Directorate of

Library & Learning Services

www.library.dmu.ac.uk

Focus on
Exams and
Revision
Preexamchecks
Therearesomepreliminarycheckswhichneedtobemade.Ifyoudothisingoodtimeyoucan
entertheexamsinamorerelaxedframeofmind.Ifyouhavespecialrequirements(e.g.physical
orlearningdisabilities,ormedicalconditions)refertotheinstitutionsorexaminingbodys
regulations,atthebeginningoftheacademicyear.

Theexamtimetable
Astheexamperiodapproaches,lookfornoticestellingyouwhenandwherethe timetablewillbedisplayed.
Consultthetimetableassoonaspossible.
makesureyouhavethelatestpublishedversion
writedownyourexamdates androoms
writedownthestartandnishtimesofeachexam
checkforclashes
checkforexamsscheduledoutsidenormaltimetabledhours e.g.daysyoumightnotnormally
attendclasses,evenings,Saturdays,TuesdaysafterBankHolidays

Theexamlocation
trytovisittheexactlocation beforehand theroom,buildingorcampusmightbeunfamiliartoyou
checktravel arrangementse.g.busroutes/times;carorbicycleparking
decideifyoullneedextratime togetthereontheday

Timing
ndoutwhattimeyouneedtoarrive beforetheexam
whetheryouwillbeallowedtimetoreadthepaper beforestarting
beawareofanyrules forthosewhoarrivelate,wishtoleaveearly,orleavetemporarily
makeanynecessarypersonalarrangements e.g.timeoffwork,travel,childcare
ndoutwhenandhowwillyoubegiventheexamresults

CentreforLearningandStudySupport(CLaSS) FocusonExamsandRevision 1
Whatshouldyoutakewithyou?
personalidentication e.g.studentIDcard;signedreassessmentforms,ifresittingwithout
attendance
enoughmaterials,includingspares e.g.pens,pencils,ruler,sharpener,cartridges,drawing
instruments,calculator&battery
checktheregulations onmaterialse.g.areyourequiredtodoroughworkingsonapproved
stationeryonly,andhanditin;touseonlyapproved(supplied)datatables;ortowriteonlyinink?
ndoutwhatequipmentisnotallowed intheexamroom e.g.certaintypesofcalculator,texts,
dictionaries,mobilephones
beawarethatpossessionofunauthorisedmaterial inanexamconstitutesanacademicoffence.

Examinationformats&markingschemes
Consulttutorsandhandbooksfordetailsoftheformat,questiontypeandmarkingschemefor
eachexam.ExamNethasaselectionofDMUexampapersfromthepastthreeyears.Usethese
withcare:formats,questiontypes,etc.maychange.Accessathttp://www.library.dmu.ac.uk/
Resources/ExamNet/

Examformatsandquestiontypesvary:
Aswellasthetraditionalunseenexams,youmightsitopenbook,seen,ortakeawaypapers.Somedifferent
kindsofquestionsare:
essay
problem
shortanswer
multiplechoice
reportstyle.

Findout
howmanypapers youhavepersubject
howmanysections andquestions perpaper
whattopics thesectionscover
howmanyquestions youmustanswerfromeachsection
ifanyofthequestionsarecompulsory
whattypesofquestions theyare
howmuchtime willbeallowedperpaper
whetherthepaperisavailablebeforehand e.g.seenexams
iftherearerestrictionsonwhatmaterialyoucanuseinyouranswers e.g.someexamsrequire
youtoavoidusingasubstantialamountofmaterialthatyouhavealreadypresentedinanassessment
thedenitionsoftypicalexamkeywords e.g.analyse,assess,criticise, etc.

2 CentreforLearningandStudySupport(CLaSS) FocusonExamsandRevision
Markingschemes
Youneedtoknow:
howmanymarks areallocatedperquestion
howthecomponentmarksareformulatedtogiveanoverallresult
ifmarkscouldbedeductedforanythinge.g.poorhandwriting,poorEnglishlanguageorgrammar;
wronganswersinmultiplechoice
ifthemarksareweighted ifso,whatschemeisused?
whatthepassmark is.

EffectiveRevision*
Planning
Startearlyinthetermandtrytolearnthingsasyougoalong.Evenifyoudontrecallatopicwellatrstyou
willnditeasiertolearnthenexttime.Atleastreviewyournotesregularly.Towardstheendofthetermapply
thesuccessfultimemanagementstrategiesthatyouuseforstudy:
Breakdownyoursubjectsintorevisiontopics
Prioritise
Makeawrittenplan
Reviewyourplandaily
Allowyourselfsomevariety
Knowyourconcentrationspan
Knowyourbesttimeofdayforconcentrating
Useoddhoursbetweenlectures

Sources
Readyoursyllabusandidentifyitscentralthemesandimportanttopics.

Checkyourmodulehandbookfornotesontheexam(theremayberestrictionsonwritingessayassignments
andexamanswersonthesametopics)
Yournotes
Keepallyournotes.Makesuretheyareledandwellorganised.Usesubjectdividersandcolouredpens:
highlightimportantparts.

Reviewnotesregularly,preferablysoonafteryoumakethem.Fillingaps.Addheadings.Youmaywanttore
writethemforrevision,oryoumightndyouroriginalnoteseasiertorecall.Ifthelatterappliesyoucan
supplementthemwithcardssummarisingthemainpoints.
Pastpapers
ManyareavailableontheDMUwebpages
http://www.library.dmu.ac.uk/Resources/ExamNet/index.php?page=35

Analysethemtoseewhattheexaminerislikelytoexpectofyou.(Yourunderstandingofunderlyingconcepts?
Yourabilitytomakeaconvincingargument,toanalyse/criticiseinformation,ortoapplyyourknowledgetoa
givencase?Yourclarityofexpression?Allofthesethings?Otherthings?)

* ThissectionisbasedonRevisingforExams,AcademicGuidance,FacultyofHumanities,DeMontfortUniversity.

CentreforLearningandStudySupport(CLaSS) FocusonExamsandRevision 3
Settexts/recommendedreadinglist/handoutmaterial
Identifythepartsofyourtextsthatrelatetoyoursyllabustopics.Makesureyouunderstandthemain
concepts.Makecondensednotesusingactiverevisiontechniques.

Activerevisiontechniques
Activerevisiontechniquesworkbetterthanpassiveones.Justreadingthroughyournotesismuchless
productivethandoingsomethingwiththeinformation.Youcantrydifferenttechniquestohelpyouremember
things:
Activelearning (e.g.notjustreadingbutwritingandmakingdiagrams,testingyourself,discussing)
Usingassociations (e.g.makingdiagrammaticsummaries,whichshowtherelationshipbetween
ideas)
Repetition (e.g.goingoverdifcultconceptsagain,ideallythefollowingday:usingashcards)

Timedpracticeanswers
Tryworkingthroughsomequestionsfrompastpapers writingbyhandandtimingyourself.Ifyouusually
wordprocessthiswillhelpyoupracticewritingspeedilyandlegibly,andthinkingclearlyunderpressure.
Checkyouranswerstomakesureyouhavenotmissedimportantpoints.

Youcandothesamewithoutlineplansratherthanfullanswers.Keepthemwithyourrevisionnotesormake
themintosummarycards.

Posters/summarycards/ashcards
Thesearesomeformatsinwhichyoucansummariseyourtopics,onceyouhaveidentiedthecentralthemes.
Manyofushavevisualmemoriesandnditeasiertorememberinformationpresentedinpictorialor
diagrammaticform.Researchsuggeststhatiseasiertorecallpiecesofinformationiftheyhavebeengrouped
orlinkedinameaningfulway.

Aposterallowsyoutodigestinformationsubconsciously.Usecoloursandlargewritingandshowthelinks
betweenaspectsofyourtopic.

MakeA4(orsmaller)summarycardsandkeepthemwithyou.Youcanlookatthematanytime.

Flashcardsareusefulfortestingyourselfonfactualpoints(e.g.vocabulary)

Writethequestionononesideandtheanswerontheother.

Revisionstudygroups
Tryrevisingwithafriendorinasmallgroup.Adiscussionhelpsyoutorememberyourideas,anditalsogives
younewideas.Forinstance,youcouldeachprepareashortoutlineplanforasamplequestionandthen
comparenotes,discussingallaspectsthatwouldneedtobecovered.Youshouldbeabletorememberthese
aspectsbetterthansomethingthatyouhavereadonyourown.

Audiorecording
Recording yourmainpoints(maybeonyourmobilephone)andlisteningtothemoffersathreestagerevision
process
Makingthetapeallowsyoutogooverthetopic
Speakingitaloudhelpsyoutoremember
Listeninghelpstoxitinyourmind.

4 CentreforLearningandStudySupport(CLaSS) FocusonExamsandRevision
Anxietyaboutexaminations
Yourexaminersarelikelytobeyourcoursetutors.Theyarenotaimingtocatchyouout,butto
bringoutthebestinyou.Thekeytodealingwithexamanxietyisgoodpreparation,butthereare
measuresyoucantaketoreduceanxietyonthedayoftheexam.

Preparethoroughly
startearlyinthecourseandideallydevoteatleasttwohoursaweektorevisiontopicsfromthestart
avoidlastminutecrammingwhichcanmakeyoufeelmoreunprepared
laterintheacademicyearmakeadetailedrevisionplanandsticktoit.
youcouldformarevisionstudygroupwithotherstudents.

Ifyoufeelanxiousontheday
thinkaboutthethingsyoudoknow,insteadofworryingaboutwhatyouhaventrevised
keepallmaterialsandequipmenttogethersothatyouarenotsearchingatthelastmoment
setoffingoodtime
avoidthepreexamdiscussions.

Whenyougointheexam
chooseaseatwithgoodlightingandaviewoftheclock
taketwoorthreedeepbreaths
readthequestionscarefullyitiseasytomisreadifyouarenervous
youmightspendafewminutesatthestartwritingplansforyourchosenanswers,sothatyoudont
missoutimportantideas crossouttheplansifyoudontwanttheexaminertoreadthem
youmightstartwiththequestionyoufeelthemostcondentwith,tocalmyourselfdown.

Whenyoucomeoutoftheexam
avoidthepostexamdiscussions
forgetabouttheexampaperuntilyoureceivetheresult
readcarefullyanyfeedbackyoumightget
aimtolearnfromtheexperiencebydecidingwhatyouwilldodifferentlynexttime.

CentreforLearningandStudySupport(CLaSS) FocusonExamsandRevision 5
Writingexaminationanswers
Youcanincreaseyourmarksbyapplyinggoodtechnique.

Choosingyourquestions
makesureyouunderstandtheinstructions
readallthequestions rstandlookfortopicsyouhaveprepared
makesureyouunderstandthequestions
underlinekeywordsinthequestion toremindyoutosticktothepoint
youcouldroughlysketchoutanswerplans,tohelpyoudecidewhichquestionstoanswer,and/or
tochecklaterthatyouhavenotleftanythingout
allocateyourtime inblocks,toavoidspendingtoomuchtimeonearlierquestionsandnotenough
onlaterones
whilsttimeplanning,checkthemarksallocationsperquestion
youmightnotedownstartandnishtimes againstyourchosenquestions
rememberyoullneedafewminutesattheendoftheexamforcheckingthrough
dontbeputoff byotherswhomightstartwritingimmediately.

Writingyouranswers
start withaquestionwithwhichyoufeelcondent
writethequestionnumber clearlyinthemargin
keephandwritinglegible theremaybepenaltiesifyoudont,evenfailure
useaclearwrittenstyle shortsentencesarepreferable
payattentiontolayout andparagraphing
leaveafewlines betweenanswersforclarity,orforanylastminuteadditions
keepthequestioninmind asyouwrite
becareful nottospendsolongontherstquestionthatyoucantdojusticetolaterones,which
mightbemorechallenging
reread thequestionwhenyouhavenishedyouranswer,tocheckforrelevance
goforqualityoverquantity ofwordsyouneedtogiveyourideaswithoutwafing
beawareofwhether(andhow)youmustshowyourroughwork
crossoutanythingyoudontwishtheexaminertoread
dontmissout partofamultipartquestion

Towardstheendoftheexam
ifpossible,reread youranswersandclarifywherenecessary
incorporateanynewideas ifappropriate
makesureanswersarecorrectlynumbered
putright anymistakes
haveastrategytouseifyourunoutoftime (e.g.nishthequestionyoureoninmoreconcisestyle,
andmoveon;orsketchoutadraftforanansweryouhaventstartedtotryandgainsomemarks)
staytotheend ifyouleaveearlyyouwillthinkofsomethingyoucouldhaveadded

6 CentreforLearningandStudySupport(CLaSS) FocusonExamsandRevision
CentreforLearningandStudySupport(CLaSS) FocusonExamsandRevision

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