What the examiners said about IAL P1 (WMA11) — and exactly what to do about it
We read every Pearson Edexcel examiner report for WMA11 from June 2024 to June 2025, mapped each question to a topic, and turned the comments into a checklist of the mistakes that cost the most marks.
Summaries are in our own words with links to the originals. Predictions are informed guesses, not a guarantee.
Ranked for January 2027
What to focus on for January 2027
IAL units are sat in January, June and October. The October 2026 series is next; the ranking below is for your next sitting, whichever it is. Ranked by how often each area appeared, how many marks it carried and how weakly it was answered.
Informed prediction, not a guarantee: any topic on the specification can be examined.
1
Indices, surds and hidden quadratics without a calculator
The largest block in every series we read (about 20 marks each time) and the part most affected by the calculator warning.
Ordered by how often and how widely they were reported. The first 5 are free in full; Pro unlocks the fix and a worked example for every other one.
#1Calculator warning ignored: surds and fractions done on the calculator
What examiners saw: Questions carrying the warning that solutions relying on calculator technology are not acceptable (rationalising a denominator, solving a quadratic) are answered with a calculator value and little working, which scores little or nothing.
Fix: When you see the warning, write every algebraic step. Use the calculator only to check.
Worked example (our own): (No calculator) Simplify 6 / (3 − √3), giving your answer in the form a + b√3.
Why: When the paper says "show all stages of your working" or "solutions relying on calculator technology are not acceptable", a correct decimal scores nothing.
What examiners saw: Coordinates and angles are given in degrees when the question is in radians, sector formulas for degrees are used with radian angles, and an "obtuse angle" instruction is ignored.
Fix: If the question uses radians, set the calculator to radians and use s = rθ, A = ½r²θ. Re-read any condition on the angle.
Worked example (our own): A sector has radius 5 cm and angle 1.2 radians. Find its area.
Loses marks
Area = (1.2/360) × π × 5² = 0.26 cm²
Earns the marks
The angle is in radians, so use A = ½r²θ
A = ½ × 5² × 1.2 = 15 cm²
Why: The degree formulas (θ/360 × πr²) are wrong for radian angles. If a question gives or asks for radians, stay in radians (and set the calculator to radians).
#4Curve sketches without labelled intercepts and asymptotes
What examiners saw: Shapes are often right but intercepts with the axes are not labelled, asymptotes are drawn in the wrong place or labelled with a number instead of an equation, and cubics are drawn with a turning point where they pass through the origin.
Fix: Label every intercept as coordinates and every asymptote as an equation. Check the shape at each root (touch or cross).
Worked example (our own): Sketch y = 1/(x − 2) + 3, showing asymptotes and where the curve meets the axes.
Loses marks
A reciprocal curve with no asymptotes or intercepts marked.
Earns the marks
Vertical asymptote x = 2; horizontal asymptote y = 3 (label both as equations)
y-intercept: x = 0 ⇒ y = −½ + 3 = 2.5, so (0, 2.5)
x-intercept: 1/(x − 2) = −3 ⇒ x = 5/3, so (5/3, 0)
Why: Sketch marks are for shape AND labelled features. An asymptote is a line: write its equation on the sketch.
#5Intersections and the discriminant: "= 0" missing and the wrong inequality
What examiners saw: Equating a line and a curve is fine, but the "= 0" of the quadratic is left off, the discriminant condition is the wrong way round, and the final inequality is solved without a sketch.
Fix: Rearrange to ax² + bx + c = 0, choose the condition (> 0, = 0, < 0), then solve the quadratic inequality with a sketch.
Worked example (our own): The line y = kx − 1 meets the curve y = x² + 3 at two distinct points. Find the possible values of k.
Loses marks
x² − kx + 4 = 0
k² − 16 < 0 ⇒ −4 < k < 4
Earns the marks
x² + 3 = kx − 1 ⇒ x² − kx + 4 = 0
Two distinct points ⇒ b² − 4ac > 0 ⇒ k² − 16 > 0
k < −4 or k > 4
Why: Two distinct roots needs b² − 4ac > 0. Solve the quadratic inequality with a sketch: the solution is outside the roots.
What examiners saw: Differentiating x^½ and x^(−½) causes errors; the minus sign in front of a term is lost when simplifying; the normal gradient is not the negative reciprocal.
Pro: the fix and a worked example (wrong vs right method) for this mistake are in Pro. See plans
#7Integration: negative powers and the missing + c
What examiners saw: Integrating 1/x² style terms loses a sign, coefficients are not simplified, and + c is left off (which also costs later parts that need it).
Pro: the fix and a worked example (wrong vs right method) for this mistake are in Pro. See plans
What examiners saw: The hardest question on the June 2025 paper: candidates could not name the transformations (type, direction, amount) that map one graph onto another.
Pro: the fix and a worked example (wrong vs right method) for this mistake are in Pro. See plans
How often each topic appeared, and for how many marks
Every question in the papers we read, matched to a topic. Numbers are marks (from the published mark schemes; a question that tests two topics has its marks split). Columns marked * count questions (q) because the marks could not be verified from the mark scheme. Hover or tap a cell to see the questions.
Confidence: high for the series shown — every question was read and mapped by hand. "Series" = how many of the 4 series examined the topic.
Paper by paper
Every paper we analysed, question by question
Topics are ours (matched from each report's question-by-question comments). We don't reproduce the questions: open the official paper from our past-paper page.
A one-page PDF of the ten most common mark-losing mistakes and how to avoid them. Print it and stick it inside your revision folder.
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Sources
Where this comes from
We read the examiner report for every series from June 2024 to June 2025 in full and matched each question to a topic; marks come from the published mark schemes where the per-question totals could be checked against the paper total.
What do examiners say students get wrong in IAL P1 (WMA11)?
The most repeated points are: Calculator warning ignored; Indices; Radians. Each one on this page has the fix and, where free, a worked example showing the wrong and right method.
Which IAL P1 (WMA11) topics come up most?
In the material we analysed, the biggest areas were Algebra: indices, surds, quadratics, inequalities, Differentiation, tangents and normals, Trigonometry and radians.
Is this a prediction of the January 2027 paper?
No one outside the exam board knows what will be on the next paper. The "focus" list is an informed prediction from how often topics appeared and how weakly they were answered; it is not a guarantee, so revise the whole specification.
Where does this information come from?
We read 5 Pearson Edexcel examiner reports (June 2024, October 2024, January 2025, June 2025) in full, summarised them in our own words and linked each point to the original.
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