Paper Comparison
December 2023 against June 2025
What one sitting asked that the other did not — as a share of each paper, because December 2023 carries 96 subject questions and June 2025 carries 100. Comparing raw counts across papers of different sizes invents a trend in every row.
December 2025 vs June 2025December 2025 vs December 2024December 2025 vs June 2024December 2025 vs December 2023June 2025 vs December 2025June 2025 vs December 2024June 2025 vs June 2024June 2025 vs December 2023December 2024 vs December 2025December 2024 vs June 2025December 2024 vs June 2024December 2024 vs December 2023June 2024 vs December 2025June 2024 vs June 2025June 2024 vs December 2024June 2024 vs December 2023December 2023 vs December 2025December 2023 vs June 2025December 2023 vs December 2024December 2023 vs June 2024
Asked more in December 2023
- Continuity and Differentiation+4.3 pp
6.3% (6) in December 2023 · 2.0% (2) in June 2025
- Hypothesis Testing+2.2 pp
5.2% (5) in December 2023 · 3.0% (3) in June 2025
- Functions of Several Variables+2.1 pp
3.1% (3) in December 2023 · 1.0% (1) in June 2025
Asked more in June 2025
- Probability-3.7 pp
7.3% (7) in December 2023 · 11.0% (11) in June 2025
- Metric Spaces-3.0 pp
0.0% (0) in December 2023 · 3.0% (3) in June 2025
- Sequences and Series of Functions-2.0 pp
1.0% (1) in December 2023 · 3.0% (3) in June 2025
Present on one paper and absent from the other
Absent from one sitting is not absent from the syllabus. A topic carrying two questions one session and none the next has told you almost nothing.
Only in December 2023
- — none
Only in June 2025
- Linear Programming · 1
- Metric Spaces · 3
Every topic, both papers
| Topic | December 2023 | June 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| ProbabilityProbability, Statistics & Linear Programming | 7.3% (7) | 11.0% (11) | -3.7 pp |
| Linear Models and MultivariateProbability, Statistics & Linear Programming | 6.3% (6) | 6.0% (6) | +0.3 pp |
| Rings and FieldsComplex Analysis, Algebra & Topology | 6.3% (6) | 5.0% (5) | +1.3 pp |
| Eigenvalues and Canonical FormsAnalysis & Linear Algebra | 5.2% (5) | 6.0% (6) | -0.8 pp |
| Vector Spaces and Linear MapsAnalysis & Linear Algebra | 5.2% (5) | 5.0% (5) | +0.2 pp |
| Ordinary Differential EquationsODE, PDE & Applied Mathematics | 4.2% (4) | 5.0% (5) | -0.8 pp |
| The Real LineAnalysis & Linear Algebra | 4.2% (4) | 5.0% (5) | -0.8 pp |
| Continuity and DifferentiationAnalysis & Linear Algebra | 6.3% (6) | 2.0% (2) | +4.3 pp |
| Hypothesis TestingProbability, Statistics & Linear Programming | 5.2% (5) | 3.0% (3) | +2.2 pp |
| Partial Differential EquationsODE, PDE & Applied Mathematics | 4.2% (4) | 4.0% (4) | +0.2 pp |
| EstimationProbability, Statistics & Linear Programming | 4.2% (4) | 3.0% (3) | +1.2 pp |
| GroupsComplex Analysis, Algebra & Topology | 3.1% (3) | 4.0% (4) | -0.9 pp |
| Inner Product Spaces and FormsAnalysis & Linear Algebra | 3.1% (3) | 4.0% (4) | -0.9 pp |
| Limit Theorems and Markov ChainsProbability, Statistics & Linear Programming | 3.1% (3) | 4.0% (4) | -0.9 pp |
| Calculus of VariationsODE, PDE & Applied Mathematics | 3.1% (3) | 3.0% (3) | +0.1 pp |
| Linear Integral EquationsODE, PDE & Applied Mathematics | 3.1% (3) | 3.0% (3) | +0.1 pp |
| Numerical AnalysisODE, PDE & Applied Mathematics | 3.1% (3) | 3.0% (3) | +0.1 pp |
| Analytic FunctionsComplex Analysis, Algebra & Topology | 3.1% (3) | 2.0% (2) | +1.1 pp |
| Sampling and Design of ExperimentsProbability, Statistics & Linear Programming | 3.1% (3) | 2.0% (2) | +1.1 pp |
| Cauchy TheoryComplex Analysis, Algebra & Topology | 2.1% (2) | 3.0% (3) | -0.9 pp |
| Functions of Several VariablesAnalysis & Linear Algebra | 3.1% (3) | 1.0% (1) | +2.1 pp |
| Classical MechanicsODE, PDE & Applied Mathematics | 2.1% (2) | 2.0% (2) | +0.1 pp |
| IntegrationAnalysis & Linear Algebra | 2.1% (2) | 2.0% (2) | +0.1 pp |
| Zeros and MappingsComplex Analysis, Algebra & Topology | 2.1% (2) | 2.0% (2) | +0.1 pp |
| Sequences and Series of FunctionsAnalysis & Linear Algebra | 1.0% (1) | 3.0% (3) | -2.0 pp |
| Lebesgue Measure and IntegrationAnalysis & Linear Algebra | 2.1% (2) | 1.0% (1) | +1.1 pp |
| Metric SpacesAnalysis & Linear Algebra | 0.0% (0) | 3.0% (3) | -3.0 pp |
| Singularities and ResiduesComplex Analysis, Algebra & Topology | 1.0% (1) | 1.0% (1) | +0.0 pp |
| TopologyComplex Analysis, Algebra & Topology | 1.0% (1) | 1.0% (1) | +0.0 pp |
| Linear ProgrammingProbability, Statistics & Linear Programming | 0.0% (0) | 1.0% (1) | -1.0 pp |
24 of 30 topics moved by less than 1.5 percentage points and are greyed out — at four to thirteen questions a topic, a swing of one or two questions is noise, not a signal.
Two sittings are two sittings. Everything above describes what these two papers contained. None of it predicts the next one, and a topic that fell here is not a topic to drop — the examiners are not running a trend. The aggregate across every complete paper is the more reliable number, and it is still only four papers.