Testing Your Python Code in Exam Conditions

Smart-Check Routine

1. Typical case — pick a simple input and trace the output.
2. Empty input — does your loop handle [] or ""?
3. Single item — what if n=1?
4. Boundary — n=0, negative numbers, max values.

Common Bugs to Hunt

• Off-by-one in range().
• Using = instead of ==.
• Forgetting to initialise an accumulator.
• Indent drift — body that should be inside the loop but isn't.

Output Format Check

Re-read the question and compare your output character-by-character. Missing colons, spaces, or capitalisation routinely costs 1 mark each.