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.
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