Candidates' novel gambit
It said incorrect punctuation when using "however", "therefore" and "thus" was "all too frequent".
Assessors also found candidates sometimes confused a play with a novel, or used a short story as an example to answer a question on a novel.
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Hide AdThe report said: "While this might be an accident induced by examination nerves, it is hard not to conclude that in most such cases candidates are under-prepared and are forced to desperate measures - not infrequently claiming that well-known short stories are, in fact, novels."
The overall Higher pass rate this year was 74.6 per cent, a slight rise on 2009.