Chapter 9 Revision Techniques and What to Expect in an Exam

General Advice

Like it or not, one of your main preoccupations will be with exams. Time spent in determining the demands of the exam period and orientating your work with these demands in mind is time well spent. Attend your lectures, listen to what is said about exam papers and talk about common problems with other students.

One dictionary defines ‘revision’ as “renewed study with a view to refreshing and repairing gaps in the memory". It is not a substitute for steady, hard work whilst courses are in progress but it is the last stage of the work which has been built on throughout the whole term/semester. The revision period before exams is a time for re-familiarising yourself with ideas which may have been crowded out by more recent work, rather than trying to understand new work.

As with every other aspect of study, you must find out what suits you personally but you may find some of the following advice useful.

Ideally, the process of revision begins when you first meet the material in lectures; the longer you spend getting to know it, the easier it is in the weeks before exams. Decide, with your tutor’s help if necessary, what formulae and proofs you need to memorise and what can be worked out on the spot; find out if there will be a formula sheet in the exam and what it contains. Memorising should not be parrot fashion but by familiarity through regular use.

A useful device for consolidating the lecture course is the preparation of patterned or ‘skeleton’ notes, compiled perhaps from the list of key areas and words, with some indication of their inter-relationships. You should also ascertain the format of the individual exam papers from the lecturer and the topics to be assessed. Revise these areas efficiently, e.g. by means of your skeleton notes. It is important to practice questions, from tutorials/workshops, to consolidate your knowledge. Practice of exam style questions, from past-papers, not only helps consolidate knowledge but allows you to practice time-keeping which is vital in a traditional timed-exam setting.

A planned strategy

Work out a strategy and plan your campaign, for example:

  • Mathematics is best revised, as well as learned, by doing it, in particular, by solving problems.
    Use old exam papers (but check for syllabus changes) for ‘dummy runs’; practice doing exam questions under self-imposed exam conditions. Ask the lecturer to hand out revision sheets of problems of the type that may appear in your exam. This is especially important if there are few, or no, past papers or if there has been a change in the course lecturer or syllabus.

  • Writing things down again, such as basic theorems and results, will simulate what may be required of you in an examination and will aid your memory of them.

  • Prepare a clear plan for your revision and try to stick to it.
    Make a list of aims for each revision session and don’t get side-tracked. You will probably find it helpful to divide each set of notes into topics, perhaps based on past papers or lecture headings, and to revise one topic at a time. However you should also try to get an overall view of the course and look for links between topics. When revising one topic you may want to work through a number of past exam questions on that topic. In doing so you may also encounter difficulties on a quite different topic, since exam questions are often not based on a single topic. Make notes of any such difficulties and come back to them later rather than amend your revision plan.

  • Use your revision to practice examination technique too.
    Get into the habit of reading each question carefully, and analysing its component parts so that you know exactly what is required in the answer. Write your solutions neatly, clearly and concisely. The speed of writing is not so important in mathematics as in essay-based subjects: clarity of thought and economy of expression are what matter. Try a few questions within the time limit which would be allowed for them in the exam. After the time allowed for the question is up, stop and assess what you have done and how it might be improved. You will probably be rather slow at first but as you practice doing questions on a given topic you will speed up. Some students find it helpful to keep one past paper for final run-through under exam conditions.

  • Difficulties which you encounter when trying to do problems and exam questions will force you back to your lecture notes for information on the topic you are revising. This is the right way to get into your notes – you will get no where if you simply sit down and try to read them through from the beginning with the idea that you will try some problems when you have mastered the notes! Remember that you have not achieved mastery of a particular point until you can reproduce proofs etc. with understanding and without reference to your notes, and solve straightforward exercises quickly and with ease.

  • Try to make sure that you really do understand and are able to use the things you think you know. You should aim to be able to do the standard book work and routine parts of questions efficiently and without too much effort.

  • If you have difficulty in trying to cover the entire range of a course, concentrate on a smaller number of topics and revise them thoroughly. Give priority to those topics which appear frequently in past papers and those you feel most at home with. Remember that you are (probably!) not aiming at 100%.

  • Every revision plan should pay special attention to the basic mathematical techniques of the course, especially those which have been used frequently and those from earlier courses which keep cropping up.

  • When going through your notes, homework sheets and past problems on a course, make a list of the points you do not understand and the problems you cannot do. Arrange to see the appropriate lecturer or tutor to go through your difficulties. Bear in mind that everyone else may be doing the same, so you will need to make a proper appointment and try to identify your difficulties as precisely as you can to make the best use of the time that can be given to you. Don’t use this as a substitute for sorting out difficulties earlier in the year immediately after the lecture in which they arose.

  • Work hard, but sensibly – don’t overdo it.
    Make sure you get adequate relaxation, exercise and sleep. For many students it is probably best to avoid working right up to the exam itself; otherwise you may cause your mind to become confused and actually impair your performance in the exam. Some can benefit from looking up theorems, definitions, formulae etc. at the last moment but others may do better by taking a complete break for the last few hours. The important thing is to know yourself and what works for you.

Active revision with other students

There are enormous benefits to be gained by working with your fellow students, solving problems together and helping with each other’s difficulties. Your fellow students should be a great help to you and you to them. Here are two examples of how you could work with friends to ‘sort out’ past exam papers and to get to know what is required (i.e. to learn how to play the system).

  • Take a set of past exam papers and write each question on an index card. On the other side note down the content areas or topic of the question, the nature of the question (e.g. define, prove, calculate) and try to analyse a little further what each question demands (e.g. recall of standard ‘bookwork’ critical evaluation, problem solving). Sort the cards to establish the frequency of different topics and different types of questions. Compare your classifications with those of fellow students and even tutors. Learn from each other the nature of exam questions in your course.

  • Pick an exam paper and make systematic notes on how you would answer one of the questions. Compare your notes with those of other students doing the same exercise. Work out together what would make a good answer. Then write a complete answer and swap these around for marking. Try to discuss systematically why different attempts are differently valued.

What to Expect in an Exam (and how to prepare)

In this small section we provide a brief overview of what to expect from (and how to prepare for) the exam.

  • Prior to the exam
    • Prior to the exam period, the university will publish an exam timetable which will list the exam dates, times and locations. Be sure to check where and when all your exams are scheduled; add them to your calendar and set reminders.
    • Nothing will replace good preparation so follow our tips in the first part of this chapter.
    • Pack your supplies for the exam the night before. You will need pens, a calculator and your student ID. (You may wish to have some snacks and water too).
    • Set your alarm and have a good night’s sleep!
    • Eat breakfast, a 2 to 3 hour exam requires stamina!
  • In the exam
    • Arrive in good time, now is the time to use the bathroom.
    • When you enter the hall/room find your seat and set out your supplies.
    • When time starts, fill in the exam booklet as per the instructions. You may also wish to jot down any formulae on the booklet so that you can refer to them as the exam goes on.
    • Read the instructions at the start of the paper; do you need to answer all questions or only (for example) 4 out of 5.
    • Read through the whole paper, making a mental note of the type of question and topic covered - which do you prefer?
    • Start with your comfortable topics, you do not need to answer in order. But do make sure you clearly mark the question number in the margin.
    • After attempting all questions, go back and check your answers. Double check ‘simple’ calculations, it is easy to make a mistake under pressure.
    • You can do rough work but ensure to write your final answer clearly and logically and score out any incorrect workings. You can ask for more paper if needed.
    • If you genuinely feel there is a mistake in the paper, raise your hand and ask the invigilator. They are there to help you.
  • What if you get stuck?
    • Take a deep breath and stay calm.
    • Re-read the question.
    • Jot down some ideas/related formulae this can help you recall the next step.
    • Try to work backwards; working from the end can help you see connections. Make sure you write the solution out in the correct order before you finish.
    • If you are still stuck, move on. You can come back to the question but you cannot get back lost time.
  • After the Exam
    • Forget about it; prepare for the next paper if there is one, or relax if you are finished!

Summary

Revision:

  • Prepare a revision plan and do your best to stick to it.
  • Cover the whole course, working through problems, tutorials and referring to notes.
  • Practice the past-paper questions. Keep some of the questions to do under ‘exam conditions’ and timings.
  • Seek help from tutors/lecturers when you come across an issue. Make an appointment, take your notes and have a clear idea of what you want to ask them.
  • Work with friends, draft solutions together and test each other’s knowledge of key points from the course.

In the exam:

  • Ensure you know where and when your exam is and pack the supplies you will need the night before.
  • Read all the questions before you start to answer and start with a topic you are comfortable with.
  • If you get stuck do not panic, move onto another question and come back to it later.