Damian Gordon

Exam Preparation

The Purpose of Exams

The Purpose of Exams

Exams test:• The amount you can write in a given time• Whether you understand the exam question • Whether you can cope with exam pressure• Your ability to apply knowledge• Your understanding of key concepts and theories• Whether you can argue a point of view• Your ability to criticise and analyse

The Purpose of Exams

In addition, examinations provide lecturers with a guarantee that the work being assessed is entirely the student’s own work.

NB how well you do in exams is up to you!

Even when students have studied a course thoroughly they can fail to do themselves justice in the exam through:

– inadequate/ inefficient revision– poor exam technique

Revision

Revision Plan

For each module, list the topics you need to cover Estimate how much time you have left to revise Assign topics as either topics you enjoy or do not enjoy Divide out your remaining time better these topics Alternating between topics you enjoy, and those you don’t Create a master timetable – BE REALISTIC Take into account all your other commitments e.g. employment,

family etc. Tick off the topics as you complete them Pat yourself on the back frequently by looking back on what

you have already covered.

Revision Tips

Reading stuff is NOT helpful Try to be active in your revision Vary the methods you use to revise, some

examples ahead…

Revision Tips

SUMMARISE– A good starting point is to summarise the notes

you have on each topic: Try to reduce your notes to key words and phrases. This will form the basis of your revision notes. Reduce your notes further so that information fits on one

side of A4 or an index card (portable).

Revision Tips

FLASH CARDS– Get a bunch of index cards (different colours)– Write down one key idea per card– On one side write down the TITLE– On the other write down the points associated

with it– Use different colours for different themes

Revision Tips

COVER CARDS– As you are revising from your book, read what

you are trying to memorise. Use the cover card to conceal what you’ve just read. Try reciting, or reading facts from memory. Check until you are sure you have mastered the facts.

Revision Tips

SONGS, RHYMES– Use songs, rhymes, mnemonics and acronyms.

Making up catch phrases or rhymes can help you with crucial bits of information

Revision Tips

I remember normalisation as;

– “the key,– the whole key,– and nothing but the key,– So help me Codd”

Revision Tips

I remember normalisation as;

– “the key,– the whole key,– and nothing but the key,– So help me Codd”

Which means

1NF: Identify primary key

2NF: Identify partial dependencies

3NF: Identify Non-key dependencies

BCNF: Candidate key dependencies

Revision Tips

DIAGRAMS– Use diagrammatical notes if you memorise

material more easily in a visual form.

– Use colours, highlighting and/ or different coloured paper to make the notes distinctive.

Revision Tips

MINDMAPS

Revision Tips

CONCEPT MAPS

Revision Tips

Mind Maps Concept Maps Good for an overview of a topic Good to put key details on one page Highly visual aids memory

Good for linking information Good to apply details and knowledge to exam questions Visual easy to see how far you can apply your knowledge

Revision Tips

SQR3 – ACTIVE READING– Survey - Here you are attempting to gain an

impression of the material.

Revision Tips

SQR3 – ACTIVE READING– Question - before you begin to read, draw up a

mental list of questions to try to answer during reading

Revision Tips

SQR3 – ACTIVE READING– Read - at this point the aim is to understand what the

text is saying. Try to assess the writer’s viewpoint, what the main idea is in each paragraph and how the content is structured. Keep making connections between the information in the text and what you have read in other texts or have heard about in lectures. Take note of all cross-references that you come across.

Revision Tips

SQR3 – ACTIVE READING– Recall - the next stage of the process is to close the

text and try to remember what you have read and then note the key points. This is the longest stage.

Revision Tips

SQR3 – ACTIVE READING– Review - the final stage involves checking your notes

against the text. Spend some time filling the gaps and correcting errors.

Revision Tips

QnA– Divide a page into two columns– Write down questions on one side and answers

on the other

Revision Tips

RECORDERS– Consider using digital recorder or tape to help

remember key facts.

Revision Tips

ACRONYM– Acronym is a word formed from the first letters or groups of

letters in a name or phrase. Example: ROY G. BIV = The colors of the rainbow, in order: Red, Orange, Yellow,

Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.

Revision Tips

ACROSTIC– Acrostic is a series of lines from which particular letters

(such as the first letters of all lines) from a word or phrase.

My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas

=

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto

Revision Tips

ACROSTIC

King Phillip called out fifty good soldiers.

i h l r a e p

n y a d m n e

g l s e i u c

d u s r l s i

o m y e

m s

IMAGERY– Imagery is used to memorize pairs of words. An

image is formed as a result of each word given, and then two images are joined through mental visualization.

– Example: Piggy bank =

+ =

Revision Tips

KEYWORD METHOD

Revision Tips

Spanish word:

lapiz

(keyword)

pencil (meaning of lapiz)

trapeze

KEYWORD METHOD

Revision Tips

Spanish word: patio (pronounced pot-o)

patio

duck (meaning of patio)

pot

Revision Tips

RHYMES– A rhyme is a saying that has similar distinctive sounds at

the end of each line. – Studies have shown that rhyming makes things easier to

remember because it can be stored with acoustic encoding.

Example:– In fourteen hundred and ninety-two Columbus sailed the Ocean

Blue. – 30 Days has September, April, June, and November. All the rest

have 31, except February. – "i" before "e," except after "c," or in sounding like "ay" as in

"neighbor" or "weigh."

Revision Tips

THE METHOD OF LOCI– The Method of Loci is a mnemonic device that dates

back to Ancient Greek times. They would use this to assist them when memorizing a speech.

– Example: You have to imagine a place that you are very familiar with.

Then you imagine all the possible locations in that place, or all possible situations. It could help if you put everything in a specific order.

– Say you were telling someone about a house. You would have to be very familiar with that house and everything in it. And in order to make telling someone about this house easier you would have to think about it in some kind of order. You could start at the basement, then move up to the main floor, and then move to the second floor.

Tatooine Death Star Alderaan Yavin IV Hoth Dagobah

Revision Tips

Besbin

Tatooine Death Star Alderaan Yavin IV Hoth Dagobah

Revision Tips

Besbin

Revision Tips

Revision Tips

Revision Tips

Revision Tips

Revision Tips

Revision Tips

Revision Tips

Revision Tips

PEG-WORD SYSTEM– The Peg-Word System can be used for memorizing an ordered list

of words or the specific numbers associated with the words. – Example:

1.bun 2.shoe 3.tree 4.door 5.hive 6.sticks 7.heaven 8.gate 9.line or shine or vine 10.hen

Revision Tips

NUMBER-LETTER SYSTEM– The Number-Letter System is very similar to the Peg- Word System,

because it, too, is a method of association. The only difference is that this method allows you to remember things by associating them with similarities of the number it is at.

– Example: 1.= t (there is one downstroke in the letter t) 2.= n (there are two downstrokes in the letter n) 3.= m (there are three downstrokes in the letter m) 4.= r (the last letter in four is r) 5.= l (the Roman number 50 is L) 6.= sh (the word six has begins with an x) 7.= k (the number seven can be turned around to look like part of the letter k) 8.= f (a cursive f looks like an 8) 9.= p (a p flipped looks like a 9) 10.= z, s (think of zero)

Revision Tips

CORNELL NOTEMAKING

Revision Tips

CHUNKING– Breaks down information into smaller bits so that

it is easier to remember

– Can you remember this number?

1066007200601642

Revision Tips

CHUNKING– Breaks down information into smaller bits so that

it is easier to remember

– Can you remember this number?1066007200601642

– What about now?1066 007 2006 01642

Revision Tips

MOCK EXAMS– Set yourself questions from your revision notes to answer.

– Check your answers by using the original notes.

– Fill in forgotten facts with another colour pen.

– Repeat the process until all the gaps have disappeared.

Revision Tips

STUDY BUDDY– Teaching and learning from (and with) someone

else can be very effective

Ten General Keys for Memorising

1. Try to understand it first

2. Create a hook (picture, pattern, rhyme, story)

3. Link it to something you already know

4. Don’t bite off more than you can chew (don’t overload your brain)

5. Get emotionally involved (personalise it)

6. Engage as many senses as possible

7. Smell the roses (absorbing your environment helps with later recall)

8. Sleep on it (review before bed and when first awake)

9. Use it or lose it (access it, think about it, apply it – soon and often)

10. Quiz yourself periodically (like excercising a muscle)

•No right or wrong way – only general rules and tips•Work at it and develop personal strategies

Before the Exam

The Night before the Exam

Get to bed on time Try not to get in any fights with family and

friends

The Night before the Exam

Pack – Some pencils, – Some different coloured pens– Pencil pairers and erasers– Rulers– Food and drink

The morning of the Exam

Start you day as always Eat a good breakfast Think of what reward you will give yourself

after the exams are over BE POSITIVE

The Exam itself

The Exam

BREATH– Take a deep breath– Relax– Remain calm– If you are getting nervous, picture a shaft of

warm, blue light coming down from the sky and warming you

The Exam

VITAL– Carefully read all instructions on the exam paper,

especially when given options of questions to answer.

The Exam

VITAL– Carefully read all instructions on the exam paper,

especially when given options of questions to answer.

– Now read them again

The Exam

TIME MANAGEMENT– Read all of the questions on the paper– Choose the questions you wish to answer

carefully

The Exam

BE CLEAR– Write in clear, concise legible English and give all

necessary details.

The Exam

DIAGRAMS– Make it large– Label it clearly– Draw in pencil first– And then rub out and redraw in pen– Use many colours

The Exam

CROSSING-OUT Do not cross-out work unless you are sure it

is wrong, since crossed-out work is not marked.

The Exam

EXAM NUMBER– Do not put your name on any part of the paper,

only your exam number.

The Exam

“EXPLAIN” questions

– Provide a definition or simple explanation

– Draw a diagram if possible

– Provide an example

– Discuss all you can – PMI or 6Hats

The Exam

WHICH QUESTION FIRST?– When choosing which question from two choices to do first. – You should do the one you are more confident of answering

first.– This gets you started working immediately, steadies the

nerves and gives you confidence.– Starting with a harder one first may increase the amount of

time spent on the first essay, causing you to panic and rush the second.

The Exam

PLANNING YOUR ANSWER– When faced with an exam question a good staring

point is to gather ideas.– Write these down on paper in any order.– The more ideas you have, the more can select

when you start to write.– Ideas should occur to as you write and these can

be accepted or rejected according to your answer plan

The Exam

PLANNING YOUR ANSWER– The next stage is the rough plan, reorganise your

ideas into a logical order that will answer the question.

– Delete irrelevant initial ideas that will not contribute to answering the question.

– At this stage don’t worry about a conclusion, you should be able to do this after you have written the answer.

The Exam

PLANNING YOUR ANSWER– Three parts

Introduction Main Body (PMI?) Conclusion

The Exam

THE ANSWER– The answer should be as legible as possible and

written in a clear fashion, the meanings of words should be easily understood.

– There should be a coherence of structure and development of ideas.

– Attention should be paid to grammar, punctuation and spelling.

The Exam

WHITESPACE– You have paid for the exam booklets, use as

many as you want. – Each part of each question on a separate page– Leave a blank page between each question– Leave two blank lies between each paragraph

The Exam

SUGGESTION– Give each paragraph a heading, and then

underline that heading in red. This means that the examiner can read very, very quickly what you are doing and how the answer is being structured. These efforts towards clarity will help the examiner to follow the thrust of your argument more clearly.

The Exam

COMMON ERRORS– Answering the wrong number of questions– Answering the wrong question– Badly presented answers

The Exam

MARKERS COMMENTS– This gets pretty repetitive towards the end – Manages to avoid contact with the question altogether. – Wanders around - gets the point here and there but then veers off it. – Not clear what the point is. The essay has no structure or organisation. No

relevant literature is cited nor is the question addressed. – Has very slight acquaintance with the subject, but completely fails to

address the question or develop an argument . – Too general. No readings are mentioned. – Doesn't really examine the views of the different schools of thought on this,

but has some ideas. – Specific names should have been mentioned. Very simplistic – Repetitive, fractured answer. - Largely missed the point. – This makes some good points about [...] but really does not attempt to

answer the question. – Not being able to copy Verba's name correctly doesn't inspire confidence.

After the Exam

Après Match

Reward yourself.