with no working. A rounded intermediate value can also push a final answer outside what the scheme accepts.
What does M1 A1 B1 mean on a Cambridge mark scheme?
M1 is one method mark, A1 one accuracy mark (only available if the method mark was earned), and B1 one independent mark for a correct result or statement.
What does FT mean in a mark scheme?
Follow through: you can still earn the mark using your own earlier wrong value, as long as the work from there is correct.
Where can I get Cambridge mark schemes?
Cambridge releases them to schools on results day, and publishes a selection on its website. When papers and schemes are released. On Quanta you do not need the PDF: papers are marked against their scheme for you.
Source: Cambridge International AS & A Level Mathematics 9709/11 mark scheme, May/June 2024 — mark-scheme notes and generic marking principles, paraphrased.
Practise real Cambridge past papers against real mark schemes
Quanta has real Cambridge A Level Maths 9709 past-paper questions, broken into skill checkpoints, marked criterion by criterion the way examiners mark — and it tracks which skills you’re missing. Free for individual students.
Start practising free