1. Make sure you know exactly what format the exam will take: how many questions you will have to answer and how much time you will have.
2. Make sure you don’t have any gaps in your notes – check with other students or go to your tutor for help.
3. Memorise key facts, names, data, quotes, etc.
4. Ensure you are familiar with key words.
5. Practice writing under exam conditions:
• Work through past exam papers to get an idea of the type of questions asked. • If past exam papers are not available make up some of your own questions based on the major topics of your module. • Test yourself by writing for half an hour (without referring to notes or books) to see how much information you can write down in that time. • By practising these techniques, you will gradually increase your speed, train yourself to focus your thoughts, and identify any weak areas in your knowledge that you need to revise again.
Why write essay exams?
The point of an exam is not to show that you can regurgitate lots of facts. It is actually designed to test your ability to organise facts logically and coherently, and to show that you know the material well enough to make a critical judgement on it, not just to throw out a collection of unrelated details. You need to use your facts effectively. Do not try to cover all the course material. You must carefully pick out the relevant points and construct your exam essay to answer the question.
Written by Magda Ciepalowicz and Lisa Ganobcsik-Williams
2. Allocate 10 minutes of your exam time for checking at the end.
3. Calculate how much time you can spend on a question, relative to its mark value - then stick to this time limit!
4. Highlight the key words in each question.
5. Jot down any facts or quotes that may be useful.
6. Make a plan - this will help you to organise your thoughts and to focus on the question.
7. Write neatly and legibly.
8. Be focused - be sure to answer the question completely (refer frequently
to the key words you have identified). Express your ideas clearly and logically.
9. Be well organised - plan your essay: make sure you have a clear introduction that states what you are going to discuss, how and why. Finish your essay with a conclusion that summarises the main points you have made in your essay.
10. Use supporting evidence - do not just assert that something is true. Prove it by using facts, figures, examples or quotations to support your point.
11. If you find you have run out of time for one particular answer, stick to your planned time slots and move on to the next question (you can go back and finish off any answers during the final 10 minutes you have allocated for checking). You will gain more marks for a partial answer than for one you have not started. If you don’t have time to write your answer in full, jot down some bullet points - you may gain a few marks for this.
12. Check your answers carefully to see whether you have answered the question fully and to correct any grammatical or spelling errors.
Written by Magda Ciepalowicz and Lisa Ganobcsik-Williams
