Study skills > Module
6 > Page 2
What to do, when to
do It – before, during and after
Effective revision
Review the scope
of the course
1. Establish the examinable sections of your course. Do this by:
- reading your notes
- course books
- consulting with staff
2. Prepare all your notes in every topic for easy access and recall.
3. Make sure you have all relevant photocopies, articles and notes.
4. Review exam patterns from previous years by looking old exam papers;
this is a good though not failsafe guide to exams.
- Click
here to view information on the bibliography/ index card
Check your understanding of course content
- look for common themes in your notes
- check your understanding by meeting with staff
- consider joining a study group as it is possible to learn from others
comments and experiences
- remember study groups are not sufficient alone and must be supplemented
by individual study
- try out some questions from past exam papers. Check if your lecturers
are prepared to correct sample or draft exam answers
Make summary answers of possible exam questions
Develop skeletal answers on sample topics for each section of the course.
These should contain
- trigger / keywords
- concise summary of theory
- key definitions and assumptions
It may also be useful to include:
- relevant research findings
- quotes
- references
- a brief list of evaluative comments or criticisms
- conclusions
Test yourself under exam like conditions (adversity training)
- simulate exam conditions, i.e. quietness, pen and paper, strict time
frame etc, and try out your skeletal answers.
- this will indicate areas you need to develop and as time goes on it
will also give you confidence
- this is a very good method for combating exam anxieties, as you become
familiar with the thing that you fear. This is called Adversity Training
as it replicates the challenge or conditions of testing perfectly and
is a method of training used by astronauts and military personnel
- you should also test your ability to recall notes and summary sheets
on the bus, in the car and sitting alone. This replicates the morning
of the exam perfectly
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Examinations accommodations
You may need to arrange for a variation in the regular examination procedures
for one of your courses. There are several steps you must take as soon as
possible:
Contact the Disability/Access Officer, to get assistance on how to make
the necessary arrangements with:
- the lecturer in the course
- the academic department or faculty
- the Examinations Office which is responsible for the conduct of all
institutional examinations
Remember it is important to make these arrangements well in advance of
the examination period as they may involve administrative and timetabling
changes.
You must produce medical evidence of your disability and have an assessment
of need carried out by the disability / access office staff before you can
avail of any examination accommodation.
Examples of examination accommodations:
- extra time
- transcription of examinations
- enlarged examination papers
- Brailled examination papers
- tape recording of examinations
- use of assistive technology
- provision of individual rooms
- sitting examinations in an alternative centre
- sign language interpreters
- scribe or Amanuensis
- rest /refreshment breaks
Organising Accommodations:
Additional time: If you are being given additional time
for the examination, ask if this is to be added to the beginning (i.e. an
earlier start) or at the end (i.e. a later finish) of the regular examination
time.
Rest periods: If you require rest periods during the examination,
you need to agree with the lecturer on a timetable for the conduct of the
whole examination.
Separate room: If you need a separate room in which to
take the examination either because of your requirement for extra time,
or special equipment, or a reader, or amanuensis, you must check how the
necessary arrangements will be made with the disability officer/access officer
or the examinations office.
Reader: If you require a reader or an amanuensis, or someone
to assist your in a practical examination, ask if you may meet this person
prior to your examination so that you can discuss any particular needs you
have and to begin to feel comfortable with each other.
Specific equipment: If you will need specific equipment,
such as tape recorders, or a laptop computer, make arrangements for this
well in advance (ask the disability/access officer to help here if necessary)
and arrive early at the examination room to check that the necessary equipment
has arrived and is in working order.
N.B. Bring spare batteries for any battery operated equipment.
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Preparing for the examination
You may need to consider the following points, some of which will only
apply if your examination involves a mixture of oral and written work.
Discuss with the lecturer in charge of your course exactly what form the
examination is to take. You will need to ask for details about:
The type of examination which is being set:
- multiple choice?
- short answers?
- essay style answers?
If the examination covers more than one of these categories you need to
know how much of the examination is of each type (e.g. 33% multiple choice,
33% short answer, and one essay answer).
The length of time your are to be allowed to answer:
- the whole examination
- each section of the examination and
- each question in the examination
Preparing for oral examinations:
If you are going to have an oral examination, find out from the lecturer:
- how many examiners will be at the examination interview.
- whether you are to answer each question in an uninterrupted monologue,
or whether examiners will raise questions or discuss each topic with you.
- how you will be informed about the time allowed, and the passing of
time during the examination.
- practice your oral presentation skills by recording answers to past
questions on tape and listening critically to the replay.
Preparing for a taped examination:
- practice taping answers to questions from past examination papers within
the prescribed time limit.
- practice working with two tape recorders, so that you can edit the material
you first recorded into a final version on the second recorder.
- practice making and then talking from outline notes, if this is how
you will take the examination.
- use your regular systems for making notes on the material you are revising,
but concentrate during your revision on extracting the main points for
each section of the course and condensing it to a page or so of notes.
These skeletal notes will be useful for last minute revision.
- work out some reliable way of keeping track of the time you are spending
on each answer.
- check if your tutor is prepared to listen to a trail answer and give
you some quick feedback on how well you have covered the material. If
this is possible it will give you more confidence in facing the actual
exam.
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Guidelines for the use of specific personnel during an examination
- the use of any specific personnel must be approved by the institution
prior to the examination
- the person assigned to assist you in relation to you examination accommodations
should be an independent person i.e. they should not be a lecturer, personal
tutor, personal assistant, fellow student or relative
- the person assigned to you should be familiar with, or have knowledge
of the subject you are being examined in
- you should not discuss any other matters with this person other than
ones relating to the communication of examination questions and your answers
- the person assigned to you cannot at any time give factual help or offer
any suggestions relating to your examination answers
- it is advisable that you meet with this person prior to your examination
so that you can discuss any particular needs you have
Personal Assistant
During an examination you cannot discuss any matter with your personal
assistant unless it relates to your personal care or assistance with manual
tasks.
Managing in the examination
The taped examination
- arrive early at the examination room to check that the necessary equipment
you need is there and is in working order, and that you can use it confidently
- if you are using a reader or an amanuensis to take down your outline
notes) make his/ her acquaintance prior to the examination so that you
can begin to feel comfortable with each other, and you can explain the
particular way you want to work
- clarify with the invigilator that arrangements have been made for the
variations in time allowed, rest periods, or other conditions that you
have previously agreed on with the examinations office
- use the reading period for and essay based examination to identify the
exact focus of each question on the examination paper (not just the topics
being covered) and select quickly the questions you intend to answer
- follow your accustomed pattern of responding to answers
The oral examination
Arrive early and and allow time to be introduced to your examiners and
to confirm the way in which the examination is to be conducted (which you
will have earlier agreed on with the examinations office).
The essay-based oral examination
- Use the reading period to decide on the questions you will attempt and
then inform the examiners which questions you propose to answer.
- Plan your time for answering your questions carefully. If you have,
say, 45 minutes for each question, allow plenty of time (say 10 minutes)
for planning your answer. Make or dictate an outline or notes if you find
this helpful.
- When you are presenting your answers orally, try to clarify each new
step in your discussion. In writing you can clarify each new step by starting
a new paragraph; in speech you have to make it clear in your wording (e.g.
“Now turning to my next point… .)
- Try to present your answer clearly and logically, as it will be more
difficult for your examiners to follow and assess and oral than written
answer.
- Your spoken answer will not take up all the time allotted for writing
an answer, so you should not feel and need to fill up the whole time speaking.
It is also acceptable to pause between points to collect your thoughts,
just as you would in writing.
- Remember also that your answers are not all likely to be uniformly good,
detailed or long (just as written answers would not be uniformly good).
- If it has been agreed to run the examination more like a discussion:
• Your examiners will ask you questions and raise new points.
• Listen and respond carefully to each question they ask.
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Multiple choice oral examination
If your examination consists wholly or in part of multiple choice questions,
then you should decide on your answering system in advance. You will need
to inform the examiners whether you require a reader or whether you will
be ready to read and answer questions personally.
Multiple choice tests place emphasis on speed as well as accuracy of response.
- read/listen to the entire question.
- if you know the correct answer immediately, indicate it – and
move quickly to the next question.
- if you have some understanding of the question but are not sure of the
best answer, you can always ask for the question to be repeated if you
are using a reader. Eliminate those alternatives that are clearly wrong
and decide which is the best answer from the remaining options.
- if you have no knowledge or memory of the content covered in the question
move on to another question you can answer.
- complete everything you know first, and then use up the remaining time
in returning time on questions you find more difficult.
The short answer oral examination
This type of examination combines the essay and multiple choice questions:
- you have to respond in sentences but briefly and quickly.
- keep you answers short (usually the equivalent to a paragraph in an
essay), but make sure they cover all aspects of the question.
- in most cases these questions require you to define or identify some
specific concept/process/event/person/relationship/formula and then add
a further sentence or so by way of explanation or example.
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