exam tips

Exam Tips

tips for the day of your exam to boost your exam performance.
21. To sum up
When it comes to written answers in science exams, your teen should always be looking for signals in the questions. They should ask themselves what is this question really asking me to do? Of course the questions wont tell them the answers exactly, but there are always patterns to look for in questions that will come up time and time and again.
22. How To Make Semester Study Count Towards Exam Study
Todays study technique is to help your teen make their semester study more effective in preparing for exams and other forms of assessment.
It will help your teen stay on track during semester as they focus on how what theyre learning in school will be assessed.
This technique is something that Ive only started applying regularly this year, but I so wish someone had told me about it years ago
Luckily your teen doesnt have to wait until the end of university to put this technique to use.
23. How it works
The idea of this study technique is to frame your revision around the types of questions the exam or other assessment is going to ask you. I think the best way to explain this is to use an example. If your teen is studying Biology, lets say specifically mitosis and meiosis. They know that they will be assessed on both of these in the exam.
It would be tempting to simply learn the steps of each process separately.
Thats absolutely fine, and would probably see your teen get a decent grade. But if I wanted to absolutely ace the exam, whilst studying I would ask myself how is this topic going to be assessed?
24. How this technique can turn Cs into As
This study technique could be the ah ha moment your teen is looking for. For all those students that actually do put in the study hours but dont get the grades they were hoping for, making this relatively simple change in their study process should enhance their ability to convey to examiners that they understand the issue thats embedded in the question.
To get those top grades, examiners are often looking for that little bit extra that in depth understanding something that separates your teens answer from the rest of the pack.
Obviously your teen cannot predict the exact questions that are going to come up in assessment, but they should be able to making a fairly good guess at the types of questions that are likely to come up, like my mitosis/meiosis compare and contrast example.
25. 3 Simple Tips For Improving Your Teens Memory
When youre frantically scribbling a semesters worth of information onto a page during an exam, memory becomes very, very important.
Of course the field of memory is a dedicated area of interest for scientists. What is going on in our hippocampus and how can we harness its amazing powers? That is not a question to be answered in todays article. I would struggle with that one.
But I do have a few nifty ideas about how you can help your teen improve their information retention at home.
26. If its important write it down
For most students there is a real benefit in writing stuff down. This is why writing study notes is such an important part of exam preparation.
Theres something about the process of writing something down going through the motions of putting pen to paper that helps information stick in our memories. Your teen is unlikely to remember something simply by reading about it once. A good rule of thumb is that if its important enough to know for the exam, write it down.
I would also say, that in this digital age where 3 year olds know how to use an iPad better than I do seriously , your teen might never hand write anything anymore and thats a discussion for another day , and if thats their preference and it works for them, then typing the important stuff can be just as good as hand writing.
27. Hard facts and flash cards
An oldy but such a goody.
When it comes to memorizing hard facts for subjects like History and English, elements of the periodic table, your teen doesnt need anything better than good ol fashioned flash cards.
Nothing is as good a substitute really, because its very well to think you remember something when youre reading over your notes, but this isnt a true test of your memory.
But with flash cards theres no oh yes I know that. You either know the answer or you dont.
Theyre also a great tool to utilise throughout the semester. If you can help your teen make some now, they can practice memorizing the facts they need to know every week until their exams and add to them as the term progresses , and as we all know, practice makes perfect.
28. Talking it over
If we wind back the clock a few years, we have Chris and I getting ready for our Biomed exams.
Chris is one of those annoying people who only has to read something or hear something once and hes got it. I on the other hand, have to work at my memory retention a bit more. Hmph. Theres no way Im going to remember something I wrote down a week ago. I need to further input.
Well theres one thing in particular that I swear by when it comes memory retention and thats discussing your study notes with someone.
29. Has Your Teen Figured Out Their Study Formula Yet
Today Im asking you this question, because if the answer is no, then its no wonder your teen is getting the grades theyre truly capable of.
If you dont what I mean by Study Formula you can find out all the gory details here and here.
But the abridged version is simply this: Your teens Study Formula is the tried and proven process they go through every time they have to study for a test or exam. Their Study Formula should be made up of all the study methods and techniques they employ when they study.
30. Is your teen struggling to study effectively
Two common sources of worry for parents is that their teen cant concentrate for very long, and that their teen does study but doesnt get the results they should from it.
Does this sound familiar? Of course there are many factors that may be contributing to why your teen isnt getting the grades theyre capable of, but if theyre having the problems Ive described above, then Id bet good money its because they havent quite figured out their Study Formula.
Lets say your teen is quite a visual learner. Well if theyre trying to study by reading a text book or course book from front to back, its no wonder theyre dying of boredom and finding it difficult to retain information.
What they need to do, is incorporate some visual learner study techniques into their Study Formula.
If your teen engages in a study technique that is better suited to the way that THEY learn, this can only help improve their concentration and information retention.