1

Preparing for exams at Royal Holloway

- insider insights for exam success

1

2

In this lecture, we will:

• Review the purpose of exams• Consider some tips for revising effectively for

exams• Consider some tips that will help us be strategic

when doing exams• Get ‘inside’ advice from both students and

lecturers at Royal Holloway

Aims

3

EXAMS AND YOU

P A R T O N E

4

4

With a partner, discuss:

• What is your experience of exams?

• What do you want to know about exams at Royal Holloway?

• Why do we still use exams at university?

5

Why take exams?

5

3 key purposes of examinations (Cottrell, 2007, p.19):

1. They provide one means of measuring how much you

have learnt.

2. They serve as a focus for your study, encouraging you

to draw together what you have learnt.

6

6

3. They enable your tutors

to be sure the work

they are marking is

your own work, not

copied from friends,

books or the internet.

7

PREPARING

P A R T T W O

8

TIP 1 Be smart with what you revise

8

Listen to RH students and note down some tips that could be useful for you.

Student view

Choosing Topicshttps://moodle.royalholloway.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=72021

9

Don’t try to revise EVERYTHING, but do revise beyond the topics you wrote essays on so that you have options in the exam.

Revise at least six topics in depth for each paper.

James BennettMedia Arts

Lecturer view

10

TIP 2 Be smart with HOW you revise

10

Don't just read your lecture notes -combine them with notes on the textbook and condense them. Best of all, test yourself by answering questions.

James McEvoyBiological Sciences

11

TIP 3 Go through past exam papers

11

12

12

Get familiar with likely question formats.

• Multiple choice questions• Very short answer questions (a word or a sentence)• Brief answer questions (a paragraph)• An essay question

Practise papers in timed conditions.

Practising essayshttps://moodle.royalholloway.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=72025

13

TIP 4 Revise with othersLecturer view

Teach your friend/nemesis/imaginary pet what you've been revising.

Teaching information is one of the best ways to learn it. It gives you practice at retrieving the information, and having to explain it in a way which makes sense to someone else helps you to make links between concepts and identify areas you don’t understand.

Alana JamesPsychology

14

Revise in a study group with friends from your course.

Split up making brief revision notes on a topic between your group members, then meet to discuss them. You will remember more than you think by hearing it from a friend than from your lecturer!

Richard HawleyClassics

Lecturer view

15

15

• Listen to RH students and note down what could be the benefits and drawbacks of revising in groups.

Would revising in a group work for you?

Student view

Benefits DrawbacksYou hear other people’s viewpoints, ideas, examples on a particular topic

It can make you more nervous

You can go through past papers together If not focussed enough, can be a waste of timeRelieves feeling of isolation

Revising in groupshttps://moodle.royalholloway.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=72026

16

16

TIP 5 Make a detailed revision timetable

http://au.reachout.com/how-to-write-a-study-timetable

17

17

TIP 6 Get clued up about exam regulationsat Royal Holloway

• When is the exams timetable published?• When is the main exam period?• What do I need to take to the exam venue?• What is not allowed in the exam room?• Can I leave the exam early• What happens if I’m ill?

18

18

Step 2 Make sure you read ‘Instructions to Candidates’.

Watch the Royal Holloway ‘Quick Guide to Exams’ video.

Step 1 Go to the ‘Exams, assessments and results’ page on the Student Intranet.

https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/students/study/exams/preparation/preparing-for-your-exams-and-assessments.aspx

19

19

TIP 7 Keep calm and gets lots of sleep

Sleep helps us to consolidate information we've learnt, as well as keeping us physically and mentally able to perform well in exams.

Alana JamesPsychology

Lecturer view

20

20

For help with stress management, check the advice on the webpages for the Royal Holloway Counselling Service.

If anxiety is becoming a serious issue, make an appointment with a counsellor.

21

DOING EXAMS

P A R T T H R E E

22

TIP 8 Pick the right questions

22

Listen to students talk about choosing questions.

• Read through the whole paper first and locate which questions you can answer most easily/quickly, or which ones carry the most points.

• Read each question carefully and give a full but specific answer.

• Answer as many questions as possible, even very briefly, and especially multiple choice questions.

https://moodle.royalholloway.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=72032

23

TIP 9 Answer the question

23

If you're not answering the question, you're wasting your time.

James McEvoyBiological Sciences

24

Read the question several times, and use a brain map to plan your writing. This may allow the marker to give credit on any last answers if you run out of time

Plan your time carefully: don't over-kill the first question.

Justin O’BrienSchool of Management

Lecturer view

25

Crack the question codes

25

On your handout

Do the matching exercise on definitions of instruction words and compare your answers with a partner.

26

26

1. h

2. f

3. a

4. b

5. e

6. k

7. i

8. d

9. c

10. g

11. j

12. l

Answer Key

27

Crack this question

27

Now copy this essay question. Underline the instruction words and circle the key content words. Check with your partner that you agree on what the question is asking you.

To what extent can the rise in unemployment in 2011 in Britain be blamed on the credit crunch?

On your handout

Choose the most suitable plan for this essay.

28

TIP 10 Beware of bears and know-it-alls

28

Avoid comparing yourself to others.

There will always be people who seem to be machines that can spend every waking minute revising, or who are convinced they got every answer right. Don't get caught up in comparing yourself to them. It’s a waste of energy.

Alana JamesPsychology

29

29

Listen to students recall their experience of what it’s like at the exam venue.

At the exam venuehttps://moodle.royalholloway.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=72030

30

30

Watch out for the bear

31

31

32

32

You can find all the videos used in this lecture on Moodle:

https://moodle.royalholloway.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=2167

33

Learning summary

33

BEFORE

• Pick what to revise carefully, and plan your revision time strategically

• Practise with past exam papers

• Think about revising with others

• Get up to speed on exam regulations at Royal Holloway

DURING

• Survey the exam paper and pick the questions you want to do

• Decode your selected questions, plan, write and allow time to review

34

References

34

Cottrell, S. 2007, The Study Skills Handbook, Palgrave MacMillan: Basingstoke

Further ResourcesFearn, N., 2015, 10 Best Revision Apps To Help You Ace Your Exams [online]. Available from: http://www.lifehacker.co.uk/2015/04/28/10-great-apps-to-help-you-ace-your-exams (Accessed 10 March 2017)

Griffith University, No date given, Preparing for exams [online]. Available from: https://app.griffith.edu.au/study-smart/docs/exams (Accessed 10 March 2017)

Sherriff, L. 2015, University Lecturers Share Their Grade-Boosting Revision Tips For Exams [online]. Available from: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/05/19/university-lecturers-share-grade-boosting-revision-tips-for-exams_n_7311560.html (Accessed 10 March 2017)