Mark Scheme Patterns & Common Mistakes

Understanding how AQA marks your answers is just as important as knowing the biology. This lesson decodes the marking system, reveals the most common mistakes that cost students marks, and teaches you how to write answers that examiners can award full marks to.

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How AQA Marks 6-Mark Extended Responses

Six-mark questions are marked using levels of response marking. This is fundamentally different from how shorter questions are marked.

Point-Based Marking (1–5 Mark Questions)

For shorter questions, AQA uses point-based marking. The mark scheme lists specific points, and you earn one mark for each point you make. For example:

"Explain why exercise increases heart rate" (2 marks)

Mark scheme:

• During exercise, muscles need more energy / respire more (1 mark)
• Heart rate increases to deliver more oxygen / glucose to muscles and remove more carbon dioxide (1 mark)

Levels of Response Marking (6-Mark Questions)

For 6-mark questions, the examiner reads your entire answer and decides which level it fits into: