First Year Exam Preparation Seminar
Welcome
Anna Trivedi
ASB First Year Advisor
Ginette Farcell
Louise Fitzgerald
EDU Learning Advisors
OUTLINE
– WHY HAVE EXAMS
– TYPES OF EXAM QUESTION
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Multiple choice
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Short answer
•
Essay
•
Case based
– ANALYSING THE QUESTIONS
– PLANNING THE ANSWER
– WRITING THE ANSWER
– CHECKING THE ANSWER
– IF YOU RUN OUT OF TIME
The reasons for exams
 Why have Exams ?
 Exams are set to provide your lecturers with information about your
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knowledge and understanding of the course that may not be available
through other forms of assessment. They can test your:
ability to recall and apply theory.
knowledge of the content area.
critical thinking and problem solving skills.
communication skills in the absence of aids like word. processors.
ability to work alone and under pressure.
work's authenticity.
There are advantages for you personally in learning how to perform well in
exams. There will be situations in your personal and professional life when
you'll need to perform an important task in a limited time, that is under
pressure. Learning how to prepare for and perform well in exams can also
prepare you for such occasions
Preparing for exams
 Your course outline is your
guide to the course. Although
course outlines vary, usually
they provide an outline of the
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major themes to be covered.
When exams come around, use
your course outline to help you
plan your review. Assign a
specified amount of review time
to each section of the course.
 If you are as familiar as you
need to be with the course
outline, you should be able to
recall this super-structure of
major topics from memory.
We are all familiar with the way in
which texts are structured, into
blocks of information, with each
block having its own sub-heading.
Good sub-headings will be
descriptive or informative and
reflect key ideas of the chapter.
In multiple-choice questions, these
subheadings frequently show
up in the questions, either in the
stem of the question or as one of
the alternatives-quite commonly
as the correct choice
Get to Know the Specific Language and Typical "Types" of Main
Ideas in Your Discipline:
 In any discipline there is a core
vocabulary that you need to
know. Be on the look out for
concept names in both texts and
lectures.
 Know your key terms and their
definitions, and be able to
generate examples to prove to
yourself that you really
understand the ideas they
represent. Even where the
emphasis in the multiple-choice
questions is on application of
ideas, rather than recall, you still
need to know the key terms and
their definitions in order to
understand the elements involved
in the application.
 "Key terms" and "definitions" are
only two of the "types" of main
ideas that you will come across in
your courses and that tend to
show up in multiple-choice
questions.
 In each course that you take, there
will be other "types" of main ideas
that you will have to learn to
recognize and track. Once you
"tune in" to a course, you
recognize the pattern of main
ideas more readily. This is not an
easy idea to come to grips with,
but it is one of the most important
when it comes to studying for
multiple-choice tests.
Analysing the Essay Question
Essay questions usually consist of three main
components:
 Content words – Tell you what the focus of
the topic is.
 Task words – words that tell you specifically
what to do. Task words are usually verbs.
 Limiting words – These words limit the topic
so that it is workable, and they help you to set
and define your essay.
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Task words
What is meant by the term “demand”?
Draw a carefully labelled demand curve
and explain why it slopes downward from
left to right.
Limiting words
What is meant by the term “demand”?
Draw a carefully labelled demand curve
and explain why it slopes downward from
left to right.
Content: information
You need to illustrate knowledge and understanding of economics
 Define ‘demand’
– Effective demand
 Draw a diagram
– Demand curve
– Accurately labeled
 Explain the direction of the curve
– Operation of income and substitution effects
– Effect of price changes on supply and demand
Structure and development of text – whole text level
question
answer
 The structure of the response
Provides a structure for the response
‘the term demand … means …’
‘What is meant by…..’
‘Draw a diagram…’
A diagram
‘Explain why ….’
‘the demand curve …slopes
downward…illustrating …
…. Because …
The Introduction
Make sure you include: an Introduction
clearly stating your answer and the
organisation of the essay. For example:
Writing the body paragraphs
 The Body paragraphs of your
 Develop your argument
essay should include
supporting material.
 Make sure you structure the
content body of the essay as
you indicated you would in
your introduction. .
 Use transitional phrases and
connecting words to tie your
ideas together.
 Make sure you reread your
essay as your are writing so
that you keep to your
purpose and direction
Begin each paragraph with a
key point from the
introduction
 Develop each point in a
complete paragraph
 Use transitions, or
enumerate, to connect your
points
 Avoid padding
PARAGRAPH STRUCTURE
Developing your IDEAS
• Begin each paragraph with a key point from the
introduction
• Develop each point in a complete paragraph
• Use transitions, or enumerate, to connect your
points
The Conclusion
Re-answer the question and briefly summarise the main
points that are in the body of your essay. Explain what
you have tried to achieve in your answer. For example:
In conclusion, it is clear that HRM plays an
important role in an organisation particularly in the
selection, training and promotion of staff. An
organisation that successfully develops strategies
to develop these functions may benefit specifically
from ...
Short and Long Exam Answers
 Short answer exams
 Just as the name suggests, this type of exam consists of a series of
questions that only require concise answers, usually in the form of a
definition. For example:
 What is ascorbic acid? (The answer might be worth 1-5 marks and
involve 1-3 lines).
 Type of learning required
 You need recall rather than recognition.
 Rote learning of key definitions is essential You must also understand
the underlying basis for these definitions.
Study strategies for short answer exams
 What to do
 When studying, make a list of key terms in your subject area, and write
definitions of each in your own words, while referring back to
definitions given in class or in discipline dictionaries or text books.
Then learn those definitions off by heart. Test your memory by writing
those definitions out under exam conditions.
 What NOT to do
 Don't try to learn so many definitions that you can't remember any!
Pick out the key ones instead (past exam papers might give you a
clue). Don't write more than you need to. If there are only three lines
available, that's all your examiners want you to write. Don't squish
your writing up or scribble in the margins. This is annoying to markers,
and takes your time away from other questions.
During the exam
 As soon as you are allowed to, make notes on scrap paper,
jotting down key words for short answer questions. Do as
many as you can while things are still fresh in you memory.
You can write them into sentences during the exam.
Alternatively, if allowed, you can write your answers in point
form (check with your lecturer prior to the exam). It is easier
to cram more information in if you don't have to worry about
sentence structure.
 If you get stuck
 Just write a couple of key facts or concepts that might get
you a couple of marks.
Long answer exams
 Long answer exams
 Similar to a short answer exam, but requires more detail
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about the topic. You still need to learn key definitions, but
must also read further to be able to expand on the topic.
This may require the provision of further associated facts,
examples or applications. For example:
Define ascorbic acid and describe its function in the
human body.
You may be provided with a word length limit or a
limited amount of space - usually half aType of
learning required
You need recall rather than recognition.
Rote learning of key definitions is essential You
must also understand the underlying basis for these
definitions. Half a page to a page in length. Pay
attention to these limits.
During the exam
 Multiple-choice exams involve questions with three parts. Firstly,
a statement or stem; secondly, the question; and thirdly, a set of
possible answers - only one of which is correct, while the others
are distracters. The candidate is asked to circle or tick the correct
answer to the que
 In some cases you will be required to mark your responses on
the question sheet, while other times you may have a separate
answer sheet .
Type of learning required
 Type of learning required
 Multiple-choice exams usually rely on recognition rather than
recall.
 This means that you need to know your subject matter well
enough to recognise the right answer when you see it, which is
an easier form of memory than having to recall something when
given no clue to start with. .
 This doesn't mean that studying for a multiple-choice exam is
easy. Because each question is quick to answer, a lot of
questions can be asked, meaning a subject can be covered in
great breadth
Study strategies for multiple-choice exams
 You need to achieve maximum breadth, but not too much depth
 What to do
 Read all your lecture notes and summarise them. Also summaris
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relevant chapters from your textbook and/or prescribed readings
Work through past papers if available.
What NOT to do
Don't do extra reading into one topic area that interests you.
Study strategies for multiple-choice exams
You need to achieve maximum breadth, but not too much depth
REMEMBER
Special cases: Testing recall and negative marking
Answer Sheets allow exams to be scanned & marked automatically.
Common mistakes to avoid:
Remember to record your name & student number on the actual
answer sheet.
Use pencil so you can correct mistakes.
Do not cross-out a mistake & mark another answer - the scanner will
read this as 'two' responses & record it as incorrect.
Always check your answers with the right question.
Consider marking your answers first on the exam paper, then transferring
them to the answer sheet.
Contact details
 GINETTE FARCELL
 TEACHING and LEARNING ADVISOR
 EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT UNIT
 AUSTRALIAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
 UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES
– CONTACT
– ROOM GO8 ASB
– edu@unsw.edu.au
– 93855584
– g.farcell@unsw.edu.au
After the Exam
 Relax and debrief with your friends
 So, how did you go?
 Move on
Results and Reflection
 It is expected that final grades for Semester 2 will be emailed to students’
z-mail accounts on December 2.
 How do your results compare with your expectations?
 If you fail, it is not the end of the world. It doesn’t mean that you can’t go on
to be a good student and one day graduate. Instead, use it as a learning
experience. Think about what you’ll do differently next semester.
 Review of grades.
 GOOD LUCK!