Cameroon GCE A Level ICT common mistakes
Cameroon GCE A Level ICT · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Writing the answer to a 'define' question as a full example (e.g., answering 'What is a database?' with 'a school keeps student records in a file') instead of stating the formal definition, then losing the definition mark.
Candidates memorise examples from class notes and reproduce them because examples feel concrete and safe, while the formal definition feels abstract; they assume the examiner will infer the definition from the example.
What to do instead
Practise a two-sentence pattern for every definition: sentence one gives the formal definition with the key term and its distinguishing property, sentence two gives the example. Drill it on a list of 30 core terms (data, information, database, field, record, file, hardware, software, network, protocol, bandwidth, validation, verification, backup, encryption, compiler, interpreter, operating system, algorithm, pseudocode).
Confusing data and information, or hardware and software, in short-answer questions and in the first part of structured questions, so later parts built on that distinction also collapse.
The words are used loosely in everyday speech, and candidates rush the 'easy' opening part without checking that the distinction (processed/meaningful versus raw/unprocessed) is stated explicitly.
What to do instead
Learn one fixed test: data is raw, unprocessed facts with no context; information is data that has been processed and given meaning and context for a decision. Apply it by labelling five real items (a mark list, a class average, a temperature reading, a weather forecast, a barcode) as data or information and justifying each in one clause.
Listing storage or device types without saying what they are used for or why they suit a given situation, when the question asks 'state one suitable device and give a reason' or 'describe an application'.
Command words are skimmed; candidates see a familiar noun (printer, backup, spreadsheet) and dump everything they know about it rather than answering the 'suitable for this situation' part.
What to do instead
Underline the command word and the context in every question before writing. Train the pattern 'device + property + because + context', e.g. 'a laser printer, because it produces high-quality text at high speed and the office prints many multi-page reports'. Practise ten such two-mark items until the reason clause is automatic.
Giving a single generic advantage when the question asks for two or more distinct points, so the same idea is repeated in different words and only one mark is awarded.
Candidates count sentences rather than distinct points and run out of ideas, so they restate the first point; they also fail to number points, making it hard for the examiner to credit them separately.
What to do instead
Number each point on its own line. Before writing, spend ten seconds listing the categories a benefit could fall into (cost, speed, accuracy, security, storage capacity, ease of use, staff training, environment) and pick different categories rather than paraphrasing one.
Describing validation and verification as the same thing, or giving a validation rule without naming the check (range check, type check, length check, presence check, format check, check digit) when the question names the scenario.
Both terms concern 'checking data', and the textbook distinction (validation checks whether data is reasonable/acceptable; verification checks whether data was copied/transferred correctly) is easily merged under exam pressure.
What to do instead
Memorise the one-line split: validation stops unreasonable data entering the system; verification confirms data matches the source. Then link each named check to a concrete field: age field gets a range check (0-120), phone number gets a length and type check, ID number gets a check digit, a password field gets a presence check. Write one sentence per check using its own name.
In spreadsheet questions, writing a formula with the wrong cell references or with a hard-coded value instead of a relative reference, so the answer cannot be copied down a column and loses the mark.
Candidates read the displayed value rather than the cell address, and they forget that a formula must generalise down a column; absolute versus relative referencing is memorised as a rule but not applied.
What to do instead
Always state the cell the formula is written in, then write the formula for that cell only, using relative references for the row being calculated and absolute ($) references only for fixed cells such as a tax rate. Test by asking 'if I copy this down one row, does it still point at the right cells?' Practise five formulas: sum, average, count, if, and a percentage with an absolute reference.
Answering a database question about primary keys, foreign keys, or relationships by describing what the data looks like rather than stating the defining property (unique, non-null, links to a primary key in another table, one-to-many).
Candidates know the words from practical work but never had to articulate the property, so they write 'the primary key is the first field' or 'it identifies the record' without the uniqueness requirement.
What to do instead
Learn three exact statements: primary key uniquely identifies each record and cannot be null or duplicated; foreign key is a field in one table that is the primary key in another table and creates the link; a one-to-many relationship means one record in table A relates to many in table B but each B record relates to one A record. Then draw a two-table example (Customer, Order) and label both keys and the relationship type.
Describing a network or the internet only in terms of 'computers connected together' and omitting the purpose, the hardware, or the protocol, when the question asks how data is transmitted or why a topology is suitable.
The topic is taught through diagrams, and candidates reproduce the picture in words without the underlying concepts of packet switching, IP addressing, and protocol layering that the mark scheme rewards.
What to do instead
For any network description, cover four slots: what is connected (nodes), the transmission medium, the rules (protocol such as TCP/IP) and the benefit (sharing resources, communication, central data). For 'how data travels', state that data is broken into packets, each packet carries source and destination addresses and a sequence number, packets may take different routes, and are reassembled at the destination.
Writing a pseudocode algorithm that uses a programming-language syntax (semicolons, braces, undeclared variables, 'print' mixed with 'output') or that omits initialisation and the loop termination condition, so it cannot be followed or marked.
Candidates practise in a real language and carry its punctuation into pseudocode, and they write the loop body before deciding how the loop ends, leaving an algorithm that never terminates or never initialises its counter.
What to do instead
Adopt one house style and never deviate: START/STOP, declare variables with their type, use INPUT and OUTPUT, IF...THEN...ELSE...ENDIF, FOR...NEXT or WHILE...ENDWHILE. Before writing, state the inputs, the process and the output in three lines, then initialise every counter and total, and check the loop by hand-tracing it with two sample values.
Treating the social, legal, and ethical part of the syllabus as optional and writing vague statements ('it is illegal', 'it is not fair') instead of naming the legislation or the specific issue when asked about data protection, computer misuse, or health and safety.
These topics feel like general knowledge, so candidates answer from opinion and never learn the named principles; they also cannot distinguish the offence (unauthorised access) from the safeguard (access rights, encryption, backups).
What to do instead
Build a three-column table for each issue: the problem (data loss, hacking, virus, repetitive strain injury, e-waste), the named law or principle that applies, and two concrete safeguards. Learn the core duties of data protection (data collected for specified purposes, adequate and relevant, not kept longer than necessary, kept secure, used only for the stated purpose) and the distinction between unauthorised access and unauthorised modification. Answer with the named principle plus a safeguard, never with a bare opinion.