Preparing for exams
Content
01 Use past exam papers
02 Use the course syllabus
03 Use class notes and the required weekly reading
04 Practise your exam technique
05 Make sure that your handwriting is legible
- 01 Use past exam papers
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Past exam papers are probably the best revision resource available for individual courses, though you should always check that the content of the course has not significantly changed from previous years. Go back at least two years, preferably three or four.
Past exam papers are often available on departmental websites, or through the Course Materials Repository.
Instead of attempting to do the exams themselves, which may involve an unnecessary degree of focus on questions that are unlikely to be repeated, we recommend that you go through several papers to identify topics, themes, concepts, theories, etc., which are consistently tested.
Having said this, there is nothing wrong with attempting past exam papers, especially for the purpose of improving your exam performance with regard to technique, and in particular to develop the muscles in your hand and your time management.
Organise your revision around the topics you have identified by looking at the past papers. As a rule of thumb, double the number of questions you will have to answer on the exam. For example, if the exam requires that you answer four questions, you should revise eight topics in depth.
[Back to top] - 02 Use the course syllabus
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Always compare past exam papers with the current course syllabus to ensure that you have correctly identified the main themes or topics on which you will be tested. Most course syllabuses include discussion questions as well as essay questions that focus on the main themes and issues covered by the course.
For each topic you have chosen to revise in depth, list all the questions that you can find on that topic in the course syllabus and on past exam papers. This should give you a list of 6-8 sample questions that look at each topic from different angles; in effect, mapping out the area. If you understand all of these questions and are confident that you can answer each of them adequately, that will give you a sound knowledge base for answering a range of different questions on each topic and give you the flexibility you need to respond to the particular questions that appear on the exam.
[Back to top] - 03 Use class notes and the required weekly reading
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Use your notes and reading to identify the key points that have to be covered and the main issues that have to be discussed in order to give a full answer to a particular question or to cover a topic in depth. Do not just copy out your notes again. The essays you have written during the year can be used for revising relevant topics, but pay close attention to the marks and comments - the feedback - they received.
[Back to top] - 04 Practise your exam technique
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Practising technique is particularly important for students who tend to panic or find exams difficult, or for whom English is their second language.
After you have done your revision as described above, practice writing answers to exam questions under exam conditions, i.e. without notes and within the time set. The point of this is not to improve your knowledge - you should already have done that - but to improve your technique and increase your speed. Students who have particular problems with exams or with expressing themselves clearly and succinctly should do this several times.
[Back to top] - 05 Make sure that your handwriting is legible
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Your handwriting may not seem important, but if the examiner cannot read it s/he will have to deduct marks. Therefore, make sure that your handwriting, grammar and punctuation are reliable. Check with friends, teachers or a study skills tutor.
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