It reads the scheme, not the topic.
M, A and B marks do different jobs. Markly checks your working against the points as written - method marks survive an arithmetic slip, accuracy marks don't.
CIE A-Level · marking engine
Stop guessing
what examiners
actually want.
Paste the question, the mark scheme and your working. Markly awards each point the way an examiner would - then explains, in plain English, the ones you dropped.
Ten marks free with an account. The finder and focus timer never expire. No card either way.
Question
Solve the inequality 2|2x − a| < |x + 3a|, where a is a positive constant.
M1
Squared both sides: 4(2x − a)² < (x + 3a)² Awarded - squaring is a valid way to clear the modulus here, because both sides are non-negative.
A1
Simplified to 15x² − 22ax − 5a² < 0 Awarded - expansion and collection are both correct.
A1
Final answer given as x < 5a/3 Dropped - only the upper bound. The factorised form also gives −a/5 < x, so the solution is an interval.
B1
Wrote ≤ in the final line Dropped - the question uses a strict inequality, so the endpoints are not included.
Total awarded
02/04
00subjects covered
00free marks before you pay anything
2×top streak multiplier on XP
$10a month after that, cancel anytime
The paper comes backNine out of fourteen.
A number in a circle, and nothing beside it.
Five marks went somewhere. Nobody says where.
So you revise the whole topic again - including the half you already had right.
Marks awarded
09/14
Reasons given
00
Five dropped marks. No margin note, no next step, no way to tell a slip from a misunderstanding.
Ch. II / Method
Three steps.
Three steps.
Nothing to configure.
A free account and you're in. No PDFs to dig through. Just the question, the scheme, and what you actually wrote.
Question
Solve 2|2x − a| < |x + 3a|, a > 0.
Mark scheme
M1 squares both sides · A1 15x² − 22ax − 5a² < 0 · A1 −a/5 < x < 5a/3 · B1 strict inequality
Your working
4(2x−a)² < (x+3a)² → 15x² − 22ax − 5a² < 0 → x ≤ 5a/3
Or drop a photo / PDF page ⌘ V
M1
Valid method to remove the modulusSquaring both sides is accepted here.
A1
Correct three-term quadratic15x² − 22ax − 5a² < 0.
A1
Lower bound missingThe scheme needs both critical values, −a/5 and 5a/3.
B1
Wrong inequality sign≤ instead of < loses the accuracy mark.
Total awarded
02/04
"Lower bound missing - the scheme needs both critical values."
A
why do I need the second bound as well?
M
Because the quadratic opens upwards, 15x² − 22ax − 5a² is only negative between its roots. Factorising gives (5x + a)(3x − 5a) < 0, so x sits strictly between −a/5 and 5a/3. A one-sided answer describes a ray, not an interval - which is why the scheme splits this into two accuracy marks.
Ask a follow-up on this line↵
01 - Capture
Paste it in, however you have it.
Question, mark scheme, your working. Type it out, photograph a handwritten page, or drop in the PDF straight from the paper. Nothing gets retyped.
02 - Mark
Every point awarded or dropped.
Each mark scheme point is checked off against what you wrote, with the reason attached to it. You get a mark out of the total and a line-by-line reason - not a grade and a shrug.
03 - Ask
Ask until it clicks.
Select any line of the analysis and ask a follow-up. The tutor still has the question, the scheme and your working in front of it, so you never re-explain yourself.
Ch. III / Read
Marking is
Marking is
measurement.
An examiner doesn't grade the topic. They walk the scheme, point by point, and decide whether your page earns each one. Markly does the same walk - and writes down the reason it reached for.
M1
Valid method to find actual size from the scale bar
AwardedA1
Measured flower-head diameter recorded correctly
AwardedA1
Final answer given in mm instead of the required μm
DroppedB1
Conversion step not shown in the working
DroppedM1 method
A1 reading
A1 unit
B1 working
Scheme points
00 / 04 read
Ch. IV / Material
Built out of how
Built out of how
CIE actually marks.
Command words, assessment objectives, and the conventions examiners hold you to. Three things the engine is made of.
Rendered working
Steps you can follow, in full LaTeX.
Every line of algebra typeset properly and broken into steps, so the explanation reads like a worked solution instead of one collapsed final answer.
Paper input
Photograph it and move on.
Handwritten pages and scanned past papers go in as they are. Point a camera at the page, drop the file, and the working is read off it.
Ch. V / Retain
It doesn't stop
It doesn't stop
at the mark.
Every question you get marked feeds a deck built from your mistakes, a check that you actually understood it, and a map of which topics are still soft.
Highlight a line. Ask why.
Context carries over from the mark, so follow-ups pick up mid-thought instead of starting from scratch.
You
can you show me the factorising step?
can you show me the factorising step?
Markly
(5x + a)(3x − 5a) < 0 - roots at x = −a/5 and x = 5a/3, negative between them.
(5x + a)(3x − 5a) < 0 - roots at x = −a/5 and x = 5a/3, negative between them.
A deck made from what you dropped.
Cards are written from the marks you missed, not from the syllabus, and scheduled Anki-style so they come back before you forget.
Front
Why does a modulus inequality usually give two bounds?
Why does a modulus inequality usually give two bounds?
Back
Squaring produces an upward quadratic - it's negative only between its roots.
Squaring produces an upward quadratic - it's negative only between its roots.
Prove you understood it.
One targeted question on the exact idea you dropped a mark for. Recognising the answer isn't the same as being able to produce it.
Which step earns the M1?
A · Writing the final inequality
B · Squaring both sides validly ✓
C · Stating that x is real
See which topics are still soft.
Scored per topic, not per subject, so "Maths 68%" becomes something you can actually act on this evening.
Modulus inequalities · 82%
Integration by parts · 46%
Rail
01 / 04
Ch. VI / Licence
Free to try.
Free to try.
Fair to pay for.
One price, everything unlocked. No per-question charges, no credit packs, no annual lock-in.
Markly Pro · monthly
$10/ MO
Unlimited marking across all nine subjects. Cancel from the app in two clicks - the 10 free marks, the past paper finder and the focus timer stay free either way.
No card required to try it.
Billing via Polar · card details never touch Markly
Cancel from the app · access runs to the end of the period
Cancel from the app · access runs to the end of the period
What's included
- ✓Unlimited question marking - no quotas, no pay-per-use
- ✓Tutor chat on every mark - full question and scheme in context
- ✓Flashcards from your mistakes - generated and scheduled for you
- ✓Boss-fight checks - one question that tests the idea, not the recall
- ✓XP, streaks and medals - daily multiplier up to 2×
- ✓Syllabus heatmap - every topic in all nine subjects, ranked by what's soft
- ✓Photo and PDF input - handwriting and scanned papers
Step 01
FREE
Ten marks, free.
An email address, nothing else. See exactly what Markly does before you pay for anything - and your marks, flashcards and progress save from here.
Step 02
FREE
The finder and focus timer never run out.
Search the past paper index and run focus blocks as often as you like. Unmetered, with or without a subscription.
Step 03
$10 / MONTH
Unlimited after that.
Every feature, every subject, one monthly price. Cancel whenever you're done with exams.
Mark one question.
Decide after.
Bring the last question you got back with marks missing. It takes about a minute to find out what the examiner was looking for.