There's a thread elsewhere which gives superb general advice about how to approach the exam paper. However, I wondered if there is any mileage in posting a few practical tips which may just help to nudge a pass into a merit or a merit into a distinction.

One I need to get off my chest (because I have fallen foul of it a couple of times whilst working past papers) relates to working out intervals. Take great care to look at both notes to see if they are affected by an accidental much earlier in the bar. This is sometimes difficult to spot when there's a heap of semiquavers preceeding the marked interval!

Any others?

Another trick they sometimes use is to put in a change of clef in the middle of a line. So if they ask a question about a bar further along the line, it's easy to miss that there's been a clef change.

Pinned at the top of the theory forum is a thread by the Theory Mod, Debbie Jones, giving lots of advice. There's also a thread to test yourself on the theory terms, for each grade.

If you have plenty of time left at the end of the exam, use it to check, double check and triple check etc! I have saved many marks doing this and have stayed until the end of the exam going over every detail. If you have a minute don't waste it.

I find students lose marks when doing theory or past papers by not fully answering the question. It's easily done, when a question has multiple tasks, to hone in on one of them and forget the others. So always go back and re-read the question when you have attempted your answer to ensure you have actually answered every part of it.

Get there early so that you can choose a good seat (i.e. where you feel comfortable, by a window or facing the front, etc.)

..and don't forget your sticky label !

Which grade are you taking?

I always get my students to take some time at the beginning of the exam to write out the circle of fifths, with all the key signatures and relative minors. Then they have a solid reference point for all the questions relating to scales and keys, and are less likely to make daft mistakes. If you are doing a lower grade, just write out the keys for your grade. Also learn to draw a simple keyboard diagram that you can refer to.

Underline the relevant bits of the question and make sure that you adhere to them
eg Write the scale of B major in minims, descending, without key signature.

Yes! I had this conversation with a grade 1 candidate this morning. She'd lost half the marks in a keys + triads question by writing triads without a key sign.

Don't necessarily do the paper in the order set. Some students like to pick their best topics and get them out of the way first, then spend a bit longer on the questions they find more tricky. It can be demoralising to spend quite a long time on an early question, feeling you have a lot of the paper ahead of you still to do.

It is always worth going back and checking detail right through, as muse suggested. Don't rush out with the first lot to leave. Wait for the room to settle and then recheck each question - I've known students find slips and get 100% simply by checking through carefully once all is done.

Having worked a few past papers now, another tip which I could pass on relates to question 6 at Grade 5 (compose a melody...). If you're really stuck for what to put after the first couple of bars, don't forget to have a look at the other questions on the paper - they will quite likely have something to inspire you!

Get used to do your rough working on an A5 double sided manuscript paper!