Two resources, two different jobs
A mark scheme is the examiner’s checklist. It sets out what earns credit: acceptable points, method marks, alternative answers and, for longer questions, the level descriptors used to place a response.
A model answer is one worked example of a full response: a calculation with its working, an explanation where each step leads to the next, or a structured longer argument. It is not the only way to get the marks.
Use the mark scheme to judge your answer. Use the model answer, where there is one, to see how that answer could be written better.
An example: points versus a connected explanation
Take a simple physics question: explain why the current increases when the potential difference across a fixed resistor increases.
A mark scheme might list two things: the resistance is constant, and I = V/R. A full answer joins them up: “The resistance is fixed, so by I = V/R, increasing the potential difference increases the current in proportion.” It links the condition, the relationship and the conclusion in one line of reasoning.
Real questions often add conditions. If the component’s resistance changes as it heats up, that answer no longer works as written. Always go back to the exact wording of the question you are answering and its mark scheme.
Use them in the right order
Attempt the question first. Then mark it against the mark scheme and find one specific thing you missed or got wrong. Only after that, open the model answer if one is available to you.
Ask what the model answer does that yours did not. Does it show a step you skipped, use a more precise term, or explain why one idea follows from another? Rewrite the weak part in your own words, then try a related question without looking back at the example.
For teachers, putting two reasonable answers side by side and marking them against the same criteria makes a good class discussion. Ask learners to justify where the credit goes, rather than picking whichever answer looks most like the model.
What “validated” means
A model answer only appears on ALN after it passes our publication checks: its paper has passed review, its answer set has been marked complete and has passed validation, and an answer image exists for that question. When the coverage and Plans pages talk about validated answers, this is what they mean.
It does not mean an examiner or exam board has reviewed or approved the answer. Model answers can still contain mistakes, so check them against the question and the mark scheme.
Model answers are part of Premium. A Subject Pass or Exam Season Pass also includes them for the courses it covers. The coverage page shows which answers exist for your course.
Check which answers exist for your course
Model-answer coverage varies a lot by course and paper. Some courses have questions and mark schemes but few or no model answers yet. The coverage page lists what is available, course by course and paper by paper.
On a question, the Model Answer tab tells you whether an answer is available on Premium or has not been written yet. If model answers are the main reason you are upgrading, check coverage for your course first.
When the two seem to disagree
First, reread the question and any assumptions it sets. Make sure you are looking at the right paper and question number, and look for alternative answers or conditions in the mark scheme that you may have missed.
If the model answer still looks wrong, report it from the model-answer view. Be specific: point to the step, the wording or the missing requirement. The mark scheme remains the authority for marking, and your teacher is the best person to ask about a borderline case.
Where to find them on ALN
Open the Markscheme or Model Answer tab next to any question to see what is available. You can report a problem from the model-answer view.
The correct and incorrect buttons record your own judgement of your answer. ALN does not mark your written work.
Make it stick
Once you have checked your work, close the example and try a related question, adapting your reasoning to its wording and conditions. That is the real test of whether you have learned from the model answer.
For essays and other extended answers, a model answer can only take you so far. Ask your teacher for feedback on the reasoning and evidence in your own writing.