Introduction to Exam Skills

Preparing for Exams – Part 1

This presentation will

• Explore how you can best use your time to prepare for exams

• Show the usefulness of a revision timetable

• Explore ways in which you can anticipate exam content

• Consider different learning styles

Preparing for Exams

There is no right

and wrong way

to prepare for

exams, it is

largely a

personal choice.

What is revision?

• This is when you learn things thoroughly in preparation for the exam.

Why do we need to revise?

• To try and remember what we have learned on the course

• To improve our memory

• To become more confident

• To succeed in our exams

How should we revise?

• Long-term planning

– Set your goals

– Organise a weekly timetable

– Identify your time wasters

Revision TimetableRevision Planner

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

W W W W W Breakfast D

O O O O O Management

Studies A

R R R R R Break Y AM

K K K K K Management

Studies

12 – 1 pm

W W W W W Lunch O

O O O O O Introduction to

Accounting F

R R R R R Break F

PM

K K K K K Introduction to

Accounting

5 – 6 pm Dinner Dinner Dinner Dinner Dinner Dinner

6 – 7 pm

7 – 8 pm

Introduction to Accounting

Management Studies

Introduction to Computing

Quantitative Methods

Management Studies

Quantitative Methods

8 – 9 pm

9 – 10 pm

Free time Free time Free time Free time Free time Free time

Why do we procrastinate?

• Waiting for the ‘right’ time or mood

• Underdeveloped decision-making skills

• Poor organisational skills

• Perfectionism

Organise your notes

Write out your course notes neatly and clearly, then file them so you can find them easily

Your Learning Style

• Visual

• Auditory

• Kinesthetic or Active

Tips for Visual Learners

• Copy out your notes

• Use colour to highlight important things

Tips for Auditory Learners

• Read your notes aloud.

• Revise with other students if you can.

Tips for Kinesthetic Learners

Make use of all your senses - sight, touch, taste, smell, hearing

hands-on approaches trial and error

exhibits, samples, photographs... solutions to problems, previous exam papers

Try to anticipate what will be on your paper

Look at exam questions from previous years: http://www.bbk.ac.uk/lib/elib/exam

Bad revision practice

• Revising the whole syllabus

• Concentrating too much on the first exam

Effective revision practice

• Make a timetable

• Look at past papers

• Organise your notes efficiently well before the exam.

The End of Part 1

Good luck with your exam preparation

With thanks to: Katerina Mantouvalou, Birkbeck CollegeSarah Boynton, University of Portsmouth