- Past papers are examinations that were written in previous years. Learners use these papers to prepare for their exams.
- There are exam preparation papers available on various websites that you can find below.
- Matric College is the one-stop website that provides you with past papers.
- If you do not have internet access you can ask your teacher to help you find past papers.
- Past papers will make you aware of what you struggle with and could help you with time management during an exam.
It can be difficult finding past papers, one of the best ways to prepare for an exam is to practice past papers. Here are a few guidelines to help you.
What Are Past Papers?
They refer to examinations that were written in previous years. They are made available by the Department of Education to prepare current learners for their exams.
Using them in your exam preparation will benefit you greatly because you will be able to see what questions were asked over the years and how they were asked.
Exam Preparation Resources
Here are useful exam preparation sites:
- 2020 revised curriculum.
- Grade 12 Revised PATS.
- Exam guidelines for 2020.
- National Curriculum Statements (NCS).
These websites provide you with categorised lists. It also gives you information about The National Curriculum Statement Grades R-12, which describes how the South African school curriculum works.
Find Past Papers At Matric College
Matric College is your one-stop website for exam past papers. Here you will find past papers for all subjects and languages, as well as background information about the curriculum.
They also provide all the information for specific subjects, so that you do not need to search through a long list of different subjects.
For example, if you are looking for English First Additional Language and English Literature papers, you can find them according to the year.
Ask Your Teacher
If you do not have internet access, you can ask your teachers to help you. Your teacher may also have some available that you can borrow.
It is a good idea to complete a past paper and mark it by using the memo. After you see what your mistakes were, you can go to your teacher and ask for help with the specific areas you struggle with.
Why Should You Practice Past Papers?
Practicing will help you identify what you are struggling with and prepare you for the examinations. Here are some of the reasons you should make use of them in your exam preparation:
- Know what you struggle with: Sometimes you are not aware of the areas you struggle with. You only identify it when you do past papers.
- Practice makes perfect: The more you practice the better you will get at examinations.
- Understand how questions work: If you only study the learning materials, you will not be able to put what you have learnt into practice, but when you do past papers you get used to the way questions are formulated.
- Be prepared: The best way to know that you are ready for the exam is to complete a past paper and see how you did.
- Check the time: Sometimes the limited time you get to complete an exam is the thing that throws you off. Therefore, if you practice on the clock you can teach yourself how to complete a paper in a specific time frame.
