There are two parts of examinations: preparing for them and taking them.

REVISION EXAM DAY TECHNIQUES

REVISION

The most effective method of revision is to begin on the first day of term. After each class, you review your lecture notes, filling in any blanks or rough places, and reading over the notes quickly. Incorporate revision into each study session. Even a very little each day will be very helpful. The following techniques require discipline, but will help even if you can’t manage the daily routine.

• Rolling Revision: Review each unit of study ten minutes after you have studied it, once the next day, then one time the next week, the next month, and the next quarter. Each review can be as little as ten minutes before your normal study session.

• Course-Mapping: Using the Mindmapping technique from Tony Buzan, put the course in the middle of the page, then write all the topics you can remember. Around each topic, write all the sub-topics you can remember. As you study, fill in the blanks until the map is complete. If you fill in the blanks with a different colour, you can study these a bit longer than the ones you remembered right away. (See our page on Memory).Course Mapping can be used for each topic, for a more in-depth revision. 

• Reduction: Divide your course work into books you have read, notes you have made, papers you have written, etc. Take each "unit" - i.e., book, group of notes, etc. - and reduce it to notes on one side of an A4 page. Combine these pages, and reduce them to one side of an A4 page. The process of reducing, if you are thoughtful, will remind you of the major concepts and ideas.

• Use colours to help you make associations. They can be used to help you remember dates, people, eras, any sort of classification. 

• Talk out loud. Tell the cat, bore your houseplants, explain everything to the wall. Talking out loud forces you to organise your thoughts. The very best way to be sure you really know a subject is to teach it. 

• Plan ahead. Be sure to plan a few breaks into your life. Having a specific amount of work to do each time you study keeps you from becoming frightened of or depressed about the enormity of the whole thing. Plan, do the work, and relax. 

• Closer to the time of exams, practice writing timed answers to examination questions. Sometimes you can get past papers from your tutor or the library. Otherwise, make up your own questions to answer. We are not used to sitting and writing for three hours at a time. It helps to practice. Particularly if you have been word-processing everything else, give yourself some practice hand-writing at speed.

• Remember, keep everything in proportion. It’s one exam. In the context of your whole life, it occupies a fairly small space.

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EXAM-DAY TECHNIQUES
 

• Know where the exam is going to take place, how to get there, and what time it starts. 

• Get plenty of rest the night before. If you have trouble sleeping before an exam, look into various relaxation techniques and practice them beforehand. 

• Take all the materials you will need. Take at least two pens and a timepiece. 

• Some people bring "comfort" items - mints, tissues, etc. Try not to bring noisy ones.

• When you arrive at the exam venue, you will probably notice a group of students gathered in front of the door. They will be talking about the exam, usually worrying themselves to a frazzle about how they will do. Nervousness is contagious. Don’t join this group. They are busy failing their test. 

• Note: Some students have been known to benefit from a calm discussion. The difficulty arises if you get the impression that you have been studying for an entirely different exam. Keep in mind that the subject is broad, and that each person will have emphasised different areas in their study. 

• When you are seated, and you are given your paper, do check that it is the correct one. 

• Read through the whole paper at least once, to get an idea of its general shape, and to give you a chance to calm down a bit. 

• Choose the questions you will answer based on the ones you know the most about. Be sure to really read the questions, so that you can be sure you are actually answering them. It helps to make a note of the process words and the content words. Content words are your clue about what to answer; process words tell you what to do with your answer. 

• Allocate time according to points per question. Divide your time accordingly, leaving about 20 minutes at the end to proof-read your answers. 

• Answer the easiest first. This lets you get into your stride and out of your nerves before you tackle something more difficult. 

• Make a plan for each question you answer. This keeps you focused, helps you avoid roaming around, helps you to keep track of whether you are really answering the question, and impresses the person who is marking the paper. Even if you do not finish an answer, if you have completed a plan that shows you know how to answer it, you may get some marks. 

• Use all the time you are allowed. Be sure to make any changes you want to make very neatly. 

• After the exam, leave the venue. Do not join the group of students outside the door doing a post mortem. There is no point, and it can be terribly unnerving to find that their interpretation of a question is different from yours. While there is every reason to comb over papers marked by your tutor during the course, there is absolutely nothing to gain by attempting to rehash an exam without access to thedocument in question.

• Exams are stressful. You can relieve your reaction to the stress by preparing calmly, doing your best, and then letting it go after it is over. Sometimes it is depressing to finish an exam, because it is such an important event, and yet one whose outcome is unknown. If you are experiencing difficulty, contact friends and family; take care of yourself.

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Websites that may be useful:

For memory techniques, visit Mind Tools Exam Memory

For stress management techniques, visit Mind Tools Stress Management  and Stress Management Action Plan