Exam Technique

Preparation

1) Plan a Revision Strategy

If you read your lecture notes this is not very efficient, You need to develop aide memoires, cues that will remind you of facts. Figure and places, also remember principles rather than just bare facts, so that the principles of how something works or how to do something will come back to your brain. You need to do more than just read, make up mnemonics and write summaries , find the key facts or issues and write them down, solve problems if your exams are problem based summative assessments

2) Have a revision plan

Have a good revision plan, and stick to it and try and make it interesting, not just one subject at a time or one subject a day, as this is boring, try and vary what you do, e.g. do one subject in the morning and another in the afternoon, and also plan around some rest breaks and relaxation, Preparing for an exam is like preparing for a marathon, you have to train hard but also effectively.

3) Do old exam papers for practice.

Old exam papers for Leaving Certificate in Ireland are on the www.Examinations.ie website, free of charge. Work through the exam papers. You need to work through past papers to help your chances of doing well in an exam. Make sure also that you do the past papers in the correct allotted time

4) Guess What Questions May Come Up Again

There are always some questions that come up again and again each year, sometimes in a slightly different sort of way or with a different emphasis. It’s up to you to try and guess what these might be from looking at the past exam papers.

5) If you can’t do the past papers – ask your teachers or tutors for help.