Exam Technique
Topics
• Think about how the topics are grouped
• 10 questions; 5 on semester one, 5 on semester 2
• The questions can focus on any aspect of the topic that we
have covered
• Notes from lectures, seminars and weekly readings will not
provide sufficient information to answer the questions to the
required standard
• Ensure you have a working knowledge of each week
• Notes from lectures, seminars and weekly readings should be
sufficient to provide a clear overview of the course
Revision
• You will answer two questions in two hours
• It is a good idea to prepare for more than two questions, but
do not try to prepare for them all
• Learn three topics, and when you have completed this task, learn a
fourth if you have spare time; if after this you have more spare
time, continue to revise the topics you have already chosen
• Ensure you have a working knowledge of each week
Plagiarism
• If you have already written about a topic for an essay, it is a
good idea to avoid it as an exam topic
• You can still bring in knowledge about your essay topics (if it is
relevant to your question!)
• Use your judgement – if you feel like you are repeating large
swathes of your essay (for this or any other Warwick course), then
stop and write about something else
• It is extremely unlikely that you will get accused of plagiarism
by accident
Revision
• The course is a starting point, you must develop your
understanding beyond what we have discussed
• Get a clear and well-rounded picture of the topic
• Review primary and secondary literature, just as you would
when preparing for an essay
• This does not need to be as in-depth, as you can only use what
you are able to recall and write down in one hour
• Look at a range of sources, and don’t neglect journal articles as
they are informative and easy to get hold of
Detail
• You should be aware of the historiographical trends relevant
to your topic, but again this does not need to be as in depth
as it would be in an essay
• It is possible to learn quotes/ approaches used by historians/
dates/ names/ places to repeat in the exam, but make sure
you choose ones that are broad and pliable
• Certain dates are vital – for example if you are writing about the Civil Rights
Movement/ Vietnam/ US Foreign Policy etc., you should have a broad
timeline in your head of when events occurred, where and who was involved
• Others are not possible to recall in an exam setting – I would not expect you
to be able to name every New Deal alphabet administration or each individual
Great Society program without a reference
The Exam
• When you start the exam:
• Choose your questions quickly and get on with it – there is no
benefit to you in deliberating for 5 minutes before you even start
• Think about the wording and what the question is asking as well as the
topic – read the question
• Write an essay plan – this gives you a few minutes to collect your
thoughts, reminds you that you do know things about the topic,
and can serve as a reference if you start to panic or lose your train
of thought later on
• Write down any quotes or important names, dates or places that you
might forget later
• It also structures your essay, and this is important
• Don’t spend more than five minutes on this
• Put a single diagonal line through it once you have written it
The Exam
• The questions are equally weighted
• This means that it is not helpful to you to spend more than 50% of
the time on one question to make it ‘really good’ as it is at the
expense of the other question – they average out
• When you get to 1hr, stop and move on to the next question. If
you finish it in less that 1hr, you can always go back to the first one
• Write an essay plan for the second question just like the first
• Don’t skip this step to save time – it will save you time in the long run
• Structure is vital to my understanding of your answer
The Questions
Answer the
question
The Questions
Answer the question
Answer the question
Answer the question
Answer the question
Answer the question
Answer the question
Answer the question
Answer the question
Answer the question
Answer the question
Answer the question
Answer the question
Answer the question
Answer the question
Answer the question
Answer the question
Answer the question
Answer the question
The Questions
• They are essentially short essay questions
• Think about what you would write in an essay if you only had an
hour?
• Introduction:
• A sentence or two (no more unless necessary) of context is helpful both to
your reader, and to allow you to gather your thoughts
• Define terms that need defining
• Make your hypothesis clear
• Outline your argument – this is especially useful if you run out of time – I
can see what you would have done and give you *some* marks
The Questions
• Main body
• Structure your thoughts clearly and signpost what you are doing;
use the wording of the question wherever possible
• Avoid chronological structures wherever possible – answer the
question, don’t tell a story
• Order your arguments in order of how well they answer your
question
• This is especially key in an exam, because you may not have time to
write up your later points – if you have a great argument, put it front
and centre
• This may not always be appropriate– use your judgement.
The Questions
• Main body
• Demonstrate research/ evidence clearly and accurately
• This does not need to be fully referenced – where you are directly
quoting or heavily paraphrasing an historian you must follow the
quote with (Bloggs; 2016), otherwise just write “as Bloggs has
demonstrated…” (if you are quoting a really prolific historian
however you may also want to include the date here)
• If it is just ‘information’, rather than a specific approach or opinion,
it does not need to be referenced
The Questions
• Main body
• Demonstrate the link between your evidence and your hypothesis
– this is the most important aspect of your answer and should not
be left to one or two sentences
• Can you draw a direct line from the question to your conclusion?
• Your reader does not necessarily think the same way you do, or
agree with your conclusions. They do not have to agree with you to
give you a high mark, but do not fall into the trap of thinking ‘its
obvious’ – it may not be
• You must prove your argument, not merely state it – demonstrate
why you are correct, don’t make the evidence stand on its own
Balance
• You may choose to include a counter argument if it is
relevant to your structure
• This may be to demonstrate that there are alternative approaches to
the approach you have used
• This may be to acknowledge dissenting factors
• It is not necessary to include a counter argument at all if you do
not feel that it is necessary to your argument
• If you chose an a-b-a-b structure, make sure it is absolutely
necessary – don’t use up your time arguing a perspective you
don’t agree with
If you run out of time…
• That’s ok! It happens
• Keep an eye on the time; If you know there is no way you will
finish, prioritise what you are writing
• Make your points as best you can in the time you have available –
anything written down is better than nothing
• Keep your writing legible despite the time
• Write bullet points of what you would have written had you had
time
• You will not get as many marks as you would have had you written them
up, but you will probably get some and stops me thinking ‘why didn’t they
mention this??’
Hints and Tips
• Stay calm
• If you start to panic, take a breath, have a drink of water or a
mint, close your eyes for a few moments
• Read the question
• Write legibly
• Ignore everyone else – if they’re writing loads more than
you, or finish before you, it doesn’t mean anything
• Keep an eye on the time; if you can’t see the clock, ask
Next week…
Module Review