Revision and Exams Study Basics Series

Transcription

1 Revision and Exams Study Basics Series Careers & Employability, Student Life Lower Ground Floor (Level A), University House, University of Salford, M5 4WT. t: e: w: Twitter: Blog: salfordstudyskills.wordpress.com

2 Revision and Exams Why do we have to do exams? An exam is used to demonstrate how well you understand a particular subject and subsequently how well you can write about it. It is not a memory test or a chance to see how much information you can regurgitate on paper. You are not expected to have read and memorised everything on a topic, but you should have a reasonable understanding of many of its important arguments and be able to provide a convincing evaluation of them. The examiners are looking for a well written discussion or argument on a given topic that shows you have absorbed enough relevant information to do this. Where and when do I start? There is no simple answer to this question. A good strategy is to recap and rewrite your work as you progress through the semester. This will make it easier for you when you begin your revision proper. You will also get a clearer understanding of the information as you go along. You need to plan your time. A good time to begin revision is 4 or 5 weeks before the exam itself. This will give you plenty of time and avoid last minute panicking. The easiest trap to fall into when revising is procrastination. Putting revision off in order to do something else (usually a lot less important) is definitely to be avoided. Good, sensible planning should help you do this. Draw up a plan in your diary or on a spreadsheet to help you visualize how much time you actually have in the week to revise. You should also put the date and time of the exam in your diary as soon as you have it. Do not forget to plan time for other things such as social activities, family, work, and other commitments. Although your revision is important, it must not completely take over your life. Should I revise everything? This is a difficult one to answer. It is probably impossible to revise everything on the module, so you need to be guided by your own mind here. Think back to the subjects that you found the most interesting and fulfilling or the lectures that made you go and look into a subject further. These will be the ones that you will revise easiest. Work with the module handbook and be guided by the topics therein. Ask yourself which topics the lecturer put the most emphasis on? All of these should help you decide how much to revise. Aim to revise double the number of questions you will be expected to answer. So, if an exam requires you to write on two subjects, then try and revise four (for three subjects you would revise six and so on). This way, you will have a reasonable range of choices when faced with the exam. Getting going The following is a list of things to do at the start of your revision period: Go through the module handbook and check the exam rules (number of questions to answer; can you repeat subjects already written about) 2

3 Review the module for the overall topics to revise decide which ones are the best (you may not have to revise the whole module) Get all your notes together for the module Get copies of past papers from the Library website Gather any books, journals, web-pages, articles, etc. you have from the module Module Handbook Use this as your guide to what to revise. Look at how the lectures were broken down. These could become the topic headings you will revise under. Carefully read through the exam instructions such as how many questions you should answer, whether there are two parts, will it be multiple choice, etc. Please be aware that many modules will not allow you to write in an exam on a subject you have already written on in another assignment. Your own notes Good notes are organised notes, and you should organise your notes as soon as possible, ideally after taking them in lectures, but if not, as early as possible in the revision process. Use what for you are logical sections and divisions to store them you need to know where everything is, so file it in an order which makes sense to you. Past Papers You can obtain copies of past papers from the Student Channel. Go to the Student Channel main page and click on Exam papers under the Web Resources heading. These will be invaluable to your revision since they can show you what the papers will look like and the types of questions you are likely to get. Try to collate questions on the same subject together and file them with the relevant notes. Texts, Books, Handouts Sort any texts you have for each topic. You may have copies of journal articles, textbooks, novels, handouts, chapters, web-pages, and all sorts of printed papers to sort through. Add these now to your piles of notes. So, what next? Once you have all this material together, what can you do with it? Organisation is now the key word. You should by now have several piles of papers that will include your own notes and other printed texts: Relevant material from handbook Lecture/Seminar notes Books/journals etc Questions from past papers Organising your revision now will pay off in the long run. 3

4 At this stage, a visit to the library to beef up your notes and texts may be advisable. Stick only to the subjects you have chosen to revise and add to your notes as you go along. Do not read too much new material at this stage because it may create panic. Timetable at least two days per topic for this process. It is advisable to memorise some key authors on the subject and details of any relevant studies in order to demonstrate understanding. OK, all I have now is a big pile of paper and books What you actually have is one sorted collection of information and notes for each topic. You now have to think about condensing these into usable revision material. Taking one at a time, you can put the material into a logical order that will give you enough knowledge to write an essay on it. What you need to do is reduce the information to its essence because, in an exam, you will not have time to write lengthy, overly detailed answers. This way, you are not only remembering key points and arguments that will be useful but also sifting out the detail that you will not need. A good strategy is to organise your material as follows: Overall heading Sub-headings or sub-sections Relevant texts for each subheading Important theories for each sub-heading Any subsidiary sections Themes/genres/key figures Cross references to other topics Under each sub-heading, you can bullet point your own notes. Re-writing will help your brain retain the information quicker and also make reading your new notes easier too. The next stage Now is the time to carry out a close read-through of your topics. Re-order the information as you go and re-write anything that is not totally clear in your mind. Reading out loud can help you remember things better. What about study groups? Study groups can help the revision process, but do not rely on them too much. It may help to exchange practical experience of other people s exams to see where they have either had problems or developed valuable strategies. If you can get together with a small number of students who are all revising the same topics, then a group discussion can bring out points that you may not have thought of. Be careful though: always make sure of the validity of information before planting it thoroughly in your brain. Someone may give you information that may be either false or skewed in some way. 4

5 You could organise a weekly meeting to go over what you have all done. Perhaps a group spider-gram would be useful. Start with the main topic in the centre Add to it the main themes and arguments from memory Add to it the key concepts, dates, critics Then, discuss the topic between you. You can add to the diagram as you go along. You will surprise yourself with how much you know. After 24 hours, try to recall as much as possible from the meeting. Another strategy you can use in your group is to try and answer a question from a past paper on the topic you are revising. Build an introduction and conclusion together and then list the points you would make in each paragraph. If you tackle this after the spider-gram, you will be much better equipped for giving a clear, concise answer. Is one read-through enough then? The simple answer is no. You need to carry out several complete readthroughs of your notes. What you should have is a clear, accessible series of essay plans in note form. You may have spider-grams of some of the topics too. Look at all of the relevant past questions for each of the topic and ask yourself which ones you could answer from your notes. If you have time, set yourself an exam paper with the same time constraints as a real one. Attempt to complete it and then mark it yourself. Did you answer the questions and cover the main arguments? Did you include relevant information? Did you complete it in time? The Exam It is Thursday and the exam is on Monday what should I do? Firstly, you should know when and where the exam will take place and have this written in your diary. You may not have been to the building before, so acquaint yourself with its location and find the room. If you know where the building is, just make sure you know where the room is too. Some exams take place off campus, so find out the transport situation well in advance. Read through your notes and try some past papers. The exam is tomorrow what now? You can look at your notes once more, but this really is not the time for learning anything new. You will have absorbed just about everything possible by now, so it is advisable not to try and read too much more. Do not plan a big night out tonight. If you have to socialise, make excuses and leave early. A bad night s sleep and a hangover is a recipe for disaster. 5

6 Pack your bag with the things you will need: pens, pencils, glasses, medicines (if needed), University I.D. card, and any other equipment you may need. You can take in bottled water but nothing else unless you have a medical reason for doing so. You will not be able to sit the exam without your I.D. card. The exam is today Make sure you get up in plenty of time to eat breakfast, particularly if it is a morning exam. You may also need to park in a different spot or catch a different bus, because your exam may be in a building you do not normally use. Do not forget your bag, coat, money, and personal things. Do not take any notes with you to read. This only brings on a feeling that you have missed something vital. Try to get to the room about 10 to 15 minutes early. If you get there much earlier than that, you may begin to worry. When you have a lot of time to stand around outside an exam it is natural to think a lot about what the other students around you are saying and doing. Chances are there will be some people who will talk a lot about how much revision they have or have not done, or what their expectations for the exam are. You must ignore these people and be safe in the knowledge that you have prepared well for your exam. You will probably be told when you can enter the room. Leave your bag and coat at the designated place (usually the back of the room) and find your place. Take your equipment and your I.D. card with you. Do not take you mobile phone to the desk with you. Leave it switched off in your bag. It will be safe. Sit and await the invigilator s instructions. They will tell you things about timing, health and safety, and what you should have at your desks. You may turn over your paper and begin Before you write anything, you need to do the following: Take a deep breath. Read the instructions very carefully. Make sure you know exactly what you are expected to do. Underline the important facts if this helps. Calculate how long you have for each part of the exam. Then, read each question on the whole paper fully. Hopefully, three or four of them will stand out as ones you have revised. This is where all that preparation will help. You will see instantly that no exam question is set to trick you or is set on a subject not fully covered in lectures. After reading each question, focus on the ones that you have revised fully. You do not have to tackle them in the order they appear on the exam. Just make sure that you label each answer with the correct number so that the examiner knows which one it is. Some students like to work on the one they 6

7 are happiest with first, or save that one to do second or third. Others feel that tackling the most difficult first is best. It is up to you which way to do this. Spend a little time on planning. Underline key words in the question which could then help you decide how to break up your answer. Plan what will go into each paragraph and jot it down on the answer book. Be careful to only plan to talk about the topic in the question and not to include other things you may have revised simply because they belong with that subject. This is where the question will guide you. Jot down quick notes of relevance to include in your answer. Sort your notes out into a logical sequence for the essay. By doing this, you often remember other vital points missed. Some students plan all their answers firstly and then work on writing them into essays; others work on each one at a time. Again, this will depend on how you prefer to do it. Not all exams questions will be answered as an essay, and many do not follow this rule. The advice that follows covers essay style answers only. 1. Introduction You will be expected to begin with an introduction to your essay. It should give the examiner an idea of what you will be covering in your answer. If you are able to lay out your argument in your introduction, this will help you with the main body. Here is something that you could begin with: This question requires that consideration is given in the following areas: firstly,, secondly,.., and thirdly,.. A conclusion can then be drawn, to determine whether..(main argument). Or, you can give the main argument first and then follow with the break down. Although these examples seem simple, it is sometimes best to write in this style. It does you no favours trying to sound clever and using lots of big words. In an exam, you are being marked for your knowledge on a subject and ability to answer a question, not on how many adjectives and technical words you can squeeze in. 2. Main Body The essay should now follow your introduction and plan. The revision that you have done will now come into play because you have already split the topics up into manageable parts. The examiner cannot expect you to use quotation, so do not worry about this. What they are looking for is that you know the key themes, ideas, arguments etc on the subject and that you can talk about them in your own words. Illustrate and support your argument properly by referring to authors who deal with the subject. You can quote facts about certain subject areas if you know that they are relevant and relate directly to the question. Even if you are unsure about dates, it is still 7

8 advisable to mention societies, key speakers, theories etc if they are relevant: just leave the date off or state an approximate one. Use transitional words that link clauses, sentences, and paragraphs together such as furthermore, in addition, however and consequently. These words aid the flow of your argument and examiners like to see them. It proves that you are thinking about your essay as you write it. As you proceed, keep the question in mind at all times. It is so easy to drift off topic and lose your way. Examiners will penalise you if you do this. When you have finished your first paragraph, pause and ask yourself Does it address the question? Am I doing what I set out to do in the introduction? If you can answer yes, then you are doing OK. Repeat this after each subsequent paragraph too. 3. Conclusion You should always try to conclude your essay properly. It needs to summarise the points you have made, and must give some kind of answer to the original question. Open it up with a transitional phrase such as In conclusion, or It is clear, therefore, that Useful concluding sentences can begin with the following: It is clear, therefore, that when the following are considered.(re-state your central themes and then conclude with a re-wording of your thesis) or The evidence discussed above appears to show that.(give concluding answer to the essay question) These examples will not work for all answers, but they should give you an idea of how an introduction and conclusion can be worded: simple, straightforward language that directly answers the question and excludes unnecessary detail. Even if the rest of the essay is unfinished, try to write a good conclusion. It will give your piece a strong finish and can include a brief overview of how your unfinished points fit into the piece overall. Is there anything to be avoided? Examiners loathe answers that roam around all over the place, drifting away from the central point. They want tight, coherent answers that take a strong line and one where every paragraph works to make your thesis or argument compelling. Do not repeat the same point more than once, unless you are summing up in your conclusion. Misinterpreting the question can lead to a poor mark. This can be done accidentally if you are nervous. If you misread a concept or theme, it is easy to almost answer a parallel question to the one posed. You will receive some marks, but only for any points made that refer to the question itself. This can 8

9 be overcome by reading the question carefully and making sure before you begin writing exactly what it is about. If you have revised an area and that question does not come up exactly, the temptation is to use whatever you know anyway without attempting to adapt the material to the specific question. This is easy to spot for the examiner and your marks will suffer. What can go wrong? Most mistakes will not result in a fail, but your marks will suffer. Failure to follow the correct instructions about the number of questions to answer, or writing short answers instead of long ones. Running out of time. If you spend all of the time writing two answers and should have answered three, then you lose 33% of the mark straight away. Answering with common sense answers and skirting around an issue rather than using course material backed up with solid examples that illustrate your argument sufficiently. Writing an answer without planning first can lead to weakly structured and disorganised writing. You may also forget the introduction and conclusion, which will make your argument seem unfinished. The examiner wants to read something that has structure and can show that you understand the subject. Scruffy, untidy handwriting is difficult for the examiner to read. They can usually decipher most handwriting, but try to make yours legible. Bad spelling and grammar can be penalised in essays if it is widespread. Failure to put your name or student number (as instructed) on the front of the paper and numbering your answers incorrectly! OK, the exam is over, so that is it? Not necessarily, no. You will unavoidably become embroiled in a postmortem of the exam. While it is virtually impossible to not get involved, try not to listen to the same smarty-pants who before the exam were talking loudly about how much they had revised, or even that they had not done any revision at all. Your exam is over, and no amount of discussion now can affect the outcome. When you receive your results, you may not be given your script back, so it could be difficult to see where you went wrong or right. If you have any problems with your result, make an appointment and see your module tutor, who may be able to give you some feedback. Appendix Words you may encounter in an exam question 9

10 Compare Contrast Criticise Describe Discuss Explain Evaluate Justify Outline Look for similarities and differences between two given themes. You could reach a conclusion about which is preferable and justify this clearly. Set two things in opposition to bring out the differences. Judge the merits of a theory or opinion on a given subject. Always back this up with evidence or reasoning. Give a detailed account of something. Explain an issue and then give both sides and consider any implications. Give details about why and how something is. Make an appraisal of the value or effectiveness of something. Has it proved useful to the discussion or argument? Show grounds for decisions or conclusions you have made and answer any objections likely to be made about them. Give the main features or general principles of a subject, omitting minor details and emphasizing structure and arrangement. Summarise Give a concise, clear explanation of something, presenting the chief factors and leaving out minor details. Mathematical words can be different Write down State Give Find Determine Calculate Explain Derive Evaluate Solve Prove Show Explain Deduce Write down without justification. You are required to show your workings out. Justify each step and provide a convincing argument or explanation. Yvonne Bissett, Student Life. Updated