The LinkyThinks Blog
Tips, ideas and strategies to help your child at home, at school and beyond.
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Exams don’t test what you know. They test your ability to communicate what you know.
There’s a common misunderstanding about exams.
People say exams test your knowledge.
They don’t. Not really.
Exams are not mind-reading machines. They cannot see what you understand or what you’ve memorised. They can only assess how well you communicate your understanding or knowledge.
And that difference matters.
One tiny word that causes big Comprehension problems
There’s one small word that regularly trips children up in comprehension.
It’s not a long, complicated word.
It’s why.
When we see why in a question, we know it means: give a reason.
But many children don’t actually answer the reason. They answer something else.
Children love spotting mistakes
Most children enjoy playing the role of teacher. They like feeling knowledgeable. Capable. Slightly superior, even.
When you intentionally make a mistake, you hand them that role.
Suddenly they are the expert.
They’re watching carefully. They’re analysing. They’re ready to correct you.
That process strengthens their understanding far more than passively listening to an explanation.
Try getting it wrong, to help them get it right
Here’s a counterintuitive idea.
If you want to help your child learn something new, even if you don’t feel confident in the subject yourself, one of the most effective things you can do is model the wrong way to do it.
Yes, deliberately get it wrong.
It sounds strange. It works remarkably well.
Children love spotting mistakes
Most children enjoy playing the role of teacher. They like feeling knowledgeable. Capable. Slightly superior, even.
When you intentionally make a mistake, you hand them that role.
Suddenly they are the expert.
They’re watching carefully. They’re analysing. They’re ready to correct you.
That process strengthens their understanding far more than passively listening to an explanation.
The Verbal Reasoning trap
When it comes to verbal reasoning, there’s one mistake we see again and again.
Children understand what a synonym is. Ask them and they’ll often tell you correctly: two words with the same meaning.
But in the pressure of a reasoning task, something subtle happens. They stop looking for meaning and start looking for connection.
And that’s where they fall into the trap of associated words.