Gearing up for your exams
You have a thick textbook, a pile of notes, and not a clue what you need to do to pass the test.
Instead of trying to learn everything and hoping for the best, try approaching your revision from another angle: by anticipating exam questions.
unless you are taking a brand new course, you should be able to find some old exam papers.
Read through them and note the themes. Mark the ones that come up over and over again – they’ll probably be core questions that will come up in one shape or form every time.
Look at the table of contents of your textbook and the headings of your study guide and jot down the buzzwords you’ve heard most often in class.
When you have a list of six to 10 topics, sit down and think what a typical exam question might be for each?
Will it be asking for a description? A critical evaluation? An example? A calculation? Write down two or three typical questions for each.
Now you have something to aim for, write up notes (short notes, no essays) that would score you maximum points.
If you have more time to revise, go through it all again, and note some of the minor subjects and repeat the exercise.
Finally, have a go at reading the textbook again. Maybe now you’ve got a good grounding, you’ll see something new.
or even better, pick up a textbook from the library on the same subject but written by a different author. This will give you new perspective and might give you that edge you need to score an A.