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Exam tips and shortcuts

September 29, 2009 by Roy Johnson

guidance notes for success

These exam tips and shortcuts are techniques that anybody can use, without any special preparation or knowledge. They are practical, common-sense approaches to any kind of written exam. Even if you only adopt some of them, you will improve your chances of success.

An extract from our eBook — Revision and Examinations

Before you start

1. Take a selection of differently shaped pens.

2. These can ease the pressure on your fingers and thumbs when writing.

3. Take spares, a ruler, rubber, and any instruments you might need.

4. Settle in as quickly as possible, and avoid distractions.

5. Check the instructions and questions on the exam paper.

6. Confirm that the structure is what you expect [number of questions to be answered, time allocated].

7. Remember that the time allowed includes the time for reading the paper and preparing answers.

The paper

1. Make your choices and get started as quickly as possible.

2. Begin with an overview of the paper.

3. Identify those questions you can answer or prefer to attempt.

4. Eliminate any you can’t answer or prefer to avoid.

5. When you have eliminated questions, you have less material to deal with.

6. Analyse the questions as you would for course work – but do it quickly.

7. Some choices can be made [almost unconsciously] whilst you are writing.

8. Stick to those topics you have revised: don’t try something new.

9. Leave room for making changes as you go along.

Making choices

1. The easiest strategy is to start with your favourite topic.

2. This will give you a sense of confidence, and get your creatives juices flowing.

3. You can also gain marks easily this way.

4. However, you might start with a more difficult question, and save your favourite as a ‘reward’ for later.

5. This strategy has the advantage that you are tackling the more difficult question in a fresher state.

6. Remember that you might have ideas about one topic whilst writing about another.

Making plans

1. Make an outline plan or brief notes for your answer(s) in the exam booklet.

2. This provides guidance and a reminder you can refer to whilst writing.

3. Exam markers might give you credit for a plan if your answer is unfinished.

4. If possible, prepare brief plans for all your answers.

5. You can then add notes or examples as you are going along.

Rules and regulations

1. Some exam booklets might specify that notes should only be written on the outside and inside covers – as in the following example.

“For rough work unruled pages are provided on the cover of the book. If you require more than these, use a ruled page but cross the rough work through before handing the book in.”

2. If regulations permit, write your answers only on right-hand pages.

3. Leave left-hand pages blank for notes, corrections, or later additions.

Under way

1. Write as much as possible on each question.

2. If you finish a question early, either think up more to say or go on to the next question.

3. If you go on to the next question, leave blank space on the page for possible later additions.

4. Firm and concise answers are better than those that wander aimlessly just to fill up the page.

5. Keep an eye on the time allocated for each question.

General

1. Write as clearly as possible: examiners are easily annoyed by untidy writing.

2. It is easier to score the first half of the marks for any question than the second half.

3. A firm structure will help to clarify your arguments.

4. If you finish the paper early, use the time left to check and edit your work.

Answer the question

1. The examiner wants you to answer the question in a clear and simple manner.

2. A plain, direct answer with no frills is easier to mark than one which is ornate or flowery.

3. Getting straight to the point creates a favourable impression.

4. The more concise your answer, the easier it is to mark.

Misconceptions

1. There will not be any ‘hidden traps’ in the questions to catch you out.

2. There isn’t some magical key to unlock the secret of exam success.

3. You don’t have to ‘please’ the examiner – except by answering the question!

4. There isn’t a ‘knack’ to exam success. It’s a combination of hard work, preparation, and clear thinking.

Examiners are human too

1. Marking exam scripts is a very boring task.

2. Judging grades is a subjective and difficult matter.

3. Yes – some exam questions are occasionally hard to understand.

4. [But that means that they are hard for everybody.]

5. Poor writing makes scripts difficult to read.

What examiners DON’T want

1. Untidy work which is difficult to read.

2. Longwinded answers which drift on and off the subject.

3. Answers which have been written to ‘impress’, filled with lots of ill-digested jargon.

4. Too much personal opinion, name-dropping, and generalisation.

How to gain extra credit

1. Get straight to the point. No lengthy introductions.

2. Stay on the subject. No digressions, waffling, or ‘packing’.

3. Relate all parts of your answer to the original question.

4. Show evidence of your knowledge of the subject.

5. Wherever possible, give concrete examples as evidence.

Check your answers

1. Spend the last few moments glancing over what you have written.

2. Check for possible mistakes of fact, grammar, and punctuation.

3. Correct mistakes as neatly as possible. Don’t scribble.

4. Write any additions on the left-hand page, and show insertion points clearly.

5. Make sure your name, ID, and other details are on the cover sheet.

An extract from our eBook — Revision and Examinations

© Roy Johnson 2009


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Filed Under: Study Skills Tagged With: Academic writing, Exam skills, Examinations, Study skills

Passing Exams without Anxiety

May 18, 2009 by Roy Johnson

popular guide to revision and examination techniques

David Acres is a counsellor and a specialist in learning and stress management. He applies these skills to all stages of what’s required for exam success – in any subject and at all levels, from GCSE and A Level to university level. He deals with all the common issues of time management, confidence, motivation, and study conditions, as well as the techniques you need in the exam room itself. The approach he takes encourages you to ask questions and break up tasks into smaller parts. This helps you to analyse what you need to do to complete tasks. He also recommends a pick-and-mix strategy – dipping in and out of the book and choosing those techniques which suit you best.

Passing ExamsThe advice he gives is sound. Make a revision timetable; check your coursework deadlines; study past papers; make notes and summaries; and get to know what examiners are looking for. He provides plenty of checklists and recommends the use of planning and time charts, diagrams, lists, and mind maps. The section on improving your memory becomes a little bit like a personal therapy session – but he does explore a wide variety of methods for exercising and improving your powers of recovering information.

The main emphasis of the book is concerned with relieving stress and anxiety – so this will appeal to those who are looking for reassurance and nerve-calming techniques. It’s now in its fifth edition – which is a sure recommendation.

© Roy Johnson 2000

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David Acres, Passing Exams Without Anxiety, Oxford: How to Books, 1998, pp.182, ISBN: 1857032691


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Filed Under: Study skills Tagged With: Exam skills, Passing Exams, Revision skills, Study skills, Writing skills

Students Must Write

May 22, 2009 by Roy Johnson

writing skills guide for coursework and examinations

Robert Barrass begins this guide Students Must Write with the important observation that students are judged largely on the quality of what they write. It is therefore very much in their interests to sharpen their writing skills for all forms of academic work. He starts from basics, covering taking notes in lectures, and how writing about something helps you to understand and remember it. His advice is punctuated with well-chosen quotations from famous writers, indicating that they struggle too. They write, re-write, plan, edit, scrap drafts, and treat writing as a process. It’s not a one-off action. He analyses examples of slack writing and shows both the weaknesses and how they might be overcome.

Students Must WriteThere’s also a chapter on words – choosing items of vocabulary to make your writing more effective. To support this he adds some wonderfully useful lists of misused words, circumlocutions and malapropisms – but they are somewhat buried inside the chapters when I think they could have been highlighted to greater effect.

There is a particularly good chapter on how to deal with numbers, diagrams, graphs, charts, and tables. This includes such nice points as the order of presenting the slices of a pie chart – clockwise, starting from the largest at noon. [Bet you didn’t know that!]

His tips on exam technique are sound enough – as is his advice on longer pieces of work such as dissertations and reports. He even covers writing letters – applying for that job after you have graduated. And he ends with tips on using word-processors, a few words on punctuation, and a brief guide to spelling and how to overcome some of the common problems.

This is a book for people who want a general stroll through the process of language and writing. It moves from one topic to another in a casual manner. There is a downside and an upside to this approach. The downside is its weakness in terms of organisational rigour. But the upside is that it might make some of the issues of writing less intimidating for the very students to whom this book is addressed.

© Roy Johnson 2005

Students Must Write   Buy the book at Amazon UK

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Robert Barrass, Students Must Write: A Guide to Better Writing in Coursework and Examinations, London: Routledge, third edition, 2005, pp.232, ISBN: 0415358264


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The Student’s Guide to Exam Success

July 20, 2009 by Roy Johnson

revision and exam skills, stress and time management

The Student’s Guide to Exam Success combines essential study skills guidance with counselling on overcoming exam fears. It offers practical information on the most effective study and exam techniques: organising your revision, how to write essays, speed reading, taking effective notes, mind-mapping, and improving your memory. Eileen Tracy explores the attitudes and emotional states that can cause you not to deliver your best, and she shows you how to improve. You can learn how to understand your nervousness, how to avoid panicking, and how to develop a balanced mental approach to your work. She takes a supportive, understanding, and very personal approach to her readers.

The Student's Guide to Exam SuccessIf you feel nervous, under-confident, or overwhelmed by the prospect of exams, she knows how you feel, and has plenty of remedies on offer. The advice she gives is sensible, and she’s not a killjoy. Your revision and study should be organised and disciplined – but it should be punctuated by breaks and rewards. There are two particularly good chapters on mnemonics (strategies for memorising) and on writing essays – particularly under exam conditions.

There are plenty of examples to support her arguments, and the chapters are packed with mind maps, notes, diagrams, graphs, and checklists of what to do and avoid.

This guide offers advice on developing emotional strength in response to the increasingly heavy demands that are made on students in the modern world. The variety of strategies include: developing self-awareness; finding out how to stop procrastinating and worrying about results; learning about the dangers of swotting; developing the necessary confidence to handle reading lists, coursework, presentations and practicals; learning to deal with tutors, lecturers and examiners.

© Roy Johnson 2006

Exam Success   Buy the book at Amazon UK

Exam Success   Buy the book at Amazon US


Eileen Tracy, The Student’s Guide to Exam Success, Buckingham: Open University Press, 2nd edition 2006, pp.208. ISBN: 0335220487


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Filed Under: Study skills Tagged With: Exam skills, Examinations, Revision, Study skills, The Student's Guide to Exam Success

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