How to study for your externals: knowing where to start
Studying for your external exam can feel overwhelming! Sometimes, just starting is the hardest part. In my time working with students, I have found a few key strategies that work really well.
1. Mock exams are your friend
Most schools run mock exams that can help you to identify areas for growth in your subject, whether that be Specialist Mathematics, General Mathematics or Mathematical Methods.
My first piece of advice would be to use your mocks as a guide for what to target. I have free resources on this site which you can filter by topic to focus in on these areas:
- Mathematical Methods: every past QCAA simple familiar question, complex familiar question and complex unfamiliar question from 2020 to 2025
- Specialist Mathematics: every past QCAA simple familiar question, complex familiar question and complex unfamiliar question from 2020 to 2025
- General Mathematics: every past QCAA Paper 1 question and Paper 2 question from 2020 to 2025
- Engineering: every past QCAA question from 2020 to 2025
For example, if your Methods mock showed that differentiation needs work, here are all the simple familiar questions on differentiation rules.
These question banks contain full explanations, animations and interactives that go deeper into the topic and break down the QCAA marking guide, with key “in between” steps included. Give it a go and see if it helps you to build understanding.
2. Interleaved practice is essential
One of the most dangerous ways you can study is starting at Unit 3 Topic 1 of your subject, and then just going through the subject in order until exam day!
Our external exam is an interleaved task. This means we are constantly being forced to make decisions about what a question is asking, what skills we are required to implement and how much time we should dedicate to a question.
One recommendation I would have, particularly for Methods and Specialist, is to set yourself about 45 minutes to complete 5 short response simple familiar questions and 2 short response complex familiar questions. This is a pace that is very quick, but it will set you up very well for the external exam in these subjects.
- Methods: 5 from the simple familiar short response questions and 2 from the complex familiar questions
- Specialist: 5 from the simple familiar short response questions and 2 from the complex familiar questions
To support interleaved practice, you can attempt random questions from these question banks! Every one of them has a button that picks a question at random.
3. Utilise your connections
The most successful students I have worked with continue their classroom partnerships into exam block. Often, your friends and the connections you have built are your greatest strength, so continue to bounce ideas off each other, organise study sessions and support each other during the external exam block.
If you are feeling overwhelmed with your exam block, and getting started, an hour of tutoring may be worthwhile! I am happy to work with you to identify areas for growth and build a plan of attack for the future!
Best of luck for the external exams. Be kind to yourself, and remember that your best effort will be good enough!
Practise this
Every past QCAA simple familiar question, 2020–2025
Units 3–4 · External exam · Interactive
All 175 Methods simple familiar questions from the 2020–2025 external exams: 55 short response questions with an animation, an interactive and the marking guide one mark at a time, and 120 multiple choice questions with stepped hints, a worked solution and, from 2021, how Queensland students answered. Browse by year or by topic.
Open: Every past QCAA simple familiar question, 2020–2025Every past QCAA complex familiar question, 2020–2025
Units 3–4 · External exam · Interactive
All 31 Methods complex familiar questions from the 2020–2025 external exams, the questions in the middle of each paper that join a few familiar skills together. Each has an animation and an interactive to work through first, then the marking guide one mark at a time. Browse by year or by topic.
Open: Every past QCAA complex familiar question, 2020–2025Every past QCAA complex unfamiliar question, 2020–2025
Units 3–4 · External exam · Interactive
All 26 complex unfamiliar questions from the 2020–2025 external exams, each with the hidden steps, an animation, an interactive and the marking guide one mark at a time. Browse by year or by topic.
Open: Every past QCAA complex unfamiliar question, 2020–2025Every past QCAA simple familiar question, 2020–2025
Units 3–4 · External exam · Interactive
All 179 Specialist simple familiar questions from the 2020–2025 external exams: 59 short response questions with an animation, an interactive and the marking guide one mark at a time, and 120 multiple choice questions with stepped hints, a worked solution and, from 2021, how Queensland students answered. Browse by year or by topic.
Open: Every past QCAA simple familiar question, 2020–2025Every past QCAA complex familiar question, 2020–2025
Units 3–4 · External exam · Interactive
All 24 Specialist complex familiar questions from the 2020–2025 external exams, the two questions before the complex unfamiliar ones on each paper. Each is a single prompt with no scaffolding, so you choose and join the familiar steps yourself. Each has an animation and an interactive to work through first, then the marking guide one mark at a time. Browse by year or by topic.
Open: Every past QCAA complex familiar question, 2020–2025Every past QCAA complex unfamiliar question, 2020–2025
Units 3–4 · External exam · Interactive
All 24 Specialist complex unfamiliar questions from the 2020–2025 external exams, each with the hidden steps, an animation, an interactive and the marking guide one mark at a time, with a tab for every method in the marking guide. Browse by year or by topic.
Open: Every past QCAA complex unfamiliar question, 2020–2025Every past QCAA simple familiar question, 2020–2025
Units 3–4 · External exam · Interactive
All 151 General Mathematics Paper 1 questions from the 2020–2025 external exams: 61 short response questions that show you the situation, let you try it and walk through the marking guide one mark at a time, and 90 multiple choice questions with an interactive, stepped hints, a worked solution and, from 2021, how Queensland students answered. Browse by year or by topic.
Open: Every past QCAA simple familiar question, 2020–2025Every past QCAA Paper 2 question, 2020–2025
Units 3–4 · External exam · Interactive
All 42 questions from Paper 2 of the 2020–2025 external exams, each with an interactive visualisation and the marking guide one mark at a time. Browse by year or by topic.
Open: Every past QCAA Paper 2 question, 2020–2025Every past QCAA question, 2020–2025
Unit 4 · External exam · Interactive
All 133 questions from the 2020–2025 Engineering external exams: 60 multiple choice, 38 written and 35 calculation questions, each with hints, a worked solution and the marking guide, and how Queensland students answered the multiple choice. Browse by year, topic or type.
Open: Every past QCAA question, 2020–2025