Mark Scheme Patterns & Common Mistakes

Understanding how AQA mark schemes work gives you a significant advantage. This lesson explains the types of marks, how they are awarded, what examiners look for, and the most common mistakes students make — broken down by topic.

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Types of Marks in AQA Mathematics

AQA uses three types of marks in A-Level Mathematics papers:

M marks (Method marks)

Awarded for a correct method or approach, even if the final answer is wrong due to an arithmetic or sign error.

Example: Find the gradient of the line passing through (2, 5) and (6, 13).

M1: (13 − 5) / (6 − 2)     ← correct method (change in y / change in x)
A1: = 8/4 = 2               ← correct answer

If a student wrote (13 − 5) / (6 − 2) = 8/4 = 4 (arithmetic error), they would still get the M1 for correct method but lose the A1.

Key principle: You can earn M marks even with wrong numbers, provided your method is sound. This is why showing your working is so important — a correct method with an arithmetic error still earns marks.