The six-point check
| Check | Ask | What toppers do |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Demand | Did I answer the directive, not just the topic? | Critically examine gets for, against and a judgement. Discuss gets both sides and a view. |
| 2. Structure | Does each part of the question have its own heading? | Headings reuse the question's words. Two-part questions get two labelled parts. |
| 3. Coverage | Which angles does the topper have that I do not? | Political, economic, social, legal, ethical, international: the ones the question invites. |
| 4. Examples | Is every claim backed by a name, a number or a report? | Two to four per answer, each with a year or a source. |
| 5. Conclusion | Does the answer end forward, or on the last challenge? | A way forward, a balanced line or a constitutional value. |
| 6. Length | Am I inside the word limit? | About 175 words for 10 marks, 251 for 15, in the bank. |
Where to get a topper copy
Toppers and coaching institutes publish answer booklets after each result. The writeupsc bank indexes 5,901 of these answers by paper and year, with the page of each booklet linked, so you can find a topper answer to the question you just wrote. Browse by paper and year.
A ten-minute routine
- Write the answer by hand, timed: seven minutes for 10 marks, eleven for 15.
- Open the closest topper answer. Read it once without judging yours.
- Go down the six checks. Write one line per gap, not a rewrite.
- Keep the gaps on one page with the date. After a week, the repeated gap is the thing to practise.
The same check, done for you
writeupsc does the six checks from a photograph of your answer: it finds the closest topper answers, scores seven criteria out of 5, and names each change with where to write it and how many toppers did it. About a minute. See an example.
Questions
What if there is no topper answer to my exact question?
Use the closest question on the same topic with the same directive. The structure and the type of example carry over; the facts do not. writeupsc matches by closeness for the same reason.
How many answers should I check a day?
Two, the same day you write them. Checking ten at the weekend loses the reasoning you had while writing.
Is self-checking enough before the exam?
For structure, coverage and examples, yes. For an essay or an ethics case study, get one human read a week as well.
See how your own answer compares.
Photograph the sheet the way you wrote it. 1 free evaluation with a Google account, no card.