Before the exam: final weeks

The last weeks before the exam can be used to fine tune your understanding of the topics and concepts. Develop an overview of your course by reducing your notes to a manageable set.

If late in starting your exam preparation you should use the time still available to you to apply the advice given above. Your late start is likely to mean that you have to allocate a lot more time and effort between now and the exams than you would if you had started earlier. You should still try to cover all the course content more than once so that you both learn and remember. The problem with intensive, last minute study can be an overloading of the memory, leading to poor recall in the exam room.

There are several approaches to learning which you may find useful. You may have to select the approaches that are most relevant to your learning needs and type of exam.

• Summaries: reduce the main ideas from lectures, a chapter of a text book or a set of readings to a number of key points that can be memorised. The key points are easier to remember in the exam and will prompt your recall of your notes.
• Recall cards: use a pack of small filing cards to develop a glossary with each card having a term on one side and the description/definition/example/diagram on the other. You can use the cards wherever you are to memorise terms and their meanings.
• Concept maps: start by writing a key idea at the centre of a page, then surround it by concepts that are connected. Make any links that are appropriate, including words. This is a very useful approach for anyone who responds well to visual displays of ideas.
• Mnemonics: make a connection between what you are trying to learn and something you know well. You can do this by connecting the new idea to a familiar word or picture. For example each letter of the word can be used to remind you of a key term/formula/concept that you need to remember.
• Talk through or verbalise concepts: practise describing or explaining a concept to ensure that you really understand it. Some students talk to each other about key terms; others talk to anything, even inanimate objects like teddy bears.
• Problem solving: apply your knowledge and understanding by solving problems (past exam questions, tutorials topics, questions from text books). Working with other students is practical for checking your solutions.
  

Near the exam you will need to:

• allocate more time to revision
• confirm the practical details: date, location, starting time, overall length, number and type of questions, likely allocation of marks, exam weighting (% of study period mark)
• rearrange work or family commitments that might affect your exam performance

Kirsten and Helen