This document provides helpful and practical tips from a student who achieved regular distinctions, and who worked as a lecturing assistant in their department. The tips are written from this unique perspective of both student and marker. The document covers general tips, tips for answering essay t...
TIPS TO EARN MORE MARKS IN TESTS AND EXAMS
(From the perspective of a student and a marker)
General answering tips
• Read the entire question paper before starting to answer anything. If there are any
questions which you are not certain of, reread these a few times. You will not run out of
time because you read through the entire paper first, but you might run out of time if you
don’t and come across a question which frightens you near the end.
• Start answering your question paper with the questions you are most comfortable with. As
long as you clearly label each question, the marker generally does not care in what order
they are answered. For example:
• End the test/exam with the questions you are most unsure about. Do not start with these
as your uncertainty and fear will shut off your memory and will likely cause you to panic
through the rest of the questions, even the ones you know the answers to. Rather get top
marks for the questions you know the answers to, and leave the questions you are unsure
about, than loose marks on every question because you scrambled your brain by trying to
do the hardest ones first.
• The general rule for how long a test or exam should take is 1 minute per mark. If the test
is 50 marks, you should be able to finish it in 50 minutes or less (although most
examiners/markers will give you an extra 10-20 mins to fill a timeslot). This rule applies to
individual questions as well. If the question is 20 marks, it should take you 20 minutes or
less to answer it fully. If you notice you are not keeping up with this rule, you do not know
your work well enough.
• Make use of rhymes/stories to remember lists of information. Take the first letter from each
key point in the list, or each heading, and create a story about it so that you can remember
the keys points easily by remembering the story. For example, to remember the correct
order of taxonomic classification, you take the first letter from each taxa and create a rhyme
such as:
King Phillip Came Over For Great Sex – will help you remember –
Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species.
• You can apply this rhyming system to any list of information you need to remember. If the
list is more than 8-10 points, break the rhyme up into two or more parts to make it easier
to remember. For this to be an effective study method, you must have summarised the
work and identified the key points of information, this is what your rhyme will be based on.
Essay questions
• These types of questions are often phrased as:
o Explain in detail…
o Fully explain…
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through EFT, credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying this summary from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller LaurenLAnge94. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy this summary for R0,00. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
