GCSE exam and project skills
Computer Science · GCSE · The School
Precision beats fluency
State needs a fact. Describe needs detail. Explain needs a because. Compare needs both things in the same sentence. Answering "explain" with a description is the commonest way to lose marks on a paper you actually understood. Read the command word twice and match your answer's shape to it.
Pseudocode is for humans
Write it clearly, indent consistently, use meaningful names, and do not worry about a specific language's punctuation. It should be readable by someone who codes in any language. A marker follows your LOGIC — if they cannot, no amount of correct thinking rescues the answer.
Document while you build
Screenshot each working stage, keep your test table as you go, and write down decisions with reasons when you make them ("used a list because the number of scores varies"). Reconstructing all this at the end is slow and always thinner than the real thing — and the reasons are exactly what the marks are for.
VAGUE: "loop through and if it's big add it up." UNAMBIGUOUS: set `total` to 0; FOR each number IN list; IF number > 100 THEN set `total` to `total + number`; ENDIF; ENDFOR; OUTPUT `total`. Same idea, and only the second can be marked — every branch opens and closes, each step is on its own line in your answer, and the indentation shows the structure. Use your board's own reference language and there is no question of what you meant.