Table of contents
Exam strategies quiz
Which applies to you? Read each statement and make a selection from the drop-down box.
- I feel I know what the examiners want.
- In an exam I start answering questions before I have read the instructions.
- In an essay exam I read through all questions before I start writing.
- I plan my time during an exam so I can attempt all the questions.
- I make a brief outline of my essay answers before I start writing them.
- I make sure I know how many marks each question is worth.
- I carefully note the wording of each question.
- The first questions I answer are those that I am most likely to find easy.
- I take special note of instructions like 'evaluate', 'discuss', and 'outline'.
- I spend more time on questions to which I know the answers than on questions that are worth more marks.
- I find short-answer questions easier than essays.
- I answer the questions in a multiple-choice exam in the order they appear.
- When I don't know the answer to a multiple-choice question I look for words or phrases in the question which might give a clue to the answer.
- In a multiple-choice question I read all the alternatives even though I think one of the first alternatives is correct.
- If I finish an exam ahead of time, I hand in the paper immediately.
sometimes
SOMETIMES: You may not be connecting with what they want because of any of the following: 1) Failure to demonstrate your understanding of the material. That is, you give your examiner what the text book said rather than what you are saying in response to the specific question. 2) Lack of care in selecting questions, even misreading instructions. 3) Lack of thought before writing. Try to plan your answers in whatever form is appropriate for you and for the particular question. 4) Answering a similar question, such as the one that was on last year's paper. 5) Giving an incomplete answer. That is, you describe but you do not discuss the effects of whatever it is.
always
ALWAYS: You can also talk to students who have done the subject before. They may offer you good advice on approaches to various topics and particular techniques for coming to grips with the material. Remember - especially if you are doing questions from past papers or talking to people who have done the subject before - that the subject may have changed since last time, and you will need to be alert to any changes that have taken place.
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SOMETIMES: Make sure you know the number of questions you need to answer and the value of each. If you have studied for a topic and are not sure that you understand what the question is asking, try checking with your lecturer if the lecturer is present in the exam room.
always
ALWAYS: You should make sure that your understanding of what the paper was going to be like matches what the paper actually is like. If you have a choice, select very carefully, reading both the content words of the question and the direction words - the words which are telling you what to do.
sometimes
SOMETIMES: In an essay exam, it is particularly important to read through all the questions before answering, because you will often have a choice of which question to answer. One of the main reasons for students not doing well on exams is poor choice of question. You should read through the whole paper, not just the bits that you think you might be interested in. If you need to answer a question from each section, glance through all the topics to give yourself as wide a choice as possible. You might wish to underline any qualifying words and phrases in the question - so that qualifying words like sometimes, to a degree, perhaps or in some cases are taken into account in your answer.
always
ALWAYS: It is a good policy to also think about the order in which you answer the questions. Some students prefer to anwer the difficult questions first. Others prefer to answer the easy ones to give themselves confidence. Whatever you do, number your question so your examiner knows exactly what you are answering.
sometimes
SOMETIMES: For you to get full marks it is crucial that you plan your time proportionately for all questions. You can jot down finish times for each question as soon as you are allowed to write. If you go over time for your first answer, you will have correspondingly less time for later answers. This is a problem as you move on in the exam and you become more tired. If you have left the most difficult questions until last, you might be less able to perform at your best.
always
ALWAYS: When you are allowed to write, it is a good idea to jot down your thoughts as you go, because the brainwave that hits you for (say) Question 3 may have faded into the background by the time you are actually answering Question 3. If in any question you have written part of your answer and your mind goes blank, leave it, note how much time you still have to finish that question, and go back to it later.
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SOMETIMES: As soon as you can write, jot down ideas which automatically come to mind - even a few key words - because these can form the basis of a good answer. If you begin without getting your thoughts in order, you may find you lose track of your argument and possibly of the question as well.
always
ALWAYS:This is an excellent idea. It will help you ensure that you include all important points and that you present them in a logical order. If you run out of time, you can also point an arrow to your outline and at least show what your thoughts on the topic were. Be careful, though: if by 'a brief outline' you mean a page of carefully plotted essay, then it is probably not a good idea. Planning in too much detail could mean wasting precious time, when you could be gaining marks from the final draft of your answer.
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SOMETIMES: There is no point spending half an hour on a question worth two marks and ten minutes on a question worth twenty marks. If you have a 3-hour exam and 5 questions to complete, you need 36 minutes for each question, assuming they are weighted equally. If you allocate 33 minutes to each you can even have 15 minutes to check over your answers at the end. Most exams are not as simple to calculate as this but it is necessary that you do the maths before you go in. Remember also to allow for the reading time as well, and then calculate how much time you have for each question starting from the end of the reading time. Allow time for revision, too.
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ALWAYS: It is essential to know how many marks each question is worth before you sit the exam so that you can fine-tune your revision period to the demands of the exam.
sometimes
SOMETIMES: The examiner will assume you have mastered the body of knowledge in your subject; in an exam they are looking to see if you can adapt your understanding to the demands of a new question. How many parts to the question are there? What are the limitations set (e.g. 'before WW1', 'in Australia', etc.)?
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ALWAYS: The topic area of a question might be very familiar to you, but the precise wording of the question - what it is asking you to do - will not be familiar. This is the key to success in answering exam questions.
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SOMETIMES: You can gain confidence from answering the questions you find easy first. You may however, want to get the most difficult questions out of the way while you are fresh, so you are then in a good position to handle the rest of the exam later.
always
ALWAYS: Many students find that they are at their freshest at the beginning of an exam, and wish to answer the easiest questions first to begin well and give themselves confidence. Do not stick to this plan too rigidly, though - maybe there are later questions that are worth more marks.
sometimes
SOMETIMES: Taking special note of the direction words is crucial to managing a good answer. Make sure you understand the shades of difference between commonly used words: discuss, outline, analyse, and so on.
always
ALWAYS: You have probably been successful in your exams so far. Recall how your lecturer approaches questions in class: what does evaluate or criticise mean for this particular subject?
sometimes
SOMETIMES: Resist this temptation. The examiners have weighted questions for particular reasons according to the aims of the course. These decisions are made according to what they want to place most emphasis on, and to test you on most thoroughly.
always
ALWAYS: No matter how well you know the answer to the question worth four marks, it makes more sense to channel your energies into the one worth twenty marks. Remember it is easier to gain the first four or five marks out of twenty than it is to sweat over the last half mark out of four.
sometimes
SOMETIMES: While essays require more detail, short-answer questions require a very focused, relevant answer. You must learn to work so that you are very clear abour categories, definitions, issues. Answer as fully as you can within the time limit.
always
ALWAYS: With only a short space available, you need to be very precise and clear: it is obvious if you do not keep to the topic. Choose your examples very carefully to illustrate your answer.
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SOMETIMES: It can be good to follow the sequence that is in the examiner's mind. Finally though, you need to adapt your approach to your level of knowledge. If you are not feeling confident about your knowledge, you would be better off tackling those questions you are (fairly) sure of, then returning to those you are less sure of, and finally checking to ensure you have not made any slips.
always
ALWAYS: It is a good idea first to survey the exam paper to see how many different questions are being asked and to get a perspective on the exam. Then you can proceed to answer as many questions as you are sure of. At the end of these questions you might like to go back and have another go at the ones that you were less sure of. After you have completed more of the exam you might then go back for a final look at the questions, completing them all at that time.
sometimes
SOMETIMES: Read those questions very carefully, underlining the key content words. It is hard to write multiple choice questions! The examiner, when running out of ideas, may throw in an expression which is a cliche, or misapprehension, about the topic - watch for these. Sometimes longer options can tend to be correct because more thought has gone into them. If you have absolutely no idea of the answer, avoid options which include absolute terms such as never or always, especially for non-technical subjects.
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ALWAYS: If there are still multiple-choice questions you are not at all sure of after the first two runs, it is a good idea to answer a bit more of the exam, glancing through the questions in the hope that a phrase or an idea might jog your memory.
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SOMETIMES: The options to a multiple-choice question are designed to make the choice difficult for you. The first alternative you read may sound vaguely familiar but still may not be correct; so it is important to read through all the options.
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ALWAYS: It is good to be aware of all the options. You can also use insights gained from answering other questions on the paper, and feel free to go back.
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SOMETIMES: If you prefer to do this, then you should go through the exam questions again before you leave, checking your answers against them. If you still cannot see anything that you have answered incompletely, you can spend the time checking calculations, spelling, punctuation, and so on. Take no notice of others leaving!
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ALWAYS: If you finish an exam an hour or so ahead of time, you are either a genius or you have not understood the task at hand. It is possible that you have not understood all the implications of certain questions. It's possible that you have not carried out complete calculations for others: you may have been asked to draw a graph or a diagram which you have omitted. You may have answered an essay question incompletely. So take advantage of your spare time - don't just rush out the door. Read the questions again and check over your answers, making sure you have taken the instructions into account and addressed all parts of the questions.
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