Sunday, December 9, 2012

How to prepare for exam paper?


Revision
This is a very important time as you approach the exam. You must remember three things.
Use time sensibly
Set realistic goals
Believe in yourself
Use time sensibly
1.     How much study time do you have? Remember that you must Eat, Sleep, and course, Relax.
2.     How will you split that available time between each subject? What are your weaker subjects? They need more time.
3.     What is your learning style? AM/PM? Little and often/along sessions? Evening/ weekends?
4.     Are you taking regular breaks? Most people absorb more if they do not attempt to study for long uninterrupted periods of time. A five minute break every hour (to make coffee, watch the news headlines) can make all the difference.
5.     Do you have quality study time? Unplug the phone. Let everybody know that you’re studying and shouldn’t be disturbed.
Set realistic goals
1.     Have you set a clearly defined objective for each study period?
2.     Is the objective achievable?
3.     Will you stick to your plan? Will you make up for any lost time?
4.     Are you rewarding yourself for your hard work?
5.     Are you leading a healthy lifestyle?
Believe in yourself
Are you cultivating the right attitude of mind? There is absolutely no reason why you should not pass this exam if you adopt the correct approach.
·       Be confident – you’ve passed exams before, you can pass them again
·       Be calm – plenty of adrenaline but no panicking
·       Be focused – commit yourself to passing the exam


Question Practice
1.     Am I ready to answer questions?
Check that you are familiar with the material on the Do you know? Page for a particular syllabus are.
If you are happy, you can go ahead and start answering questions. If not, go back to your study Text and revised first.

Do I know which question to do first?
Start with tutorial questions. They warm you up for key and difficult areas of the syllabus. Try to produce at least a plan for the questions, using the guidance notes following the question to ensure your answer is structured so as to gain as good as pass mark.

Don’t worry about the time it takes to answer these questions. Concentrate on production good answers.
How should I use this kit?
1.     Once you are confident with the Do you know? Checklists and the tutorial questions should try as many as possible of the exam-standard questions; at the very least you should attempt the key questions, which are highlighted in the question and answer checklist/index at the front of the Kit.
2.     Try to produce full answers under timed conditions; you are practicing exam technique as much as knowledge recall here. Don’t look at the answer, your BPP Study Text or your notes for any help at all.
3.     Mark your answers to the non-tutorial questions as if you were the examiner. Only give yourself marks for what you have written, not for what you meant to put down, or would have put down if you had had more time. If you did badly, try another question.
4.     Read the Tutorial notes in the answers very carefully and take note of the advice given and any comments by the examiner.
5.     When you have practiced the whole syllabus, go back to the areas you had problems with and practice further questions.
6.     When you feel you have completed your revision of the entire syllabus to your satisfaction, answer the test your knowledge quiz. This covers selected areas from the entire syllabus and answering it unseen is a good test of how well you can recall your knowledge of diverse subjects quickly.
7.     Finally, when you think you really understand the entire subject, attempt the test paper at the end of the Kit. Sit the paper under strict exam conditions, so that you gain experience of selecting and sequencing your questions, and managing your time, as well as of writing answers.


Exam Technique
The day of the exam
1.     Set at least one alarm (or get an alarm call) for a morning exam.
2.     Have something to eat but beware of eating too much; you may feel sleepy if your system is digesting a large meal.
3.     Allow plenty of time to get to the exam hall; have your route worked out in advance and listen to news bulletins to checks for potential travel problems.
4.     Don’t forget pens, pencils, rulers, erasers.
5.     Put new batteries into your calculator and take a spare set (or a spare calculator)
6.     Avoid discussion about the exam with other candidates outside the exam hall.
Your time in the exam hall
1.     Read the instructions (the ‘rubric’) on the front of the exam paper carefully
Check that the exam format hasn’t changed. It is surprising how often examiners’ reports remarks on the number of students who attempt too few – or too many – questions, or who attempt the wrong number of questions from different parts of the paper. Make sure that you are planning to answer the right number of questions.
2.     Select questions carefully
Read through the paper once, then quickly jot down key points against each question in a second read through. Select those questions where you could latch on to ‘what the question if about’ – but remember to check carefully that you have got the right end of the stick before putting pen to paper.
3.     Plan your attack carefully
Consider the order in which you are going to tackle questions. It is a good idea to start with your best question to boost your morale and get some easy marks’ in the bag’.
4.     Check the time allocation for each question
Each mark carries with it a time allocation of 1.6 minutes (including time for selecting and reading questions). A 20 mark question therefore should be completed in 32 minutes. When time is up, you must go on to the next question or part. Going even one minute over the time allowed brings you a lot closer to failure.
5.     Read the question carefully and plan your answer
Read through the question again very carefully when you come to answer it. Plan your answer to ensure when you keep to the point. Two minutes of planning plus eight minutes of writing is virtually certain to earn you more marks than ten minutes of writing.        

No comments:

Post a Comment