My Exam Season Survival Guide

Undergraduate student, Eshaan, shares their top tips for tackling exam season.

Exam season can be a stressful time, but there are steps you can take to ensure that you make the most out of your time and prepare effectively. Before the exam season begins, I find it useful to understand how each of my modules will be assessed. I create a list of the modules and highlight the assessments/exams that each module includes. Being aware of your assessments will allow you to plan and create achievable goals.

The 5 P’s of preparation

This five-step guide is all you need for an effective study session to prepare for your examinations:

Plan strategically

Organise your study space by creating a distraction-free environment. Visit one of the various study spaces on campus, to find a quiet place to focus. Carefully compile all the resources that you will need and outline your goals. I like to set challenging goals to push myself!

Prioritise 

With the considerations of time, workload and the difficulty of concepts, prioritise your tasks to help you achieve your goals. It is normal to feel that you may not have enough time to prepare. Having a priority of tasks will be helpful to track your progress and provide a sense of accomplishment or motivation.

Practice and prepare

Once you are familiar with the content that you want to revise, take your time to prepare for it using your preferred methods. I create notes from lectures and seminars, along with other materials to get a varied understanding of the topic. Moreover, I find visuals useful as they make the process more interactive. WBS provides many resources for examination preparation, such as module coursework, reading lists, assessment criteria, etc.

Past papers

You will have access to past papers or modules that can give you insight into the style of questions used in assessments and test your knowledge. You can also use the marking criteria as a reference whilst checking your answers to assess your performance.

Persistence 

Remember to keep your physical and mental health in check. Exam preparations are stressful for everybody, so you should take regular breaks. Eating proper meals, getting enough sleep, and taking time for yourself at this time is important! 

After your exam

If you have a series of exams to prepare for, be mindful of their dates and the time that you will have remaining for any preparations. I enjoy reflecting on my answers to understand what I could have done better. Moreover, once all of your exams are over, you can take some time to relax and focus on any hobbies or passions that may have been impacted during the exam season. Going through the exam season is a great accomplishment, so you should treat yourself!

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