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Salient. Official Newspaper of Victoria University of Wellington Students Association. Vol 40 No. 26. October 3 1977

Exams Made Easy

Exams Made Easy

Examinations Hints Kit—

Preparation

There are 168 hours in a week—calculate Now how many of these hours you intend to spend on Study and Recreation before and during the examination period.

Plan ahead what you will study in any given period.

Spaced learning is more effective than massed learning. Work through you summaries and check-lists as often as possible.

Practise recalling—reading and note-taking without Recalling are an ineffective basis for remembering. 50 items you can recall without hesitation are more useful than 250 you vaguely hope that you might be able to recall—if you are lucky!

Formulate questions for yourself as you study.

Clarify doubts with staff, other students or texts As Soon as Possible—otherwise they will hang around to bug you.

Organise your material into meaningful patterns and groupings as an aid to memory.

Avoid last-minute attacks on new material. You could be spending the time Consolidating what you already know.

There are no marks for martyrdom—Don't forget to eat, sleep and take breaks for recreation. You get no credit for turning up at an exam a physical and nervous wreck.

Check your understanding of "examination verbs".

  • Analyse
  • Assess
  • Comment
  • Compare
  • Contrast
  • Criticise
  • Define
  • Illustrate
  • Interpret
  • Justify
  • List
  • Outline
  • Prove
  • Reconcile
  • Describe
  • Discuss
  • Enumerate
  • Evaluate
  • Explain
  • Relate
  • Review
  • State
  • Summarise
  • Trace

In the examination

Budget your time before you start writing

Allow time for:
  • reading the question thoroughly
  • planning your answers
  • writing your answers
  • checking your script

Write down the times at which you should finish each answer and Stick to Schedule. If necessary leave space to complete an answer if you have spare time. Two half-finished answers are likely to earn more marks than one magnum opus.

Read the questions carefully several times. Make sure you understand the questions you decide to answer, and check that you understand the Task. (See chech list of "exam verbs")

Note down ideas as they come to you . . . in case they don't come back.

Attack the "easier" questions first—to give yourself confidence and more time to incubate answers to the more difficult questions.

If you panic—breathe deeply and let your body go limp as you breathe out. Remind yourself of the time spent studying—not of the time you "wasted" during the course!

Check your answers—One or two words or figures can alter the sense or accuracy of an answer.

After the exam

Don't hold a post mortem with depressed friends if you have other papers to sit.

Take a planned break (even if it's a short one) before going back to revision.

When it's all over—throw a party—take a holiday—who knows—you may have passed!

Good Luck

Mike Capper

Counsellor