1004ICT
Tutorial Week 10
Examinations and Preparation
Exams: The Weeks Before
Exam success is not only about how well you know your subject but, also, how
effectively you revise and perform on the day. The resources below look at
preparation for exams and exam room techniques, which can assist you to reduce
anxiety and maximise your performance.
Using specific strategies right from the beginning of your course can increase exam
performance. Confidence and success depend upon engagement with your studies and
good time management. This resource looks at preparation for exams and how you
can improve your performance by integrating revision into your study right from the
first week.
Try some of the following methods:
You should start revision early in the semester. Engage with your notes from reading
and lectures throughout the course. Don’t put notes away and forget them until exam
time.
• Summarise your notes into a concept map of the main points and look at
your concept maps regularly throughout the semester. Don’t expect to
remember the material if you don’t revise regularly. Maybe it’s too late to do
this for this semester but you can make an early start next time.
• Try to draw connections between topics. Think how issues relate to one
another. How do they relate to real life experience? How do they relate to
what you learned in other courses?
• Revise in different ways. The more ways you interact with material, the
better you retain knowledge of it. Read, summarise, and recite.
•Teach the topic to your mum, your friend or even the cat if no-one else is
around, although a listener who responds by asking questions is ideal! Watch
videos or listen to audiotapes on the subject if they are available. Immerse
yourself in your subject.
• Move into a more intensive period of revision three or four weeks before the
exam. Allow yourself plenty of time. This will help you to avoid panic.
• Establish control over your exam revision. Make a revision timetable.
• Access and review past papers from the Griffith website if they are available
for your course.
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Prior to the Exam
Your confidence will increase if you feel well prepared. The main thing is to be well
organised and well informed. Be clear about what type of questions will appear in the
exam. Your lecturer and tutor will tell you what kind of exam you can expect, e.g.
open book, closed book, multiple choice etc. The questions covered are usually what
you have studied in the course. Ask your teachers about the focus of the exam well in
advance. Once you have chosen the topics you wish to revise:
• Put them into your revision timetable.
• Reduce your concept maps topics onto flash cards. Look at these regularly.
Use spare moments such as on the bus or standing in queues. Don’t waste
those little pockets of time.
• Make sure you get plenty of rest. A good night’s sleep is very important.
• Don’t drink too much alcohol or tea and coffee. You may become
overstimulated and panicky.
• Eat regular meals. Studying for exams can be intense. Sustain your energy
levels.
• Make some time for physical exercise. This has a calming effect.
Need to Know More
Reference List:
• Cottrell, S. (2003). The study skills handbook (2 ed.). London: Palgrave.
• Orr, F. (1992). Study skills for successful students. St Leonards, NSW: Allen &
Unwin.
• Cooper, G. (2003). The intelligent student’s guide to learning at university. Altona,
Vic: Common Ground.
External Links:
‘Studying for exams’ (University of New South Wales)
www.lc.unsw.edu.au/onlib/exam.html
• ‘How to revise’ (The International Education Site):
www.intstudy.com/articles/wc274a09.htm
• ‘Exam strategies’ (La Trobe University):
www.latrobe.edu.au/lasu/services/Exam%20strategies.pdf
Adapted from:Learning@Griffith/1004ICT/Resources/ Exam Preparation
www.griffith.edu.au/ins/learningservices Griffith University 2006 Apart from fair dealing as permitted
by the copyright law of your country, this work may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-profit educational use,
provided correct attribution is given. Abstracting with credit is permitted. Other uses should be discussed with the
copyright owner.
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You are in the Exam Venue About to START:
Just before the examination begins you will be permitted to enter the examination
room. Make sure mobile phone is turned off. You will be directed as to where to
place your bag and where to sit. Take what you need (e.g. pens that work) with you.
Place your student ID on the desk and fill in the Attendance Form and the front page
of your examination booklet (if required). Do not talk. Do not open your
examination paper. Wait patiently for instructions.
The invigilator, the person who runs the examination session, will formally
commence the examination when everyone is seated. A list of instructions is read out
about not cheating, not talking and when you are permitted to leave the examination
room. Then the invigilator announces the beginning of the examination. Most
examinations start with a perusal time of about ten minutes.
During the perusal you can read your examination paper and may be able to make
some notes on it. You are not permitted to write answers in your examination
booklet.
Adapted from: Turner, k., et al. (2008). Essential Academic Skills.
General pointers
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Spend the first 5 minutes previewing the paper. Allocate time in proportion to
the number of marks given.
Before starting on each question, do a mind-dump. For questions that require
writing, write down everything on the topic that comes to your mind. These
will serve as cues for your writing later.
Read the question carefully. Make sure you are answering the question as
required.
Leave 10 minutes for checking at the end. Check for
o careless mistakes;
o grammatical errors;
o questions left unanswered when there should be none;
o facts left out when they are relevant to the question.
This is not ‘Survivor’. You do not get $50,000 for finishing first. Use all the time
that is given to you.
Notes for: Short answer questions
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Determine where the marks are allocated so that you divide your time and
energy according to the marks, instead of trying to write 100% to 50% of the
questions.
Focus on what the question is asking for, and make sure you get to the point –
answer it precisely.
If time is short, make sure you cover questions in your areas of strength.
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Notes for: Essay questions
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Check if you are supposed to answer all or only some of the questions.
Consider the questions you plan to answer. Don’t be too quick to discard
questions: think about the topics you are best equipped to answer.
Give yourself a time-limit for each question, and move on once you have
reached it.
Analyse each question well so that you write on the topic. Draft your essay
before writing. Remember to
o Focus – on what the question is asking for
o Support – your answer with relevant evidence
o Organise – your writing with proper introduction, body, and
conclusion
Read through and edit your answer.
If you run out of time, do an outline of points so that the marker can see that
you were able to answer the question.
University Examinations
At University, you are required to go beyond just knowing, understanding, and even
applying; as such, examination questions will often require you to demonstrate that
you have thought deeply about what you have learned.
Thus, to do well in University exams, it is not only important to KNOW what you
know, but you have to be able to SHOW that you know what you know.
The example below highlights 6 types of questions you are likely to encounter in your
exams. Each type requires different levels of thought, which are demonstrated in the
following ways:
Question Type
PART A Recognition &
recall
Level of
Thinking
Required (Based
on Bloom’s
Taxonomy)
Knowledge
PART B Comprehension Understanding
PART C Application
Application
To demonstrate this
level of thought,
students should be able
to…
…recognize and
define terms when
appropriate
…use ideas associated
with content, without
relating them to other
ideas or subjects
…apply learned ideas,
concepts, principles,
theories, or general
solution methods to
new situations
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PART D Analysis
PART E Synthesis
PART F Evaluation
Analysis
Synthesis
Evaluation
…explain why
something is the way it
is
…make logical sense
of things
… create something
new (product or ideas),
based on learned
knowledge
…think of ideas,
concepts, and issues in
new ways
…discuss issues more
extensively
…make value
judgments based on
certain criteria such as
usefulness and
effectiveness
Adapted from http://ceaspub.eas.asu.edu/MAE-EC2000/glossary.htm
Adapted from: http://www.cdtl.nus.edu.sg/examprep/sec1.htm
Jot Notes:
Know the date, time, and venue for your exam/s – use a calendar with the details
clearly displayed for each day of the exam period. Arrive at the examination in good
time.
Start revision this week.
Attend the last couple of lectures – ask questions that might assist you to understand
the exam process for 1004ICT.
Remember:
Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you CAN do (John Wooden).
d.m.smith@griffith.edu.au
9/5/2009
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