Exams

back to NCEA - look under specific subjects for exam papers
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Describe - requires you to

 * recognise
 * name
 * draw
 * give characteristics of
 * give an account of

Explain - requires you to
provide a reason as to __how__ or __why__ something occurs.

Discuss - requires you to
link ideas by
 * justifying
 * relating
 * evaluating
 * comparing & contrasting
 * analysing

10 steps to revision success:

 * 1) **Revision space:** Find a good place to work. It should be quiet and uncluttered.
 * 2) **Revision timetable:** Draw up a revision timetable - it's crucial. It should be realistic, cover all subjects and allow you time off to relax.
 * 3) **Make notes:** Don't just read through your class work, make notes. One useful tip is to gradually condense your notes so they fit on the back of a postcard.
 * 4) **Revision guides:** Get a recommendation from your teacher as to which are most useful and then make sure you use them!
 * 5) **Questions and answers:** Write out some questions and answers to see how much you're actually remembering.
 * 6) **Listen in:** Read your notes onto a cassette and then play them walking down the street or whilst you're in bed.
 * 7) **Prompts:** Put key words and phrases on sticky notes around the house, so you'll see them often.
 * 8) **Seek help!:** Don't go it alone. They say a problem shared is a problem halved. So, get friends and family on board to help you revise.
 * 9) **Past papers:** Make sure you get hold of some past papers, they're a really good way of knowing what to expect in the exam.
 * 10) **Relax:** If you panic you're lost! The exams are going to happen so you might as well give yourself the best chance of doing well by starting to revise early and keeping calm.

8 steps to surviving exams

 * 1) **Timing:** Make sure you know how much time you will have in the exam, what kind of questions you will be asked, and how many there will be. That way you can split your time between the questions to make sure they all get answered.
 * 2) **End of exam:** When you're doing an exam that involves long answers - for example English, it's a good idea to leave some space at the end of the answer so you can add any additional comments or arguments that might come to mind when you reread your paper at the end of the exam.
 * 3) **Move on:** Don't spend all your time on questions you know the answer to. Remember that you have to answer all the questions, and you will get a worse mark for answering some questions supremely well and some not at all.
 * 4) **Handwriting:** Make sure you're writing is legible, it's worth taking a little extra time making sure your work is neat enough for the examiner to be able to read it. Try to avoid spelling mistakes too!
 * 5) **Be prepared:** The more prepared you are the more likely you are to succeed. Take good notes. Have a revision plan
 * 6) **Keep calm:** Most importantly, DON'T PANIC! If you feel yourself getting stressed take a deep breath.
 * 7) **Exam post-mortem:** Don't try to dissect the exam once you've finished it. There's no point going through what answers you put down compared to your friend. If you've put down different answers it's not going to help you in your next exam by worrying about it.
 * 8) **Move on:** Once an exam is over forget about it. There is nothing more you can do about it. The best thing you can do is go home and revise for the next one.

Don't panic!
"Make yourself feel more positive by visualising the exams going well"
 * Revise:** Make and stick to your revision timetable. This will make you feel in control of your work.
 * Study everything:** Don't not revise a subject because you don't like it or find it hard. You'll still have an exam on it so it's important to cover everything.
 * Check dates and times:** It's your responsibility to get to your exams on the right day and at the right time so make sure you do!
 * Get organised:** Make sure you pack your bag and check you have everything you need for the exam the night before.
 * Early to bed:** Don't stay up late cramming for your exams - you need to be fresh for the next day. So get to bed at a reasonable time and don't forget to set your alarm for the morning!
 * Think positive:** Make yourself feel more positive by visualising the exams going well. Imagine you are confident and relaxed during the exam. Try to imagine the scene in as much detail as possible. If you do have negative thoughts replace them with this positive image.
 * Relax:** Make sure you have time out in the lead up to the exams. Worrying constantly won't help you do any better in the exams so take time to chill out.
 * Eat breakfast:** Even if you don't feel like eating before the exam try and eat something for breakfast, your brain needs energy to work.
 * Avoid caffeine:** Drinking lots of coffee or other drinks containing lots of caffeine is not a good idea as this can make you feel more nervous.
 * Keep calm:** If you start to feel nervous, breathe deeply.
 * Don't panic:** Say to yourself in your head 'I CAN do this exam'.
 * Perspective:** Overall, remember that although exams are important, they are not the be all and end all. You can always re-take them.

Dos and don'ts of exams

 * Be realistic:** It's worth thinking before you go into the exam what exactly you are trying to achieve. What grade are you hoping to attain? This way you go in there knowing it doesn't matter how anyone else does - you have your goal and that is what you should keep in mind.
 * Full answers:** Unless you write the full answer down the examiner will not know that you know the answer. He/she is not telepathic and can only go by what you've written down. You will not get marks for writing a lot, or having pretty handwriting.
 * No repetition:** Don't repeat the question, the examiner will already know what is it and you don't need to waste valuable time and energy rewriting it (you won't get extra marks).
 * Complete answers:** Ask yourself have you answered every part of the question? It will be worth a certain amount of marks and if you only answer part of it you will only get the marks dedicated to that part of the question, no matter how fabulously well you answer it.
 * Show workings out:** If you're doing a maths exam that involves calculations either write your workings out very clearly or make notes next to them so you teacher can work out what you've done. Even if you've lost the plot half the way through and the answer is wrong, if the teacher can see what you were trying to do you will get some marks.
 * Clear handwriting:** Write clearly in blue or black ink. Don't decide to suddenly get creative and write in red or green or anything else unusual. It annoys examiners! Also don't do what I do which is spend five minutes underlining titles in different colours and using rulers - it won't gain extra marks.

8 steps to an A grade:

 * 1) **Read everything:** It's worth reading the whole exam paper very quickly from start to finish. That way you can get a feel for the questions and know exactly how much you've got to get done in an allocated time.
 * 2) **Choose carefully:** Once you've read through the exam paper you'll know how many questions you need to answer. It's worth taking a few more minutes to decide which questions you think you can answer the best. A wrong hasty decision could cost you marks.
 * 3) **Plan your answer:** Examiners say that time given to planning is an important factor in successful writing. Your plan is your route to organised writing and higher marks. It might be worth highlighting the key words in the question you have chosen and noting how many marks you get for each question. That should give you a rough guide to how long to spend on it.
 * 4) **Facts and figures:** If you're writing an answer that requires you to quote facts, figures and quotations then make sure you include them! It sounds obvious but often people get so caught up in getting their answer down they forget to include all the important stuff!
 * 5) **Write clearly:** Make sure you use a blue or black pen to write your answers and try to make sure your handwriting is legible. Remember examiners will mark hundreds of papers - you don't want to give them any excuse to mark you down.
 * 6) **Clock watch:** Make sure you keep an eye on the time as you're going through the exam paper. You should have a rough idea how long to spend on each section and try not to go over that or you may not finish it in time.
 * 7) **Answer all questions:** Again it sounds simple but you'd be surprised how many students don't read the instructions or don't check the last page of the exam paper and end up missing valuable marks.
 * 8) **Remember what you've learned:** You will do many practise questions and paper in the lead up to the exams. And, whilst you won't get the exact same questions in your real exams you will be able to apply some of the things you've learnt and try not to make the same mistakes again.

Are you finding it difficult to focus on exams? Does everything feel like a distraction from revision? Never fear, these top tips will help focus your mind and improve your concentration span.
 * 1) **Remove distractions:** Find a quiet, comfortable place to study, away from people or the TV. Noise, uncomfortable surroundings and interruptions from other people all affect your ability to concentrate.
 * 2) **Find your best time of day:** Do tasks that need most concentration at times when you are mentally and physically fresh. If you are tired and hungry, your ability to concentrate will be reduced.
 * 3) **Set a goal:** Decide on a goal for your study session. What do you want to achieve? Focus on this, rather than the long-term consequences of your work, like exams.
 * 4) **Focus:** Focus on the work in front of you and don't give in to distractions. For example, if you're listening to your teacher explain something, disregard everyone else in the room and focus completely on what they are saying. Again, this takes practice.
 * 5) **Positive attitude:** Tell yourself that whatever you do will be your absolute best. Don't say 'I can't do it' or 'it must be perfect'.
 * 6) **Rest/Stretch time:** Take short breaks, and get up and walk around. When we move, blood is pumped around the body and more oxygen is sent to the brain.
 * 7) **Changing the subject:** It's better not to concentrate on the same subject for too long. You will absorb more information if you change subject or topic every one to two hours.
 * 8) **Reward yourself:** Give yourself an incentive. By having something to look forward to when you finish your work, you are more likely to get stuck in.