Exam Technique For A level
Most A level students will be nervous before taking examinations. When there is a great deal riding on the outcome of an event, you are naturally going to be tense and worried about it going wrong. However, you are in control of the outcome. The better your preparation for exams, the better your chances of getting the outcome you want.
Try some of these tips during and just before your exams:
¢ In the exam, when told to open the paper, do not begin writing until you have familiarised yourself with the questions and read through the first question slowly and carefully. If you have a choice of questions, some students select the easiest first. This helps build confidence.
¢ Underlining key words in a question may help
you to focus you thoughts and jog your memory.
you to focus you thoughts and jog your memory.
¢ Structure answers using a plan. This is crucial when writing essays. If you have three essays to write, you may want to plan them all first before you write them. Make sure you plan your time well if you do this.
¢ Allocate your time according to the mark allocations given for each question. Why write ten lines for a two-mark question when you could be using that time to attempt a longer question with more marks available?
Answering three questions quite well is usually better than answering one very well and leaving the other two untouched or badly done. Nothing comes from nothing!
Answering three questions quite well is usually better than answering one very well and leaving the other two untouched or badly done. Nothing comes from nothing!
¢ If you think you know the answer, you probably do! No marks are available for writing nothing. If you are really stumped, don’t panic. Try and remember something your teacher said one day all those months ago. If you really can’t answer a question, forget it and move on to the next one.
¢ Exams at A level are not designed to trip you up. They are there to allow you to demonstrate your knowledge. You might even enjoy your examinations! Have confidence in your own ability
Identify the causes
Identify the causes of poor concentration and decide how to overcome them through variety of strategies.
External causes like television, comfortable sofas, environmental distraction, noises, music, snacks, friends, gossip etc. can be controlled if you are seriously intend to develop concentration.
Internal causes like anxiety about the results, boredom, health issues, disinterest, fear of failure Fear of rejection, fear of forgetfulness, day dreaming, love affairs, financial difficulties and so on. Such issues can be dealt by developing positive attitude, eating healthy food with other necessary precautions
QUESTION Set a purpose for your reading by developing
questions about the material. Use the topic and heading information you
gathered in the survey step to create questions to be answered. Begin asking
yourself who, what, where, when, why, and how questions. Questions are most
beneficial when they are general, covering main topics and important points.
REVIEW After completing the entire chapter, scan back over the reading and review the information aloud or in your head. Talk about the material with a classmate if possible. Try to identify overall themes and relationships between concepts. Make any necessary revisions of your notes or markings so they can be easily understood later..
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SQ5R Study Method
Sometime ago back a student visited my office and requested me to help him to develop concentration in studies. He was appearing for competitive examinations. After little introduction I asked him,
“So you feel that you don’t have enough concentration in studies?
“Yes sir, not just enough, absolutely zero. When I study for two hours, but I hardly concentrate on the subject, my mind keeps wandering . I don’t know, why.”
I asked him a simple question. If you are unable to concentrate on studies, how do you concentrate on suppose television show or cricket match?
“Yes sir, instantaneously I get concentration. I can watch TV for hours together. Sometimes whenever I getbored of studies I go to a movie with friends to enjoy t.”
“So you feel that you don’t have enough concentration in studies?
“Yes sir, not just enough, absolutely zero. When I study for two hours, but I hardly concentrate on the subject, my mind keeps wandering . I don’t know, why.”
I asked him a simple question. If you are unable to concentrate on studies, how do you concentrate on suppose television show or cricket match?
“Yes sir, instantaneously I get concentration. I can watch TV for hours together. Sometimes whenever I getbored of studies I go to a movie with friends to enjoy t.”
This case is common among students all over the world. When you don’t focus on the books, you miss concentration and visualise the subject they are interested in or worry.
In reality every human being and every creature on the surface of this earth have enough concentration, otherwise we cannot survive. For instance an eagle flying in the air sees a creature crawling on earth, concentrates on it and suddenly catches it and flies back. It estimates the distance, then maintains time and speed accordingly. A snake sees the frog, concentrates, catches the frog and swallows it, a tiger sees a deer chases without diverting concentration and finally catches.
In reality every human being and every creature on the surface of this earth have enough concentration, otherwise we cannot survive. For instance an eagle flying in the air sees a creature crawling on earth, concentrates on it and suddenly catches it and flies back. It estimates the distance, then maintains time and speed accordingly. A snake sees the frog, concentrates, catches the frog and swallows it, a tiger sees a deer chases without diverting concentration and finally catches.
“Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus”.
—Alexander Graham Bell
“A group of friends went to a jungle to practice shooting. They kept few pots at a distance and targeted them. None of them could hit even a single pot.
A saint who was watching them started laughing. One of them went to him and asked, “Why are you laughing? Do you know how to shoot?”
The saint took the gun and fired at the pots and smashed all of them one by one. The youth were amazed to see this and asked the saint if he was a magician.
The saint replied, “I am neither a magician nor a sharpshooter. I just concentrated only one pot and fired, then second pot and so on, you have seen the result. One should always work with concentration.”
The art of concentration is not difficult to learn. It is a practice of focusing on the task at hand and eliminating distraction. Sometimes, when you study a subject under peer pressure, your mind tends to wander from one thing to another. Everybody has concentration power, but inner worries, distractions by other and boring material may lead to lack of concentration on particular thing.
—Alexander Graham Bell
“A group of friends went to a jungle to practice shooting. They kept few pots at a distance and targeted them. None of them could hit even a single pot.
A saint who was watching them started laughing. One of them went to him and asked, “Why are you laughing? Do you know how to shoot?”
The saint took the gun and fired at the pots and smashed all of them one by one. The youth were amazed to see this and asked the saint if he was a magician.
The saint replied, “I am neither a magician nor a sharpshooter. I just concentrated only one pot and fired, then second pot and so on, you have seen the result. One should always work with concentration.”
The art of concentration is not difficult to learn. It is a practice of focusing on the task at hand and eliminating distraction. Sometimes, when you study a subject under peer pressure, your mind tends to wander from one thing to another. Everybody has concentration power, but inner worries, distractions by other and boring material may lead to lack of concentration on particular thing.
Identify the causes of poor concentration and decide how to overcome them through variety of strategies.
External causes like television, comfortable sofas, environmental distraction, noises, music, snacks, friends, gossip etc. can be controlled if you are seriously intend to develop concentration.
Internal causes like anxiety about the results, boredom, health issues, disinterest, fear of failure Fear of rejection, fear of forgetfulness, day dreaming, love affairs, financial difficulties and so on. Such issues can be dealt by developing positive attitude, eating healthy food with other necessary precautions
SIMPLE TIPS
- Put up a sign board, ‘not now please’ on the study table. When your mind wanders, look at it and come back to books.
- Avoid cell phone, television, chatting, and computer games on internet while studying.
- Listen to soft instrumental songs instead of songs with lyrics.
- Make a perfect timetable and stick to the schedule to achieve success. Stick to a routine, efficient study schedule.
- Studying early morning helps you concentrate instead of night out.
- Before you sit to study, take a few minutes to summarise few objectives, gather what you need, and think of a general strategy of accomplishment of the objectives
- Create an incentive if necessary for successfully completing a task, such as a food treat, a walk, etc.
- Don’t study a single subject continuously. Monotony creates disinterest even in the subject you are interested in. Changing the subject you study every one to two hours for variety may create interest.
- Take breaks while studying
- Aviod day dreaming while studying.
- Try combined studies as it increases your activity level.
- Visualise your success through relaxation, hypnotism or meditation, which helps you to become the person you have wanted to be
The SQ5R study method enables students to actively study
textbooks and readings. This method helps
students process information actively which in turn leads to higher memory and
mastery of the material.
SURVEY Before reading the actual chapter, read the
introduction and summary (if given). Skim through the chapter paying attention to topic
headings, bold-faced words, pictures, charts, and graphs.
These can give you an idea of the general structure and content
before you begin reading.
QUESTION Set a purpose for your reading by developing
questions about the material. Use the topic and heading information you
gathered in the survey step to create questions to be answered. Begin asking
yourself who, what, where, when, why, and how questions. Questions are most
beneficial when they are general, covering main topics and important points.
READ Break the material into sections that will take about
20 minutes to read (often the chapter is already broken into sections which
will work just fine). Read the material section by section. Look for answers to
your questions, key concepts, and supporting details. Study charts, graphs,
tables, and pictures. These can serve to present new information as well as tie
together concepts from the reading.
RESPOND After each section, think about the material you
have just read and answer the questions you have asked. This can be done at the
same time as the reading step, since often response is automatic. The main
point of this step is to think about the material, and take notice of what is important.
RECORD Go back and underline key concepts and take notes.
This can be done on a separate sheet of paper, on note cards, in the margins of
the textbook, or any way that works well for you. (Do this after each section.)
RECITE Next, look
away from the material and try to recite the key information and ideas. Put the
material in your own words and go back and re-read until you feel comfortable
with it. This may be frustrating at first, but it will lead to better
understanding and save you review time in the long run.
(Do this after each section.)
REVIEW After completing the entire chapter, scan back over the reading and review the information aloud or in your head. Talk about the material with a classmate if possible. Try to identify overall themes and relationships between concepts. Make any necessary revisions of your notes or markings so they can be easily understood later..
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