From my own experience as a student I can say that understanding the content is the most important part of being successful in a subject. If the basics are understood then knowledge can always be built up upon it through the practice of exam questions. Exam questions are crucial and necessary to do for a student to be confident in their knowledge.
Usually when i did some private tutoring, I would ask my student to complete a simple assessment to assess their knowledge and what stage they’re on. This allows me to understand where i need to start from with the teaching.
Then going through the content in detail to have an understanding of the subject is essential. During this i would ask my student to complete simple practice questions to solidify their knowledge during the lesson. This would continue for a few weeks until the student is confident that they have understood the topic of the subject.
The. i would ask the student to complete a booklet with lots of different exam questions as homework as a practice round for the final assessment.
Finally i will give my student an assessment to see their progress and find out if they need more help with the topic or if they are ready to move on.