Academic success: exam preparation and response

Academic success stems not only from a thorough knowledge of the subject matter, but also from an ability to recognise through the question(s) the issue(s) on which the exam board is seeking a response, and to deliver such response as clearly and concisely as possible.

This not only saves valuable time once in the exam room for checking responses, but assists the examiner in awarding the marks.

How to learn the subject matter:

In order to fulfil their potential students need to be able to recall the content of the subject in detail, and there are various techniques and tricks which can assist here: 

- colourful structural diagrams offer a great means of consolidating your knowledge basis at the revision stage, and of stimulating the memory once in the exam room;

- rhymes and anagrams can provide a fun and quick method for remembering the sequence of particular facts; and

- word association games can provide a humorous way of triggering the memory to recall certain events.

How to spot the issue which is being examined:

To a large extent this depends upon the subject, and its corresponding level, in question. Subjects should be capable of being broken down into various component topics, and the exam paper will seek to address some or all of such topics.

At the outset of the course, during the course, and at the revision stage, students should refer to the course content, so as to help to consolidate their knowledge, and to assist with the identification of the issues raised in the exam paper.

How to deliver a response clearly and concisely:

Strategy during the revision stage is crucial here. You need to know your strengths and weaknesses, so as to capitalise upon your time in the exam room. Every student and every exam is different here. Strategies could include:

- in a time pressured exam, responding to every question with the majority of facts, leaving space to add further detail later in the exam where possible. This allows you to obtain the majority of the easy marks, rather than wasting precious time trying to get the extra ½ mark per question and, thereby, failing to finish the paper. Once finished, you can check your answers and add the extra detail, time permitted.

- scanning the exam paper for your favourite/easy topics where you are most likely to score highly, and prioritising a response to these questions, so that you can obtain the easy marks and grow in confidence through the exam, before tackling the trickier issues.

Essay style question: at its simplest level, every essay should contain a beginning, middle and an end. The introduction should introduce the theme of your essay and set out in a couple of sentences how you propose to address the query; the body of the essay should set out your observations and raise several points, all of which can be substantiated through fact. The better essays will also examine (offering agreement/disagreement) what other learned professionals consider on such points. The conclusion should be concise and logical, following on from the points raised in the body of the essay.

Multiple choice questions: for these types of exams, you need to get into the mindset of the exam board setting the questions, so as to understand and, thereby, predict, the response. Great care and attention needs to be given to each question, so as to ensure that you are responding to the question being asked - for example, the inclusion of the word "not" obviously leads to an answer which is different than were it to be omitted.

Above all, preparation is of key importance to enable you to feel confident in the exam room and to achieve your best.