Multiple choice answer sheet for Cambridge International AS & A Level

From the June 2024 series, candidates sitting the following Cambridge exams will submit their answers on a multiple-choice answer sheet. (Where component ‘01’ or ‘02’ is mentioned, it includes all variants of component ‘01’ or ‘02’ where applicable. For example, 11, 12, 13.)

June 2024

• 8022/01 – Cambridge International AS Level Spanish Language Listening paper
• 8022/02 – Cambridge International AS Level Spanish Language Reading paper
• 8238/01 – Cambridge International AS Level Chinese Language Listening paper
• 8238/02 – Cambridge International AS Level Chinese Language Reading paper
• 9844/01 – Cambridge International A Level Spanish Language & Literature Reading paper
• 9868/01 – Cambridge International A Level Chinese Language & Literature Reading paper

• 8028/01 – Cambridge International AS Level French Language Listening paper
• 8028/02 – Cambridge International AS Level French Language Reading paper
• 8027/01 – Cambridge International AS Level German Language Listening paper
• 8027/02 – Cambridge International AS Level German Language Reading paper
• 9898/01 – Cambridge International A Level French Language & Literature Reading paper
• 9897/01 – Cambridge International A Level German Language & Literature Reading paper

Your pre-printed multiple-choice answer sheets will be sent to you in your pre-exam despatch. Section 4.2 of the Cambridge Handbook has more information about all pre-exam and question paper despatches.

If you do not receive a pre-printed sheet for all your candidates, you should use a supplementary multiple-choice answer sheet (Exam Day – Form 2a) which is available to download from the administrative forms page under ‘Exam Day’.

The multiple-choice answer sheet for Cambridge International AS & A Level listening and reading exams is designed for multiple-choice question papers that have 40 questions and answer options A-H.

This means that, in some exams, there will be more answer options on the multiple-choice answer sheet than on the question paper. Our question papers have the following answer options: A-C, A-D or A-H. Candidates should look carefully at the question paper and available answer options. They must make sure the answer they select on the multiple-choice answer sheet is one of the available answer options on the question paper.

For example, if a question has answer options A-D, candidates must only shade one of the A-D answer options on the multiple-choice answer sheet. They must ignore the extra answer options. Candidates must not cross out the extra options or make any other mark on the multiple-choice answer sheet other than shading in the correct answer.

Make sure you tell candidates and invigilators before the exam that the answer options on the question paper may not match the answer options on the multiple-choice answer sheet. It may be helpful to show candidates a sample multiple-choice answer sheet, along with a specimen question paper, so they are well prepared. The question papers follow the same pattern as the specimen papers. Therefore, showing candidates a specimen paper allows them to see how many answer options will be available on their actual question paper. Specimen papers are available on the School Support Hub and on the syllabus pages of our website. We recommend you also include this information in your invigilator training.

The question paper will not have more answer options than the multiple-choice answer sheet, so candidates will always be able to select the correct answer option to shade in.

Our supplementary multiple-choice answer sheet for Cambridge International AS & A Level language exams (Exam Day – Form 2a) also has space for candidates to answer 40 questions, with answer options A-H. This means, if you need to print off and use any supplementary multiple-choice answer sheets, they are the same as the ones we send in your pre-exam despatch (but not pre-printed with candidate details e.g. candidate name and candidate number).

You can find the supplementary multiple-choice answer sheet for foreign languages (Exam Day – Form 2a) on our administrative forms page under ‘Exam day’.

If a question has fewer answer options than the multiple-choice answer sheet, candidates must ignore the extra options.

Candidates must not cross out the extra answer options or make any other mark on the multiple-choice answer sheet other than shading in the correct answer.

Make sure you tell candidates and invigilators before the exam that the answer options on the question paper may not match the answer options on the multiple-choice answer sheet. It may be helpful to show candidates a sample multiple-choice answer sheet, along with a specimen question paper, so they are well prepared. The question papers will follow the same pattern as the specimen papers. We recommend you also include this information in your invigilator training.

Make sure you tell candidates and invigilators before the exam that they will be using a multiple-choice answer sheet. It may be helpful to show candidates the sample multiple-choice answer sheet, along with a past question paper, so they are well prepared. We recommend you also include this information in your invigilator training. Your invigilators must be aware that candidates have six minutes to transfer their answers and be able to answer any questions candidates may have.

Yes. If you have applied for an access arrangement to allow a candidate to have extra time in their exam, they will also have extra time to transfer their answers. They will get the same percentage of time e.g. if they get 25 per cent extra time for the exam, they also get 25 per cent extra time to transfer their answers from the question paper to the multiple-choice answer sheet.

Other access arrangements are available for exams using multiple-choice answer sheets. If your candidate will need help transferring their answers onto the multiple-choice answer sheet, please contact us so that we can confirm which access arrangements are available for the exam(s) the candidate is taking.

All candidate multiple-choice answer sheets, including those for absent or withdrawn candidates, must be returned to Cambridge in the script packet envelope we provide. See section 5.4 of the Cambridge Handbook for instructions on packing and sending scripts.

The question papers should not be returned to Cambridge. They should be collected at the end of the exam and stored securely until at least 24 hours after the end of the exam or Key Time, whichever is later.

No. We will not accept any enquiries about results based on the question paper. The answers given on the multiple-choice answer sheet will be taken as the candidates’ final answer.

The multiple-choice answer sheet a candidate must use depends on which syllabus they are sitting.

There are four different versions of the multiple-choice answer sheet and candidates must use the correct version in their exam. We send you the correct multiple-choice answer sheet(s) in your pre-exam despatch:

1. A multiple-choice answer sheet for Cambridge International AS & A Level listening and reading exams.
2. A multiple-choice answer sheet for Cambridge IGCSE English as a Second Language, Cambridge IGCSE Isizulu (0531/02) and Afrikaans (0548/02) as a Second Language listening exams.
3. A multiple-choice answer sheet for Cambridge IGCSE and O Level foreign language, and Cambridge IGCSE English as an Additional Language, listening exams.
4. A multiple-choice answer sheet for Cambridge IGCSE Mandarin Chinese listening exams.

This version must only be used for Cambridge International AS & A Level listening and reading exams.

Multiple-choice answer sheet for Cambridge International AS & A Level (PDF, 399KB)

We have created a short video to highlight what AS & A Level candidates should and should not do when completing a multiple-choice answer sheet.

You may wish to share this with teaching colleagues so that they can use it to prepare candidates for the exam. You may also wish to use this in your invigilator training so that your invigilators understand what candidates should and should not do in exam when completing a multiple-choice answer sheet.

Completing an AS & A Level multiple-choice answer sheet

The total exam time is approximately 60 minutes, but this may vary slightly between exams. You must allow candidates the full time for the exam. The length of the exam includes six minutes at the end for candidates to transfer their answers from the question paper onto the multiple-choice answer sheet. The six minutes’ transfer time is included in the recorded material that we provide for the listening exam.

For listening exams, we recommend that candidates first answer on the question paper. They should use the six minutes’ transfer time to transfer their answers onto the multiple-choice answer sheet.

For listening papers, candidates will have six minutes at the end of the exam to transfer their answers from the question paper onto the multiple-choice answer sheet. This is because the audio material is not stopped during the exam. Therefore, candidates will need to concentrate on answering the questions on the question paper and should not worry about transferring their answers to the multiple-choice answer sheet until the audio material has finished. They then have six minutes to transfer their answers.

For reading papers, candidates can work through the paper at their own pace and can check their answers. We recommend that candidates answer directly onto the multiple-choice answer sheet.

You must give the candidate everything at the start of the test – the question paper and the multiple-choice answer sheet.

The answer on the multiple-choice answer sheet will be taken as the candidates’ final answer. Candidates are strongly advised to check carefully to make sure they have correctly transferred all of their answers onto the multiple-choice answer sheet. The six minutes’ transfer time has been designed to allow candidates enough time to transfer and check their answer.

Yes. For reading exams, we recommend that candidates answer directly onto the multiple-choice answer sheet.

For reading papers, candidates can work through the paper at their own pace and can check their answers. We recommend that candidates answer directly onto the multiple-choice answer sheet. They do not need any time to transfer their answers.

For listening papers, candidates will have six minutes at the end of the exam to transfer their answers from the question paper onto the multiple-choice answer sheet. This is because the audio material is not stopped during the exam. Therefore, candidates will need to concentrate on answering the questions on the question paper and should not worry about transferring their answers to the multiple-choice answer sheet until the audio material has finished. They then have six minutes to transfer their answers.

The answer on the multiple-choice answer sheet will be taken as the candidates’ final answer. Candidates can amend answers by rubbing their answer out and shading a different option. Candidates are strongly advised to check carefully to make sure they have correctly completed the multiple-choice answer sheet.