PREVIEW

PREVIEW Preparing For & Performing In Any Exam For Any Subject In Any Jurisdiction

Like Tutoring. Only Easier.

Tim Miller Perfect Score in VCE English Nick Campbell 99 ATAR Noah Farrelly Perfect Score in VCE English, 98 ATAR

Contents Brief Advice For Any Exam Brief Advice For Essay Exams The Comprehensive Guide   For Any Exam, On Any Subject, In Any Jurisdiction • Preparing and Learning • Understanding The Task • Executing In The Room Preparation Material (Checklists / Templates / Table) • • • •

Task Word Table Exam Format Checklist What To Bring Checklist Exam Timing • Example Schedule • Schedule Template

Full Version All you need for any & all exams

CLICK HERE - https://goo.gl/zywUqy

Preview 1 of 2 Briefs:

Brief Advice For Any Exam Utensils - BRING THEM!! There is nothing worse than writing answers during an exam and you find that your pen is getting weaker and weaker. To then ask for a pen from your examiner, who may or may not have one, will waste valuable time. I went into my exams with three to four of my most comfortable black (studies show that black is the most readable colour for examiners) pens. Questions - READ THEM!! This is something I used to do wrong all the time and it took a fair few years to remove the habit of incorrectly reading or assuming the question. This also goes for those who prepare answers to questions they want to receive in an exam and thus “answer” the question using a pre-prepared answer rather than actually doing what you’re asked. In both cases, you MUST slow down and read each question thoroughly. What are the task words? How many marks is it worth? To help I would recommend using a highlighter to underline the task words in every question. See the comprehensive guide for more on task words and breaking down marks / questions. Material - KNOW IT!! Fairly simple one here. Consult your Syllabus / Study Design and use it as a checklist. Time - WATCH IT!! For each exam calculate the recommended times you should allocate to different sections. Practice timed answers and stick to this in the exam. Keen an eye on your watch if your allowed, and or the clock at the front of the room. Keeping on top of the time will make sure that you don’t run out of time. If you’re behind your plan, don’t panic – if your allocated time is up, but you haven’t completed 85% of that task, move on. The worst thing you can do is keep going for agers, eating into your other allocations, building on your stress, then miss an entire section. It is the most classic error people make when taking exams and it is easily managed if you simply watch the clock and allocate time prior to the exam/during reading time. Practice timed responses before the day. See the comprehensive guide for more on timing. Proof-reading - DO IT!! This is the one that even the best students sometimes fail to do. Simply allocating 1, 2 even 5 minutes at the end of your exam to proofread your work for simple mistakes can prove absolutely vital in ensuring success in your exam, especially for high-end students competing for 9s and 10s (e.g. out of 10). Most examiners will be reading similar answers to questions, marking at 3am, and jacked up on coffee. Therefore, the more clarity in your answers the more an examiner is likely to enjoy reading your work. Fix dodgy handwriting. Fix small spelling errors. Ensure answers continued on other pages are properly signalled (e.g. “Answer continued on page 32” + on page 32 “Question 4.A continued from page 3”).



Comprehensive Guide Preparing For & Performing In  Any Exam, For Any Subject, In Any Jurisdiction

Misconception Common wisdom would have you believe that “Study” is all you need to succeed in exams. This is wrong. Many students know their stuff, and still under perform. Knowing the material is 1 of 3 elements to exam success.

Formula to Exam Success Master The Material   Content you need to know Understand The Task  What to do with that content Execute In The Room  Performing on the day

Before The Exam During The Exam

Preview 2 of 25 Pages From

The Comprehensive Guide  Mastering The Material



Example - “No Crap Explanations” What I like to call “no crap explanations” means making a technical idea sound “normal”. For example: Topic House prices as a factor of 2008 Global Financial Crisis. •

•

Original Idea: The collapse of the US housing market left many homeowners with negative equity, thus increasing the rate of defaults, leading to the deterioration of the US financial system. “No crap explanation”: House prices dropped and people were like “Gee… our loan amount is more than the house is worth, stuff it, let’s just not pay the loan lol”. And the banks were like “Um, lol, we have no money…” so many shut down. Master The Material | Humanities, Science, Commerce

Example - Associate Information with Your Life 1. Price Elasticity of Demand = how much ‘want’ for something is affected by its price My Life?   I love Coca Cola. If it’s $0.50 or $10, I will want it the same.   Thus, for me, it has a low price elasticity. 2. Product diﬀerentiation in Oligopoly Competition Market = Less firms means more difference between the product they offer My Life? I prefer Qantas. Once flew Tiger - no one told me that was BYO seatbelt… Thus, is an example of product differentiation in an Oligopoly Market, the Australian Domestic airline industry. Master The Material | Humanities, Science, Commerce


The Comprehensive Guide  Understanding The Task



Three Things We Need To Know BEFORE the day

•

Exam Format

•

Timing

•

What They Expect

Understanding The Task

Example - Task Words Common task words tell you what to actually do, like  “Explain, Describe, Outline, Distinguish, Discuss, Evaluate”

Example Question Describe methods that the government has used to address market failure and discuss the effectiveness. 8 Marks. • • •

Describe   Not just “name”, but actually explain Methods  Plural = 2 (A+B) Discuss   Explain different views   (e.g. Pros/cons)

See Full Table of Task Words And What They Mean In Preparation Materials Section

Mark Breakdown Describe Method A = (1+1) marks

Describe Method B = (1+1) marks

Discuss Method A = (1 + 1) marks

Discuss Method B = (1 + 1) marks

(1+1) + (1+1) + (1+1) + (1+1)

= 8 Marks

Understanding The Task


The Comprehensive Guide  Performing In The Room



Small Advantages •

Research suggests if you’re used to wearing a uniform, wearing this uniform in the exam elevates exam performance.

•

Experimental trials found that answers in black ink as opposed to blue ink resulted in higher marks, despite the exact same response being assessed.

Execute In The Room

Preview 1 of 4

Preparation Material s



Sample. Empty Template Provided Exam Schedule VCE English Exam 3 Hours, 3 Sections Time 9am 9:00

Allocated Task Minutes 15 Reading Time 3 Read Section A Topics

9:03 9:06

3 9

Consider Section B Prompt Read Section C = 3 times

9:15

3 Hours Up to 5

Writing Time Prepare Section C

9:20

50

Write Essay For Section C

10:10 10:15 10:15

5 Up to 5

Finishing off - 5 minutes End Section C Prepare Section B

10:20

50

Write Essay For Section B

11:10 11:15 11:15

5 Up to 5

Finishing off - 5 minutes End Section B Prepare Section A

11:20

50

Write Essay For Section A

12:10 12:15

5

Finishing off - 5 minutes End Section A

Detail

Deconstruct Topic Choose Topic That gives the best opportunity to demonstrate knowledge of the text What’s the spirit of the prompt? Read 3 times looking for: 1. Context & contention 2. Structure & components 3. Words & phrases Highlighting & notes: Words, phrases 9:25 10 in, 50 left 9:35 20 in, 40 left 9:45 30 in, 30 left 9:55 40 in, 20 left 10:05 50 in, 10 left 10:10 55 in, 5 left Pen down, sip water What is the sprit of the prompt? Plan: Ideas, quotes 10:25 10 in, 50 left 10:35 20 in, 40 left 10:45 30 in, 30 left 10:55 40 in, 20 left 11:05 50 in, 10 left 11:10 55 in, 5 left Pen down, sip water Deconstruct Topic Plan: Ideas, quotes 11:25 10 in, 50 left 11:35 20 in, 40 left 11:45 30 in, 30 left 11:55 40 in, 20 left 12:05 50 in, 10 left 12:10 55 in, 5 left Stop Writing

