Observing what may happen to exam papers (9)

I believe the answer is:

remarking

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'observing' is the definition.
('remark' can be a synonym of 'observe')

I cannot understand how the remainder of the clue works.

(Other definitions for remarking that I've seen before include "Observing, commenting," , "Saying" , "Mentioning" , "Making comments" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.

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