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Where Marks Go Missing

Answer the PSLE Science Question, Not the Topic

Part 1 of 3 of the PSLE Science OEQ Guide: writing the answer is its own skill, and it is rarely taught. Here are the seven ways marks go missing in Booklet B.

MCQ.SG Team··2 min read
Answer the PSLE Science Question, Not the Topic

Imagine a student who has one composition ready to go. It's a robbery — the shouting, the chase, the police arriving. Then the paper says the story has to happen in a hospital. So they write the robbery, and set it in a hospital.

In a composition, everyone spots that move. On a science paper it hides well. It hides because it sounds like science. It's a correct fact, straight from the textbook, that never uses anything from this question.

Why the context is the question

A question sets a scene. Ali. A cupboard. Two weeks.

The relevant details tell you where to apply the science. Here, the darkness and the time without light help explain why the plant died. The child's name does not need to be repeated to make the science clear.

Here's why. The topic is the same in fifty questions. Photosynthesis is photosynthesis. What makes this question different is the scene. So the mark is for the science concept applied to that scene, not for the concept alone.

Let's find the context. When you practise at home, highlight it; in the exam, hold it in your head as you read. Either way the mistake gets easy to see.

Practice exampleAli's plant was kept inside a closed, dark cupboard for two weeks and died. Explain why.
The answer we see all the time“Plants need light to make food by photosynthesis.”
This states a relevant fact, but does not connect the cupboard's darkness to the plant being unable to make food and eventually dying. The missing link matters more than how many details are repeated.
True, and well memorised. This answers a topic, not the question.
One possible answer“Inside the closed, dark cupboard, Ali's plant could not get light, so it could not make food by photosynthesis. After two weeks it had used up its stored food and died.” The explanation links darkness to the lack of photosynthesis and the eventual use of stored food. Repeating Ali's name or every detail is not a separate requirement.

Here's the test. Read your answer back: does it explain what happened to this plant in these conditions? Keep the details that make that link clear.

Next: a conclusion with no data behind it.

For more tips on improving your answers—from avoiding common mistakes to using precise science language—explore the complete PSLE Science OEQ Guide.

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Cause and Effect in PSLE Science OEQ Answers

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Use Data in PSLE Science Conclusions

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