Damian Gordon

1
Exam Preparation

• Damian Gordon

2
The Purpose of Exams

3
The Purpose of Exams

• Exams test
• The amount you can write in a given time
• Whether you understand the exam question
• Whether you can cope with exam pressure
• Your ability to apply knowledge
• Your understanding of key concepts and theories
• Whether you can argue a point of view
• Your ability to criticise and analyse

4
The Purpose of Exams

• In addition, examinations provide lecturers with
  a guarantee that the work being assessed is
  entirely the students own work.
• NB how well you do in exams is up to you!
• Even when students have studied a course
  thoroughly they can fail to do themselves justice
  in the exam through
• inadequate/ inefficient revision
• poor exam technique

5
Revision

6
Revision Plan

• For each module, list the topics you need to
  cover
• Estimate how much time you have left to revise
• Assign topics as either topics you enjoy or do
  not enjoy
• Divide out your remaining time better these
  topics
• Alternating between topics you enjoy, and those
  you dont
• Create a master timetable BE REALISTIC
• Take into account all your other commitments e.g.
  employment, family etc.
• Tick off the topics as you complete them
• Pat yourself on the back frequently by looking
  back on what you have already covered.

7
Revision Tips

• Reading stuff is NOT helpful
• Try to be active in your revision
• Vary the methods you use to revise, some examples
  ahead

8
Revision Tips

• SUMMARISE
• A good starting point is to summarise the notes
  you have on each topic
• Try to reduce your notes to key words and
  phrases.
• This will form the basis of your revision notes.
• Reduce your notes further so that information
  fits on one side of A4 or an index card
  (portable).

9
Revision Tips

• FLASH CARDS
• Get a bunch of index cards (different colours)
• Write down one key idea per card
• On one side write down the TITLE
• On the other write down the points associated
  with it
• Use different colours for different themes

10
Revision Tips

• COVER CARDS
• As you are revising from your book, read what you
  are trying to memorise. Use the cover card to
  conceal what youve just read. Try reciting, or
  reading facts from memory. Check until you are
  sure you have mastered the facts.

11
Revision Tips

• SONGS, RHYMES
• Use songs, rhymes, mnemonics and acronyms. Making
  up catch phrases or rhymes can help you with
  crucial bits of information

12
Revision Tips

• I remember normalisation as
• the key,
• the whole key,
• and nothing but the key,
• So help me Codd

13
Revision Tips

• I remember normalisation as
• the key,
• the whole key,
• and nothing but the key,
• So help me Codd

• Which means
• 1NF Identify primary key
• 2NF Identify partial dependencies
• 3NF Identify Non-key dependencies
• BCNF Candidate key dependencies

14
Revision Tips

• DIAGRAMS
• Use diagrammatical notes if you memorise material
  more easily in a visual form.
• Use colours, highlighting and/ or different
  coloured paper to make the notes distinctive.

15
Revision Tips

• MINDMAPS

16
Revision Tips

• CONCEPT MAPS

17
Revision Tips
Mind Maps Concept Maps
Good for an overview of a topic Good to put key details on one page Highly visual aids memory Good for linking information Good to apply details and knowledge to exam questions Visual easy to see how far you can apply your knowledge
18
Revision Tips

• SQR3 ACTIVE READING
• Survey - Here you are attempting to gain an
  impression of the material.

19
Revision Tips

• SQR3 ACTIVE READING
• Question - before you begin to read, draw up a
  mental list of questions to try to answer during
  reading

20
Revision Tips

• SQR3 ACTIVE READING
• Read - at this point the aim is to understand
  what the text is saying. Try to assess the
  writers viewpoint, what the main idea is in each
  paragraph and how the content is structured. Keep
  making connections between the information in the
  text and what you have read in other texts or
  have heard about in lectures. Take note of all
  cross-references that you come across.

21
Revision Tips

• SQR3 ACTIVE READING
• Recall - the next stage of the process is to
  close the text and try to remember what you have
  read and then note the key points. This is the
  longest stage.

22
Revision Tips

• SQR3 ACTIVE READING
• Review - the final stage involves checking your
  notes against the text. Spend some time filling
  the gaps and correcting errors.

23
Revision Tips

• QnA
• Divide a page into two columns
• Write down questions on one side and answers on
  the other

24
Revision Tips

• RECORDERS
• Consider using digital recorder or tape to help
  remember key facts.

25
Revision Tips

• ACRONYM
• Acronym is a word formed from the first letters
  or groups of letters in a name or phrase.
• Example
• ROY G. BIV
• The colors of the rainbow, in order Red,
  Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.

26
Revision Tips

• ACROSTIC
• Acrostic is a series of lines from which
  particular letters (such as the first letters of
  all lines) from a word or phrase.
• My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine
  Pizzas
• Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn,
  Uranus, Neptune, Pluto

27
Revision Tips

• ACROSTIC
• King Phillip called out fifty good
  soldiers.
• i h l r
  a e p
• n y a d
  m n e
• g l s e
  i u c
• d u s r
  l s i
• o m
  y e
• m
  s

28
Revision Tips

• IMAGERY
• Imagery is used to memorize pairs of words. An
  image is formed as a result of each word given,
  and then two images are joined through mental
  visualization.
• Example
• Piggy bank

29
Revision Tips

• KEYWORD METHOD

Spanish word lapiz
(keyword) pencil (meaning of lapiz)
trapeze
30
Revision Tips

• KEYWORD METHOD

Spanish word patio (pronounced pot-o) patio
duck
(meaning of patio)
pot
31
Revision Tips

• RHYMES
• A rhyme is a saying that has similar distinctive
  sounds at the end of each line.
• Studies have shown that rhyming makes things
  easier to remember because it can be stored with
  acoustic encoding.
• Example
• In fourteen hundred and ninety-two Columbus
  sailed the Ocean Blue.
• 30 Days has September, April, June, and November.
  All the rest have 31, except February.
• "i" before "e," except after "c," or in sounding
  like "ay" as in "neighbor" or "weigh."

32
Revision Tips

• THE METHOD OF LOCI
• The Method of Loci is a mnemonic device that
  dates back to Ancient Greek times. They would use
  this to assist them when memorizing a speech.
• Example
• You have to imagine a place that you are very
  familiar with. Then you imagine all the possible
  locations in that place, or all possible
  situations. It could help if you put everything
  in a specific order.
• Say you were telling someone about a house. You
  would have to be very familiar with that house
  and everything in it. And in order to make
  telling someone about this house easier you would
  have to think about it in some kind of order.
  You could start at the basement, then move up to
  the main floor, and then move to the second floor.

33
Revision Tips
Death Star
Alderaan
Yavin IV
Hoth
Dagobah
Besbin
Tatooine
34
Revision Tips
Death Star
Alderaan
Yavin IV
Hoth
Dagobah
Besbin
Tatooine
35
Revision Tips
36
Revision Tips
37
Revision Tips
38
Revision Tips
39
Revision Tips
40
Revision Tips
41
Revision Tips
42
Revision Tips

• PEG-WORD SYSTEM
• The Peg-Word System can be used for memorizing an
  ordered list of words or the specific numbers
  associated with the words.
• Example
• 1.bun
• 2.shoe
• 3.tree
• 4.door
• 5.hive
• 6.sticks
• 7.heaven
• 8.gate
• 9.line or shine or vine
• 10.hen

43
Revision Tips

• NUMBER-LETTER SYSTEM
• The Number-Letter System is very similar to the
  Peg- Word System, because it, too, is a method of
  association. The only difference is that this
  method allows you to remember things by
  associating them with similarities of the number
  it is at.
• Example
• 1. t (there is one downstroke in the letter t)
• 2. n (there are two downstrokes in the letter n)
  
• 3. m (there are three downstrokes in the letter
  m)
• 4. r (the last letter in four is r)
• 5. l (the Roman number 50 is L)
• 6. sh (the word six has begins with an x)
• 7. k (the number seven can be turned around to
  look like part of the letter k)
• 8. f (a cursive f looks like an 8)
• 9. p (a p flipped looks like a 9)
• 10. z, s (think of zero)

44
Revision Tips

• CORNELL NOTEMAKING

45
Revision Tips

• CHUNKING
• Breaks down information into smaller bits so that
  it is easier to remember
• Can you remember this number?
• 1066007200601642

46
Revision Tips

• CHUNKING
• Breaks down information into smaller bits so that
  it is easier to remember
• Can you remember this number?
• 1066007200601642
• What about now?
• 1066 007 2006 01642

47
Revision Tips

• MOCK EXAMS
• Set yourself questions from your revision notes
  to answer.
• Check your answers by using the original notes.
• Fill in forgotten facts with another colour pen.
• Repeat the process until all the gaps have
  disappeared.

48
Revision Tips

• STUDY BUDDY
• Teaching and learning from (and with) someone
  else can be very effective

49
Ten General Keys for Memorising

1. Try to understand it first
2. Create a hook (picture, pattern, rhyme, story)
3. Link it to something you already know
4. Dont bite off more than you can chew (dont
   overload your brain)
5. Get emotionally involved (personalise it)

1. Engage as many senses as possible
2. Smell the roses (absorbing your environment helps
   with later recall)
3. Sleep on it (review before bed and when first
   awake)
4. Use it or lose it (access it, think about it,
   apply it soon and often)
5. Quiz yourself periodically (like excercising a
   muscle)

• No right or wrong way only general rules and
  tips
• Work at it and develop personal strategies

50
Before the Exam

51
The Night before the Exam

• Get to bed on time
• Try not to get in any fights with family and
  friends

52
The Night before the Exam

• Pack
• Some pencils,
• Some different coloured pens
• Pencil pairers and erasers
• Rulers
• Food and drink

53
The morning of the Exam

• Start you day as always
• Eat a good breakfast
• Think of what reward you will give yourself after
  the exams are over
• BE POSITIVE

54
The Exam itself

55
The Exam

• BREATH
• Take a deep breath
• Relax
• Remain calm
• If you are getting nervous, picture a shaft of
  warm, blue light coming down from the sky and
  warming you

56
The Exam

• VITAL
• Carefully read all instructions on the exam
  paper, especially when given options of questions
  to answer.

57
The Exam

• VITAL
• Carefully read all instructions on the exam
  paper, especially when given options of questions
  to answer.
• Now read them again

58
The Exam

• TIME MANAGEMENT
• Read all of the questions on the paper
• Choose the questions you wish to answer carefully

59
The Exam

• BE CLEAR
• Write in clear, concise legible English and give
  all necessary details.

60
The Exam

• DIAGRAMS
• Make it large
• Label it clearly
• Draw in pencil first
• And then rub out and redraw in pen
• Use many colours

61
The Exam

• CROSSING-OUT
• Do not cross-out work unless you are sure it is
  wrong, since crossed-out work is not marked.

62
The Exam

• EXAM NUMBER
• Do not put your name on any part of the paper,
  only your exam number.

63
The Exam

• EXPLAIN questions
• Provide a definition or simple explanation
• Draw a diagram if possible
• Provide an example
• Discuss all you can PMI or 6Hats

64
The Exam

• WHICH QUESTION FIRST?
• When choosing which question from two choices to
  do first.
• You should do the one you are more confident of
  answering first.
• This gets you started working immediately,
  steadies the nerves and gives you confidence.
• Starting with a harder one first may increase the
  amount of time spent on the first essay, causing
  you to panic and rush the second.

65
The Exam

• PLANNING YOUR ANSWER
• When faced with an exam question a good staring
  point is to gather ideas.
• Write these down on paper in any order.
• The more ideas you have, the more can select when
  you start to write.
• Ideas should occur to as you write and these can
  be accepted or rejected according to your answer
  plan

66
The Exam

• PLANNING YOUR ANSWER
• The next stage is the rough plan, reorganise your
  ideas into a logical order that will answer the
  question.
• Delete irrelevant initial ideas that will not
  contribute to answering the question.
• At this stage dont worry about a conclusion, you
  should be able to do this after you have written
  the answer.

67
The Exam

• PLANNING YOUR ANSWER
• Three parts
• Introduction
• Main Body (PMI?)
• Conclusion

68
The Exam

• THE ANSWER
• The answer should be as legible as possible and
  written in a clear fashion, the meanings of words
  should be easily understood.
• There should be a coherence of structure and
  development of ideas.
• Attention should be paid to grammar, punctuation
  and spelling.

69
The Exam

• WHITESPACE
• You have paid for the exam booklets, use as many
  as you want.
• Each part of each question on a separate page
• Leave a blank page between each question
• Leave two blank lies between each paragraph

70
The Exam

• SUGGESTION
• Give each paragraph a heading, and then underline
  that heading in red. This means that the examiner
  can read very, very quickly what you are doing
  and how the answer is being structured. These
  efforts towards clarity will help the examiner to
  follow the thrust of your argument more clearly.

71
The Exam

• COMMON ERRORS
• Answering the wrong number of questions
• Answering the wrong question
• Badly presented answers

72
The Exam

• MARKERS COMMENTS
• This gets pretty repetitive towards the end
• Manages to avoid contact with the question
  altogether.
• Wanders around - gets the point here and there
  but then veers off it.
• Not clear what the point is. The essay has no
  structure or organisation. No relevant
  literature is cited nor is the question
  addressed.
• Has very slight acquaintance with the subject,
  but completely fails to address the question or
  develop an argument .
• Too general. No readings are mentioned.
• Doesn't really examine the views of the different
  schools of thought on this, but has some ideas.
• Specific names should have been mentioned. Very
  simplistic
• Repetitive, fractured answer. - Largely missed
  the point.
• This makes some good points about ... but
  really does not attempt to answer the question.
• Not being able to copy Verba's name correctly
  doesn't inspire confidence.

73
After the Exam

74
Après Match

• Reward yourself.