Exam preparation skills

Exam
Preparation Skills
Muhammad Arslan
arslan.jm13@gmail.com

WELCOME PARTICIPANTS

Program Objectives
• Understand and control Exam Stress
• Exam-Long Term Planning
• Ten (10) Key Steps to Examination Success
• Motivate for Exam Success (General Strategies)

EXAMINATION…..??
 An examination is a test to measure that how good
somebody is in performing and doing something.
 In education an examination (exam for short) is a
test to measure the knowledge and ability of a
student.

TYPES OF EXAMINATION
1. Multiple choice exams
2. Short and long answer exams
3. Essay exams
4. Open-book and take-home exams
5. Problem or case-based exams
6. Oral exams
7. An on-screen test is a test which uses the computer.

Why Exams?
• Ability to Recall and Apply Theory
• Knowledge of the Content Area
• Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills
• Communication Skills
• Ability to Work Alone and Under Pressure
• Authenticity of Our Work

What is Exam Stress?

Exam Stress
We lose our concentration and started feeling angry and
annoyed. Sometimes this ends up in depression.

But do not worry
exam stress is a
complete
controllable
state.

Symptoms of Exam Stress
• Feeling difficulty in getting out sleep or waking up
• Started forgetting things that we have read or learn
• Losing interest in activities
• Unexpected and unexplainable dull pain
• Feeling constantly tired and increased heart rate
• Migraines or headaches, Feeling dizzy most of the time
• Anxiety and irritated feeling

How to Control Exam Stress?
• Learn when we feel stressed.
Start taking breaks

• Eat careful; make sure that we take proper food
which includes more fruits.

• Take proper sleep.
• Try to avoid studying on the bed.

• Exercise is the one best way to control our stress.

• Always remember
exams are not the only thing in the life.
• There is a life after the exams.

Before the Exam: Long-Term
Planning

Useful Strategies for Long Term Planning
 Identify your learning style
 Auditory Learner
 Visual Learner
 Kinesthetic Learner

Useful Strategies for Long Term
Planning
 Identifying the most important issues in each theme
from the course outline, lecture and tutorial notes
and past exam papers
 Developing a list of likely questions on each topic
 Developing question analysis skills
 Talking through the questions and topics with other
students

Before the Exam: Final Weeks
 Its time to fine tune of our
understanding about the topics
and concepts.
 Develop an overview.

Nearer to the Exam We Will Need to:
 Allocate more time to revision
 Write practice answers keeping to the time in mind that will
be allowed in the exam
 Re-arrange work or family commitments that might affect our
exam performance

On the Day of the Exam
 Read the instructions carefully
 Note how many questions we must answer, any
compulsory questions or sections and the allocation
of marks
 Allocate time for each question
 If we are allowed to write, a little amount down
ideas or plans for questions

During Writing Time
o Analyze questions carefully to understand what to do
o Start with questions that we know best, this will
boost confidence
o Monitor progress so that we do not go over time on
any section of the paper
o Make sure that the number that we put on our answer
matches the number on the question
o Leave time at the end to check our writings

After the Exam
 Review our performance and take note of anything
we want to change next time
 If our performance was disappointing, make time to
discuss our exam paper with the course coordinator
to find out what we did to lose marks

Extra Time in Exams
• The use of an English print dictionary
• Extra reading or writing time, normally 10 minutes
• The use of a bilingual print dictionary

Session 3
Ten Key Steps to Examination Success

10 Key Steps
1. Prepare for the Examination.
2. Look at Past Papers.
3. Never Try to 'Spot' Questions and Never Revise
Selectively.

10 Key Steps
4. During the examination,
Organize Our Time
Effectively. This is the
Single Most Common Cause
of Under-Achievement in
Exams.

10 Key Steps
5. Always Answer the Full
Number of Questions.
6. Read the Question Carefully,
Underline all the Relevant
Words and Stick Rigidly to
the Question as Set

10 Key Steps
7. For every question, stop writing after the first few
minutes and re-read the question, then stop again to
recheck before our time is up.
8. Make Rough Notes at the Start of a Question, so as
to Organize Our Thoughts.

10 Key Steps
9. Never Answer more Questions than Required.

10 Key Steps
10. Put Our self in an Examiner's Shoes and Ask 'What
Impresses an Examiner?

Achieve Exam Success with
Exam Time
1. Memorize small chunks of information at a time
2. Use several revision and memory methods
3. Seek guidance if our methods are not working very
well.

Exam Time
4. Test our self as we go along.
5. Involve friends or family to help
6. Identify the specific points we need help with and
then get the help we need.

Exam Time
7. Use a copy of the syllabus as a checklist for what we
know and what we still need to work on
8. Make it fun & enjoy it with a good imagination this
works

General Strategies for
Students’ Motivation
to Success

Motivation Theory
• Students usually direct their behavior toward activities
that they value and in which they have some
expectancy of success.

Capitalize on Students' Existing
Needs
• Use students’ interest and natural curiosity appeal aid
in motivation. Students will be motivated to learn
when the course is structured in a way that students
learn best when incentives for learning in a classroom
satisfy their own motives for enrolling in the course.

Make Students Active
Participants in Learning
• Students learn by doing, making, writing, designing,
creating and solving. Passivity reduces students'
motivation and curiosity. Encourage students to
suggest approaches to a problem or to guess the
results of an experiment.

Hold High But Realistic
Expectations
• Program students for success While exams and
assignments should still be challenging, they should
also offer students a reasonable chance for success.

Achievable Goals for
Themselves.
• Failure to attain unrealistic goals can disappoint and
frustrate students. Encourage students to focus on
their continued improvement rather than just on their
grade on any one test or assignment.

Tell Students What They Need
to Do to Succeed in Course.
• Do not let our students struggle to figure out what is
expected of them. Reassure students that they can do
well in course and tell them exactly what they must do
to succeed.

Strengthen Students' Self-
Motivation.
• Avoid messages that reinforce our power as an
instructor or that emphasizes extrinsic rewards.
Instead of saying "I require," "you must," or "you
should," stress "I think you will find," or "I will be
interested in your reaction."

Avoid Creating Intense
Competition among Students.
• Students are more attentive, display better
comprehension, produce more work and are more
favorable to the teaching method when they work
cooperatively in groups rather than compete as
individuals.

Be Enthusiastic about Subject
• An instructor's enthusiasm is an essential factor in
student motivation. If we become bored or indifferent,
students will too. Typically, an instructor's enthusiasm
comes from confidence, excitement about the content
and genuine pleasure in teaching.

Exam preparation skills

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