EXAM 101 -Anticipating exam questions

Anticipating questions before an exam

Of course making a study plan is also useful -
 but it's figuring out what to put /in/ the plan
that can be hard :)

This is one of the hardest things for many people to prepare for. The exam can seem like an endless swirl of questions that you will have no idea about what might happen or what might be asked. The best advice that anyone can ever give you is to cut down the amount of work that you do. The more work you do the more things that you will know -it sounds a little odd but the truth is you’re never rewarded for knowing everything – you’re rewarded for knowing the right things

The critical component of answering an exam question well, therefore, is to analyze what exactly you will be asked. It is possible to work this out (not as an exact art but as a reasonable probability) through six methods. I will explain these methods below.

A.     Looking at the textbook index

This can be done in the days before exam or (ideally) in the holidays before the teaching period begins. I am sure many people will find this post in the frantic scramble three days before the exam – so I’d recommend you begin here.

To use this method, look at the index of the textbook. Sometimes you’ll strike lucky and find an index that looks like this;

1.      MAIN HEADING

-        Subheading

Ø  Key point

-        Subheading

-        Subheading

2.      MAIN HEADING

If you have this – focus on the main headings and study;

·        The key definition of that heading

·        The overall concept

·        Then the critical components of each subheading

Summarize these in 1-2 pages maximum.

However, if you’re not that lucky and your index is just a list of indistinguishable chapters, use this list as an exam checklist. You should know everything in this checklist – unless you were explicitly told by the teacher that it wouldn’t be on the exam.

Summarize each component of your checklist in 100 words. If you can’t make a short, succinct description of the component you haven’t learned it well enough. 100 words is a very tight description and once you can describe a topic that quickly your brain has synthesized the information so sufficiently that you should be able to answer most questions on that topic. For this summary don’t simply memorize the textbook description, make it in your own words after reading and understanding the information in each chapter. That way you can be certain that you understand how that component works and operates in your education topic.

B.     Look at the structure by which the course was taught

Examiners generally don’t like to repeat elements of the course that they have already examined. So, look at what has already been on your assignments (if you’ve had any) and don’t rehash them in your study. It’s important that you still have a reasonably good understanding but don’t critical re-study them. It’s unlikely that they’ll be focal points of your exam. (There is an exception to this that I will explain later).

Don't forget that changing your scenery
can be the perfect way to hone your focus

That means, usually, anything taught in that second period of the teaching season is 90% more likely to be on the exam. Place extra special focus on these areas and use your drop-in time to ask questions about them You can see why many students find the exam more difficult because they often begin the teaching session with gusto, studying late into the night and perfecting the first 4-6 weeks’ worth of material. However, those last few weeks are e the critical components to the exam and they fall because they burned out and weren’t really prepared for that kind of work.

C.     Look at older practice exams – and exams from similar courses

The common trick is to do practice exams. Many people suggest it – but few realize the utility of practice exams from other universities. While the marking and writing style may be different – don’t think that your professors don’t want to borrow questions from other lecturers. Writing exam questions is hard (particularly if you work in a field like law or politics where the questions must be carefully thought out).

So, borrowing the questions from another institution where you can presume that the student hasn’t tried them is a straightforward way of getting past the difficulty of writing out an exam question. Don’t expect that the question will be the same but you’ll find the structurally similar question with one or two differences. Therefore, make time to practice exams from your institution AND from other institutions. When I was working towards my end of year high school exams I did practice exams from every state in Australia, some from America and some from England. I did this because I knew that if I could master the components of these exams there was no way that I could be surprised in the final exam. The same is true for university and other high school courses. Always be on the lookout for courses that are like yours and try a few of their exam questions. Even if you must learn some new things to be able to answer the questions – it’ll only make you better prepared.

D.     When something unexpected may appear on the exam

There is an exception to all of this – and this is where some of you may run into trouble. If you haven’t been attending or at least listening to recordings of your classes I’d rush through as many of them as I could right now.

My mess of a desk in the midst of study....

When your lecturer spends three or more weeks on the topic – take that as a hint it’s going to be on the exam. They won’t waste time teaching you things if they don’t want it to be a part of the examination at the end. Additionally, if your teacher repeats a phrase, point or source of information you can guarantee that is going to have something to do with the exam. Don’t forget about it just because it’s annoying you or you think it’s an annoying quirk. Chances are they’re deliberately saying this to you because it’s the exact phrase or material they want to refer to in their marking guide.

Examiners have a marking guide which is a lot like an exam checklist. You need to hit every point on that checklist to get the highest mark. It’s a very rare exam where it matters the content of what you’re saying – and not the content that they’re looking for. Remember, the average lecturer has at least 100 students to mark, they don’t have time to base the work of each student on their individual merit. Unfortunately, you must appeal to the criteria they’re looking for.

High Court under the microscope - The Eddie Mabo Case

Mabo v Queensland

This was a 1992 Australian High Court decision that was the first time in Australian history when the native title for the Australian Aboriginal People was recognized. Eddie Mabo brought the case to the high court on behalf of the Meriam People who are from the Mer Islands. This is in the Torres Strait area. The proceedings commenced in in 1982 after the Queensland Amendment Act was initiated.

The act worked to establish a system of land grants by trust for aboriginals and Torres strait islands. However, this system was inept and the mer islanders were unhappy.

The high court eventually received the case and was asked to consider whether indigenous Australians had a just and legal claim to their lands which could overturn the notion of terra nullius. Further the request to the court asserted that it was time for the common law to be ‘put to rights’

The success of the case was difficult to determine and it was largely regarded by the legal field as a mere test. Testing the court is very common as there are multiple complexities that run through the fabric of legal decisions. Issues such as;

·        Political values

·        Social concern

·        Financial constraints

·        Corporation concerns

 The High Court held that the doctrine of terra nullius was void. This doctrine had worked to import all English laws into the Australian country at the time of English colonization. This was done because the indigenous people were originally thought to be ‘uncivilized’ which gave the colonizers the right to claim the land as belonging to the British people.

The court held that the rules of reception that applied were not those that were originally called for but that the existing customary laws which were present at the time of settlement took priority over the imported English law. However, land rights could be extinguished by crown title. Any native title claims which were inconsistent with native title would be extinguished and the crown land would survive.

The decision was made by seven judges in five judgements of the high court;

Ø  Justice Brennan

Ø  Justice Deane

Ø  Justice Gaudron

Ø  Justice Toohey

Ø  Justice Dawson

Ø  Chief Justice Mason

Ø  Justice McHugh

There were several common threads of agreement between the five judgements. The basis of these threads of agreement is that the native title existed due to the nature of the indigenous use and connection to the land and that determined the nature and content of native title. It also rejected the concept of terra nullius and attempted to provide repudiation to those grounds that had lost the benefit of their lands.

The consequences of this decision are most commonly felt by corporations and land developers as they see the most of the native title claims. There is a difficultly in negotiating with many aboriginal groups who claim native title over key development areas. This difficulty is generally solved with skilled negotiators but can take some time.

Making and taking risks at university

University is an awesome time to learn and study but it is also the first time that many of us are striking out on our own and becoming used to being independent. Some students revert into their shells and choose to stick within the expected guidelines of university life. That can work to your advantage as you won’t find much challenge and will get high grades. We all know that academic achievement is a major positive for anyone in a university situation – however it won’t impress employers if you’ve never tried anything challenging. Additionally, university is one of the few times when you’re encouraged to take different learning opportunities.

These opportunities don’t have to be as big as taking a difference course or going overseas, in fact sometimes it’s better if they aren’t. These are all anticipated and expected opportunities. Below are some ideas for was you can introduce yourself to minor risks and get used to the idea that things can go wrong – and you are more than capable of dealing with them!   

Even just a book club can be
a great place to start!

1.      Go to a new activity group

Many freshmen sign up to lots of different clubs at the beginning of first year – but as the year carries on and the stress level increases we drop out. That’s because learning new things is hard and the criticism that comes on along with that can discourage anyone from continuing the struggle of learning something new.

However, in second year when you’re a bit more used to the challenges of university life try to take up a new group. Don’t’ worry if it’s not particularly strenuous -- one of the best groups I ever joined was a university brunch group! All it took was a Sunday morning in a restaurant enjoying some delicious breakfast group.

It can be a risk because too much time spent in groups can take away from your studies. Moreover, it can alter your schedule and leave you open to mismanaging your time. However, if managed well they can make a great talking point for future employment interviews and potentially create unique networking opportunities.

2.      Take up a new hobby

Like a social group hobbies are very popular in the new year and begin to wane as the realities of life and stress get in the way. Realistically, hobbies can represent a bit of a risk to a university student – they are highly enjoyable and can really take away from your studies. Additionally, those with perfectionist tendencies will probably struggle to take up something new.

If you can let go of this fear and explore something different you can totally open yourself up to a whole new variety of talents and advantages. In your future workplace, you may be surprised how miscellaneous knowledge can help add that extra sparkle to your output. While you’re in university it’s worth thinking how a hobby can work into your five-year plan to make sure that you have a competitive edge in the market.

3.      Try a different social group

Social groups or cliques are often satirized in the media as bitchy groups of people. This much is sort of true, exclusivity is the hallmark of any group friendship group – otherwise it’s just a mob. However, cross social groups can provide an extra boost to your widening perspective. Try

socializing with people from diverse cultures, age groups and disciplinary studies.

Additionally, the information that you gain from these new perspectives can be translated into your academic career. Providing extra information or criticism, when done properly, can boost your grade up a percentile.

4.      Work experience in a different industry area

Similar to learning new perspectives through others learning the practices of another industry can provide you with an advantage both in your academic pursuits and to a future employer. For example, a law student working in a retail area or an accounting area can have a broader and applicable knowledge when working in tax law or corporate law. The advantages to broader perspectives and knowledge are many. While they may take time from your studies or be an imperfect venture into something unknown the payoff is far greater than the risk!