Exam Tips

Allocating Exam Time to Your Answers

Just think about this for a moment. Suppose that your five questions carry 20 marks each (again, this is quite a common pattern). Suppose, for ease of mathematics, that the pass rate is 50%. Then: 

Answering the Question

Answer the question you have been asked, not the one that you would have liked to have been asked! Check that you are staying on track by checking back to the actual question every so often. If the question asks about the causes of the French Revolution, don't list the consequences; if it asks about the character of Henry V, don't spend time writing about the dramatic effect of the Chorus.

Final Checks

When you planned your use of time in the exam, you put aside a final portion so that you could carry out a check.  When you get to this point, it's a good idea to stop writing, even if you haven't quite finished the last part of the last question. You can always come back to this when you've checked through your paper.

Reading the Questions

How can you get the maximum return from reading your exam questions?

In the first place, don't just think of the task as simply "reading".  That sounds too relaxed!  What you are doing is trying to get inside the minds of the examiners to find out what they want; and then making lots of active decisions about how you can best give it to them.

The First Few Minutes

You are bound to be feeling nervous - and also excited. This exam is the end-point of study that's been going on for months or years. It is only natural that you want to start writing as soon as possible. That's good - but wait! There are several things that you should do before you attempt to start answering questions - before you even read the questions.

Your Exam Timetable

So here you are in the first few minutes of the actual exam.  You've carried out the routine checks.  You now want to start the exam itself. It's still worth taking a deep breath and drawing up a timetable first.  For example, supposing you've got to answer five questions in three hours (which is quite a common pattern).