Centre for academic development services

Study Skills Programme

1. Organising your Time | 2. Study Skills Techniques | 3. Revision & Exams | 4. Useful Videos |
5. Books on Study Skills

By the end of the session you will be able to:

• Plan your revision for exams in time
• Condense your notes
• Use various methods to revise for exams
• Prepare yourself for exams in time

REVISION AND EXAMS

Generally, exam time is a stressful period of the year. The stress that you experience during this time is twofold. You can either regard stress positively as a challenge that encourages you to heighten your own expertise, that is make it work for you successfully or view it negatively, that is as a potential for failure.

PREPARE YOURSELF ADEQUATELY FOR EXAMS

How much time do you have before the exams?

• You need to set aside time for revision.
• Record dates of the exams in your wall plan and/or diary.
• Create a picture of how much time you have available.
• Make a monthly plan for an overview of weeks before exams.
• Make a weekly plan to organize time on a daily basis.

Planning your revision

First, do the initial survey to ensure that you have all the necessary information for revision

Make an overview of each subject, listing the topics in that subject, and the headings under each topic.

By so doing, you will be creating an index of what needs to be revised.

Divide your revision into easy-to manage sections by giving each section a place on the monthly and weekly plans.

Act on the plan to prepare for exams revision and the amount of work covered.

Condensing your notes

There are three methods you can use to revise. The first one is to use the daily revision summaries you have been compiling throughout the year (see daily revision). The second one is to revise your mind maps. The last one is to condense notes with clear headings and central points by selecting only the most important points.

Condense your notes further by creating a list of headings with keywords for each point OR make main summary cards or master cards to with key memory triggers for the whole topic.

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Test yourself as much as you can

Methods of reviewing include:

Use of past exam papers- Familiarize yourself with the way in which questions are set and test yourself by answering the questions.

Give one another tests- this also helps the tester to acquire that knowledge

Testing yourself before the exam will help build your confidence.

Simulate an exam situation with ‘a set and timed examination paper’ which covers your scope to test how much you know and to reduce anxiety caused by the exam atmosphere

Review your answers by checking them against your notes and highlight any missed or inaccurate information

Analyze your answer to see how it could have improved

Put up posters of key information around your room

Ask a friend to test your recall

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On your way to the exam room

Make a choice about whether you want to participate in group discussions because they might discuss something totally new and that might affect your performance.

New reading just before the exam

Various authors argue whether you should read new material just before exams. Some are of the opinion that it can keep your thinking fresh and bring your work into perspective. Others suggest that it should be ignored especially if it confuses one.

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In the exam room

1. Be on time

2. Bring everything you need

3. For essays and longer answers, take as much time as needed to carefully analize the question. Lectures report students not answering the specific question but if asked a choice of questions to answer, providing any related information as one of the biggest causes of failure.

4. Go through all the questions first so that you can choose the best questions. Tick or encircle possible choices. Go back to possible choices and read them again

5. Start with the easiest questions first or the questions you can answer best, the most difficult one second and the one you know least about last. Answering the easiest questions first or the ones you know best will boosts your confidence and get your thoughts flowing

6. Plan each answer first by jotting down key points. Due to the pressure of time in the exams, it is possible to ignore the importance of planning for your answers. Spending a few minutes planning the answer will help you:

   1. select relevant information for the question

   2. put this information in a logical and coherent order

   3. write down your ideas at the early stage of the exams to help you remember the key points

   4. monitor how much information you are covering in the allocated time

7. Analyze the question to ensure that your answer focuses on the requirements of the question

8. Plan your answer in the style you have practised in your revision for exams

9. Write your answer according to the requirements of the question and stick to the time plan.

10. Read through your answers afterwards and correct mistakes

11. For multiple and short answers, read the instructions carefully and look at the structure of the paper

12. Check if there is negative marking, if not, answer all the questions

13. If there is negative marking, check how much will be subtracted. If it is one mark given - if the answer is right and one mark deducted- if the answer is wrong, then DO NOT GUESS.

14. Answer the questions you are sure of first. This will stimulate your thoughts and help you recall

15. Analyze questions to identify correct answers

16. Read all the alternatives before making your selection in a multiple choice answer.

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After the exam

Do not check answers for the paper you had just written. This will only discourage you especially when you find out that your answers are not correct

EXERCISE THREE

1. Plan your revision for exams
2. Condense your notes for exam purposes
3. Revise your work using:
   1. Past exam papers
   2. Answering a test set by your friend or class mate