Many people work hard studying various subjects to sit for examinations in them. Fine. Hard work is usually a necessary condition for passing exams. Unfortunately it does not follow that it is a sufficient condition! Exam technique can be almost equally as important. It can make all the difference between success and failure or between poor grades and good grades.
As students, we often complain about the examination system. That is usually because we feel the pressure of an uncertain outcome. But like all systems we need to understand its mechanics in order to make it work for us.
What follows is largely concerned with exams needing written answers, rather than mathematically-based subjects.
Frustrating Examiners
This section applies as much to writing course work as to examination answers
When you consider writing essays, also consider the person who will have to read them. He/she has a psychology. Make it work for you, not against you. Most examiners do their job well and effectively but...
Exam assessors usually have a mountain of scripts to wade through. They like to get through them faster rather than slower, with relative ease rather than difficulty. When they find a script which facilitates the two former objects, they are delighted and their disposition towards the writer soars.
A great frustration is caused by having to '.dig' into the essay to discover whether or not the student has given a correct or acceptable answer. Sometimes this job is very difficult. The examiner has to re and reread the essay to discover what is actually being said. Sometimes an actual decision has to be made by the examiner as to whether a correct answer has, in fact, been given, because the composition is so obtuse.
Some method is needed which will avoid this situation and which will improve the examiner's disposition towards the writer.
Writing Effectively
Writing effectively in exams is really not that difficult. There is a simple technique which can be used and adopted to virtually every type of question.
The technique is to divide your essay into three (unequal) parts:
1. An introduction
2. An expansion of 1;
3. A conslusion.
Numbers 1 and 3 are quite short and basically say the same thing except in rather different ways.
1. is critical and is a short version of the answer. This lets the examiner know immediately that you know what you are talking about. It require slight differences of emphases depending on the actual wording of the question.
For example, a question which asks something like "What are the factors which influence..." needs an introductory answer which starts something like: "The factors which influence so-and-so are... " And you mention them in descending order of importance. A question of the type: "Discuss such-and-such..." needs an answer which starts something like: "When discussing such-and-such one needs to take account of..." and then mention the major points which you consider to be important and which you are going to discuss.
There may be other variations in the phrasing of the question, but the approach you adopt needs to be always the same: present the examiner with what is effectively a concise answer to the question. It usually takes no more than a few lines, maybe a dozen at most. He/she will jump up and down in excitement at having found someone who not only knows the answer but who can also actually make it explicit.
2. The expansion of the essay is simply a development to show that whatever you said at 1. is correct or relevant. This takes up most of the essay. Use a new paragraph for every new point. Don't be afraid to be pedantic. End each of these paragraphs by relating what you have said directly back to the question. e.g. "Hence it can be seen that..." and so forth.
If, during the course of writing your answer, you suddenly remember a really major point which really should have come earlier, just "knit" it in as if this is where you always intended it to go. Thus: "Of course, a further point which needs to be given especially emphasis at this juncture is..." Try and make it seem the most natural place to put it. The examiner may think it better put elsewhere, but he will not usually penalise you for that
3. The conclusion will be little more than a restatement of the introduction - but you do need a conclusion. During the writing of the essay you may have thought of some other points not mentioned in the introduction. If so, be sure to mention them in the conclusion.
Read Before You Write
Always spend at least six/seven minutes out of a three hours exam reading the question paper. Read it three times. The first to get a general impression. The second to mark any question which you can reasonably attempt. The third to check that your second reading decisions were accurate - sometimes, in the face of nervous tension, they are not. This is time well spent. As an invigilator, one often groans within at seeing student grabbing their pens and beginning to write before the clock has stopped chiming the hour to commence!
Dividing Time
Unless some questions have unequal shares in the total marks possible, always divide your time equally between the questions. There are severe diminishing returns to each extra minute spent on the present question - more could be added to the overall total by going onto the next.
Conclusions
As already said, don't throw away your hard work during the year through bad or none existent exam technique. With good technique it is, in fact, possible to do rather well with skimpy knowledge (although one does not advocate the practice!), whereas it is commonplace for students to underachieve by neglecting their technique.
About The Author
A K Whitehead
Web Site: www.christianword.co.uk; akw@christianword.co.uk
The author has had many years experience in setting examining, marking and invigilating examinations and has used the above technique to considerable personal benefit.
Getting a college degree today is easier than ever before... Read More
A Penn State online degree is a college degree from... Read More
Scindex's Instant Publishing Service is about empowerment. The price of... Read More
Chances are you are pursuing an online degree to reap... Read More
The application essay is the most crucial piece of writing... Read More
Digital Education is really coming along thanks to the US... Read More
In an era when professional opportunities are diminishing, one area... Read More
Some of us fill a page with a wall of... Read More
Do best friends make the best college roommates? Not always!... Read More
You've already decided that you're ready to author online and... Read More
NATUROPATHIC SCHOOLS instruct in Naturopathic medicine which is an holistic... Read More
Most of these activities are free or very cheap:* Campus... Read More
What is happening on the campuses of secular universities across... Read More
The first day of college begins with hopes and dreams... Read More
Any student who is on the lookout for online degree... Read More
Online masters degrees are higher education college degrees that are... Read More
You've probably heard it since you were little, 'get a... Read More
I can still remember my shopping list for my first... Read More
At this point, except for the waiting, the worst is... Read More
Online education is a dramatic development in the advancement of... Read More
H.G. Wells once said, "Human history becomes more and more... Read More
Online nursing degrees are college degrees in the field of... Read More
You may be bursting at the seams with natural talent,... Read More
Upper Saddle River, N.J. - May 2004 - Compensation Resources,... Read More
Every year students flock to the college bookstore to purchase... Read More
The first step to getting your online degree is to... Read More
The Shakespearean play "Othello" describes a cruel chain of events... Read More
For all the students even dreaming about going to college,... Read More
What is the average cost of college tuition? This is... Read More
Many parents and students I counsel confuse Early Admission, Early... Read More
So, our children want to fly away from the nest... Read More
Plagiarism has been condemned lately by all types of experts,... Read More
Many have a tough time listening to the scientists debate... Read More
Self injury is intentionally causing self-inflicted physical pain in order... Read More
In case you hadn't noticed, career colleges aren't just for... Read More
So you just got accepted in your engineering program?joy, but... Read More
Have you long wanted or needed to increase your level... Read More
Forensics is not just one field of study but encompasses... Read More
Are you living with your total opposite? It's amazing how... Read More
A generation ago few would have given much thought to... Read More
Getting into college is a stressful experience for most high... Read More
Don't give up your dream of enrolling in an online... Read More
America's colleges and universities no longer have enough room to... Read More
Distance Learning is a priority for most who have already... Read More
In modern society passing educational examinations becomes an increasingly important... Read More
Online masters degrees are higher education college degrees that are... Read More
Considerations in Distance Education for the Medical Assistant InstructorMedical Assistant... Read More
1. Control Your Schedule; Don't Let Your Schedule Control YouOrganization... Read More
Getting a college degree online seemingly appears to be a... Read More
As a student entering college, it is very unlikely that... Read More
The problem with student and any small move comes when... Read More
Online degree program is a good choice for busy individual's... Read More
Many current and future college students need help to pay... Read More
Many college students and graduates are looking for a solution... Read More
If rising tuition costs or personal concerns have made you... Read More
You may be bursting at the seams with natural talent,... Read More
The introduction of the Government's Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) in... Read More
Chances are you are pursuing an online degree to reap... Read More
Getting a college degree today is easier than ever before... Read More
An Oxford student has been convicted of downloading child pornography... Read More
The driving factor of any university is to make the... Read More
Paula Bone is a marketing professor who teaches "Consumer Behavior"... Read More
I can still remember my shopping list for my first... Read More
The idea of a business plan competition first started in... Read More
Personally, I dislike Multiple Choice Tests. Because they do not... Read More
The internet has revolutionized many parts of our economy. You... Read More
College & University |