SPS Revision
Exam Tips PPS
First of all you will not do as well as you should if you do not:
Sleep. Stop work an hour before you go to bed and DO SOMETHING ELSE.
Eat. And eat properly. You cannot live off of chocolate. I have tried.
Drink. Water, lots of lovely water. Take a bottle with you to the library and keep filling it up.
Subject specific revision stuff:
Revision Plan. Which topics are you going to revise? Which are you dropping completely? I can guarantee other stuff will get in the way so plan ahead for this.
Revision Supervisions. These are a MUST. Get hold of your supervisor and sort out one or two sessions to go over questions etc. Set an essay for exam practice (I hour ONLY and NO notes) and hand it in before the supervision.
Make connections. How do the lectures/terms/subjects connect up? I wouldn’t suggest bringing masses of Anth into a Pol exam answer but it does make you think – which is the whole point of these exams.
Read new material. Look online for journals. They are short and much more to the point than books. How does this stuff link to what you’ve already read?
Essay Plans. These are a great way to practice organising your thoughts. What do YOU want to argue? Stuff Gellner, Hobbes and Levi-Strauss. What are the counterarguments to what you’ve written? What are the limitations to what you are claiming? Practice writing introductions and conclusions – make sure they aren’t too long as the examiner DOES read the whole darn thing.
Practice essays. So how much can you write in 45 minutes (15 for planning/deep breathing)? You need to practice thinking and writing under pressure. Email me and I’ll sit with you in Pem library to do this.
Coloured pens. Make revision interesting for you however you can. Spider diagrams are great for making connections. Last year, I made a ‘How to be a good parent’ guide to revise Psych.
Revise together. Set yourselves a question, write a plan and find something new to bring in – from a journal or something in the news perhaps – then meet up in pairs/as a group to discuss. Argue with each other - play the devil’s advocate.
The Exam itself:
Read the questions. Choose one (relatively quickly) that really interests you and make sure you understand it.
Planning. Spend about 15 minutes planning – a well planned, shorter (though complete) essay will get you much higher marks than a very long incoherent one. What are you going to argue and what evidence/reading are you going to use to back this up? What are the counterarguments? How are you going to respond to these? Keep it clear.
Analyze the concepts. Don’t take concept in the question for granted as they are a great way for getting into and structuring the essay.
Proof read. Spelling? Missed words? Have you actually ANSWERED THE BLEEDING QUESTION?!!! This means re-reading the question and your final paragraph – have you given an answer?
I will put a Study Skills Handbook in my pidge (C Lawes) when I get back for you to borrow. Please have a read then put it back for someone else.
Good Luck!!
Charlotte xxx