Exam Tips

elona

Just wanted to wish you luck.

If you want a quick and free relaxation tip - shut eyes- visualise clear blue sky with white fluffy clouds drifting across - a couple of minutes doing this really does help.

I posted it on another thread and several people have really found it helpful.

squeaky

Yes, an earlier poster is right, in that a forum full of students is a most likely place to get lots of advice si I shall move this thread over.

Good posts already I see!

pavlovs_dog

i find me and revision have never really gotten on (and just like student 100, i have faced exams at least once a year, every year for the past...welll, longer than i care to remember.)

if i was to study like student 100, i would rapidly lose interest.

i guess the secret is to know what works for you. im a crammer, but becasuse i have good recall and study intently, revision for me is basically going over the points i know im weakest at.

i wouldnt exactly recommend this technique, becasue unless you know it works for you, the resulst can be disaterous. but its gotten me countless GCSEs and six a levels, and so far the degree is going well...so im happy.

its just that personally, i cant start revising more than a day or two before exams.

Curry_Queen

pavlovs_dog wrote:

im a crammer, but becasuse i have good recall and study intently, revision for me is basically going over the points i know im weakest at.

i wouldnt exactly recommend this technique, becasue unless you know it works for you, the resulst can be disaterous. but its gotten me countless GCSEs and six a levels, and so far the degree is going well...so im happy.

its just that personally, i cant start revising more than a day or two before exams.

I can so relate to that!

No way could I ever stick to a revision plan, and I'd always cram in the last couple of days before an exam. I was exactly the same with assignments too, barely touching them until a few days before the entry deadline, then stressing myself out to get them finished!

Certainly not a recommended way to study but it worked for me and I produced better results when under pressure. Not sure it's something I could still manage these days though


Forgot to add that for mature students it certainly helps to have an understanding partner and kids that can take care of themselves while you lock yourself in the study for a few days

Poppy9

When revising put a drop of an essential oil on your hand. While studing sniff this. On the day of the exam put a drop on your hand. When you feel panicky or lost sniff your hand and the smell will bring back memories of your revision. Smell triggers memories more than anything.

Agree just practice past papers. I did some accountancy exams by distance learning so no lecturers at all. I worked through all the texts but it was the past papers that got me through the exams.

Find out if you can before the exam how many questions there will be. i.e if there are 5 questions on a 3 hour exams allow 10 minutes reading time at the beginning and 10 minutes review time at the end. The remaining 160 mins should be allocated equally to each question ie. 32mins. Stick strictly to this at the end of the 32 mins move onto the next question. You earn more marks in the first 10 minutes of each question. If you have remembered certain points that you don't have time to write put them in the margin. At the end when you are reviewing you can add in a quick sentence with them.

Good luck.

Kitten_2

Personally, I am a bit of a crammer, got up at 5.30am for my 9.30am today, but I also do the long distance stuff :P

I find my best way of revision is to read the lecture notes, then the text book, then the journals (and highlight them as I go) and then the lengthy process of writing it all down makes it sink in!

Do past exam papers without a doubt! Firstly gets you in the essay writing mode, and secondly you never know if the questions may come up again Also gets you writing in all the detail and cementing stuff in your brain for a little while.

After the exams always come back and put everything away so it is a fresh start for the next one!

Anyways best get back to the revision for tomorrow's 9.30am exam :eek:

Thank God my last exam is wednesday and they will all be over! Roll on the alcohol :cool: and then graduation :eek:

squeaky

Best advice I ever had, even though I was something of a crammer was...

"Don't revise on the night before the exam. This because about the only things you're likley to remember the next morning are the last two things you did."

So I went out. Not on a big party or anything, not wanting to try an exam with a hangover, but just a quiet night with mates, a glass, and a bite to eat, home for a long shower or soak... and so to bed.

Next morning get up early enough to have a LAZY shower and a LAZY breakfast and STILL have time to get to your exam without rush or fluster.

Arriving at an exam room in good nick really sets you up well.

lellie

Jay-Jay wrote:

It's a small bottle of liquid that you can buy from Boots. Whether it really works or is a placebo is probably up for dispute but I found that it worked, probably as a combination of placebo effect and feeling like I was actually doing something physical to alleviate my stress.


Some midwives recommend it for calming during labour so there's quite a lot of faith in it there.

it's made out of alcohol and stuff so probably does have some calming effects. I used to have it before music exams when I was a kid - the lady who's house was used for the AB exams used to sneak it into squash too. so maybe it's not a placebo because it worked even when I didn't know about it!

lellie

I'm terrible when it comes to revision.. every year I say "I'll revise properly this time" and never do.

What little revision I do - usually involves making notes of the main themes and points to remember.. then sitting in the bath reading them!

Pottymouth_2

HI Justine, I only skimmed the other posts, but I am an exam veteran (o levels, a levels, degree, MBA) and the following occur to me:

Split your time out effectively:

Some people have a tendancy to revise what they are good at, which is OK, as long as the other weak areas get at least equal attention.

Generally you know which exams you are dreading (and therefore likely to need more work on) - therefore work on these first.

The hardest part of revising is sitting down in that chair. The second hardest is opening that book with the right frame of mind. If you can do these two with some structure, reliability and frequency - the rest will come easy.

Your attitude is everything. Eventually, I got to enjoy exams (yes really!), as I saw them as an opportunity to show off! If you are able to get into this frame of mind - it totally up-ends the way you approach exams.

Everyone has their way of doing things - but I think a slightly cool room with plenty of lighting, a desk, a comfortable chair and most importantly QUIET. i know some people talk about radios and TV to drown out the white noise - but I don't subscribe to this.

many have mentioned past papers - these are absolutly critical. make yorself do them in exam conditions and exhaustively review the results - where you went wrong, why etc...

Then do another paper.

and another one etc...

Often, my last 2 weeks before exams was mostly past papers.

There is a technique and there is no-way to learn this apart from doing papers in exam conditions - sit there without inturruption for 3 hours.

On the first page of your answer booklet, on the left - do your outline, key points and plan. These can result in points and at the very least will structure your mind. Put yourself in the markers shoes and hit the points you'd expect to see in your outline

READ the EXAM PAPER. he number of times people have come out and said "4 questions, I thought it was 3!!". No matter what all the past papers were - you really need to look at the instructions.

Lastly, read the whole exam paper - all of the questions without exception, all the way through. And cocentrate on what the whole question is REALLY asking.

Mostly - good luck Justine. And it may seem perverted - but enjoy the experience - you are gettig the opportunity to show off how much you know! :-)

Potty.