Examinations

For many units of your degree you are likely to be required to sit and pass at least one formal examination. Examinations are an effective means of gauging your knowledge and proficiency in the unit.

Exam Preparation | Exam Technique

Exam Preparation

Planning your time
Know what to expect for the exam
Sources of information
Learning the content
The night before the exam
Dealing with anxiety

Planning your time

Around exam time it is a good idea to keep other commitments to a minimum, although it is important to allow time for exercise and recreation. Keep a reasonable routine of study, relaxation, exercise, food and sleep.

Draw up a study timetable well in advance and try to stick to it. Allocate your time so that all subjects are covered and you don't neglect the hard or boring bits. Set specific tasks with deadlines.
Study for short periods of time, 30 min - 1 hour, depending on what works best for you, and have regular study breaks to give your mind some other activity. It is much more efficient to work in short concentrated bursts on a regular basis with breaks in between - quality study is much better than quantity!
Be flexible, adaptable and honest with yourself - you may need to revise your study timetable depending on your progress and what you find works best for you.
Reward yourself by doing something that you enjoy after you have finished your set revision.

Know what to expect for the exam

Format - Will the exam include multichoice, short answers, problems or long answer/essay questions? What mixture of these?
Length - How long will the exam be? What time should be allocated to the different sections?
Value - What % is the exam for the whole year's work? How well are you doing in the other components of the assessment for the unit? Set yourself a realistic target result based on all the information at hand.
Equipment - What may you take into the examination with you? Is it open book, are programmable calculators allowed?
Anticipate exam questions - Will all topics from lectures be included? Are some topics or main ideas particularly important?

Information sources

Part of being a good student is to be resourceful and to question things, seek answers and to persist. Many sources of information are available to you including the following suggestions.

Course materials

Unit outlines, course guides, learning objectives, printed notes, laboratory manuals, etc.

Teaching staff/unit controllers

Lecturers usually indicate the format of the exam, topics that deserve special attention and may even provide some guidance on preparing for the exam. Tutors and demonstrators may also be able to provide some helpful information.
Often the exam is discussed at the last lecture so it is a good idea to make sure you are there. Additional tutorials are sometimes offered by teaching staff close to exam time.
Ask the lecturer what's in the exam (it's worth a try). If that doesn't work, make a list of the topics and important concepts that you have covered during the semester and show this to the lecturer. The lecturer may point out a concept that you have missed.
If information is not readily available to you, or something is not clear, don't be afraid to ask.

Other students

Other students are valuable sources of information. This includes students who have completed the unit previously - they can give you hints on how certain lecturers set their exams.

Past exam papers

Look at past exam papers.

Learning the content:

Begin by assembling all of the relevant information (lecture notes, assignments, laboratory reports, tutorial notes, reading summaries, handouts, etc.). Get the structure of the unit clear in your mind, with connections on how each lecture, laboratory or tutorial fits into the unit as a whole.
Become familiar with the content. Be an active learner; underlining passages or reading notes is insufficient. Instead, reorganise, summarise, and condense your notes as you go.
The key to remembering things is repetition. Devise your own method of recalling information e.g. reading aloud; chanting, devise your own mnemonics, abbreviations; posters in unavoidable places at home; cards with must-know things that you can read anywhere, anytime; diagrams and mental pictures to condense information.
Make sure you understand what you study - try to grasp the fundamental principles and the HOW and WHY. Identify your problem areas and seek help from the lecturer, tutor or demonstrator early - not the night before the exam!

The night before the exam:

Get a decent night's sleep or at least some rest. A well-constructed study plan that leads up to the exams should allow for a light refresh the night before and you should not be forced to "cram".
Gather your equipment together (and back-ups!) including pens, pencils, ruler, calculators (and a spare battery), permitted books or summary sheets or anything else required. Put them all in a folder or pencil case so that on the day of the exam you only have to pick up one thing.
Be sure to have your student ID with you as it will be checked by the examination supervisor. If you have lost your card some other form of picture ID will be accepted.
Confirm the time and place of the exam.

Dealing with anxiety:

Some anxiety can be accepted as normal, a natural healthy response to a challenging situation such as an exam. However, when anxiety becomes overwhelming, there are techniques such as meditation or breathing exercises that can help overcome this. If you believe that being anxious gets in the way, or have any study skill problems you would like assistance with, arrange to see a campus counsellor. Counselling Services are located in building 109, and the service is free and confidential.

If you experience a panic attack during exams, say to yourself very firmly, 'STOP'. Shut your eyes and then say to yourself 'R-E-L-A-X'. Concentrate on breathing deeply. Begin this process by slowly but forcefully blowing all of the air out of your lungs. This allows you to slowly and effortlessly 'refill' your lungs with fresh air. Try to imagine a peaceful, serene setting, for example lying on the sand at a beach. When you feel calmer and ready to proceed with the exam, go to a non-threatening exam question and re-establish your confidence.

On the day:

Before the exam try to keep your stress levels to a minimum:

Allow yourself plenty of time in the morning to get ready and have breakfast without having to rush. Aim to arrive a little early at the place of the exam, allowing for traffic and other possible disasters.
Try to avoid the cluster of people outside the exam room asking each other questions if you feel this will distress you. Participating in such group discussions before the exam can leave you feeling that everyone else knows a lot more than you do. Try to remain positive - think of the things you can do.

In the exam room:

Take a deep breath and compose yourself. Get organised before the exam time commences.
Listen to the examination supervisor and follow their instructions closely.
Check the exam paper is the right one, set out your pens etc. and check your watch with the clock in the room, which should be visible to you. If it is not visible to you, place your watch where you can easily see it.
Do the administrative bits and pieces such as putting your name or candidate number, date and time of the exam, etc., on the various forms and exam booklets on your desk.

Read and obey instructions:

On the front of the paper there will be some instructions. Read them carefully. They will advise you which questions are optional / compulsory and how many you need to answer in each section. Examiners cannot give you marks for something you missed out, or extra marks for answering more questions than required.

Use your time wisely:

Reading time should be used to overview the whole paper and to plan your approach. Often you are allowed to write on the question paper, but not the answer booklet, during reading time. If there is a choice of questions use the reading time to select which questions you will complete. Work out how much time you have to complete each question/section. If there are long answer/essay type questions, it is a good idea to plan these during reading time, while things are fresh in your mind and you haven't become bogged down with details. This is a better use of time than reading through multichoice questions which will have to be re-read later anyway.
Allocate time according to marks. A question worth 10% of the total marks should be given 10% of the time available. If time runs out, move on, you can always come back if time permits. Remember - it is easy to get the first 50% of the marks, but the more time you spend on a question the harder it is to gain marks. If you run out of time and you still have not finished, write down key words, equations and diagrams to show the examiner that you know the essential information.
Answer easy questions first, leaving a small mark next to the questions you need to return to. This will make sure that you have enough time to score well with the questions you are comfortable with and will help boost your confidence by convincing yourself that you actually do know something. With essay type questions, most examiners do not mind which order the questions are completed, as long as each answer is clearly numbered.
Do not allow yourself to get stuck on a stubborn problem - return to it later. A change of questions can often enable you to gain a fresh perspective on the previous question. Be astute, often there is information given in one question that may help you answer another!

Answering the question:

Multiple choice

Read all choices before selecting the most correct answer. If in doubt about an answer use a process of elimination. If you don't know the answer, guess, never miss a question unless there are penalties for guessing.
On multichoice questions a good rule of thumb is NOT to change an answer unless you are certain that your change is correct. Statistics indicate that the first hunch is usually better than the second guess!

Short answer

For mathematical/problem type questions show your working clearly and orderly. This will allow you to understand what you have done if you get stuck and have to go back to it. Also, marks will be allocated for the working even if the final answer is incorrect.

Long answer/essay questions

Make sure you understand the question. Take careful note of keywords in questions including 'explain', 'discuss', 'compare', 'contrast', 'evaluate', 'deduce', 'prove that', 'show that', 'decide' and so on.
Plan your answer before you proceed. If you don't sketch out a plan, you will run the risk of 'going blank' in the middle of an answer, finishing off one point and reaching for the next point only to find it's gone!
Keep re-reading the question as you answer it. When you have finished writing, skim over your essay to make sure you have made your point and so that you can add any important ideas that come to mind.
Diagrams can be used to illustrate a point to the examiner and also help to organise your thoughts. They do not have to be works of art - simple is best. Make sure they are well-labelled and relevant to what you are writing about.

Style and presentation:

There are ways to make it easier for examiners to mark your exam, which help to put examiners into a better mood and more likely to be generous with marks.

Try to keep your writing and drawings legible. Try to keep sentences short and simple. Set out your answers clearly, especially for problems.

Make it easy to see where you have finished one question and started another. If you have made a 'false start' to a question, make your intentions clear regarding which questions the examiners should take into account. If you were asked to answer five questions, examiners would otherwise mark only the first five questions you answered- such regulations are designed to prevent students from 'hedging their bets'.

Don't leave early!

Read over what you have done. There are always careless errors that can be fixed up that can earn you a few more marks. If you walk out, the chances are that as soon as you leave the exam room, you will remember something important that you could have added to your answers.

What can go wrong?

You miss the Examination because:

of an accident. In this case you can be granted a deferred examination. All you need to do is fill in an "Application for Deferred Assessment" form attaching supporting evidence and then give it to your course controller (usually the person who enrolled you).
a personal emergency. In this case go to Counselling Services and ask them to support a deferred assessment.
you wrote down the wrong time. In this case go to your course controller and tell them of the situation.

If you have any problem that will stop you from showing your best in the examination tell someone, e.g. if you have an condition that prevents you from sitting for long periods, or perhaps a neck problem, the University has provisions to help you. This may be in the form of providing you with the opportunity to get up and walk about, or arranging a sloping board rather then a desk on which to write your examination. All of these services are provided by University Counselling Services.

Material adapted from information provided by Dr Jeanne Dawson and by Gina Williams for the Student Performance Evaluation Project in the Division of Engineering and Science.