Exam Success at CSU
How to Prepare for Different Exams Types
Essay based exams | Multiple-choice exams | Maths/statistics exams | Open book exams
Essay based exams
- Working through past papers is a very good way to prepare for an essay based exam. They will give you an idea of the range of questions you may be asked and exposure to the different ways a question abot a topic may be asked. Check that the content and format of your exam have not changed.
- Use these papers to practise for your exam. Analyse sample questions, write an introduction and jot down the main points you would use to support your response to the question.
- This form of preparation allows you to test your recall of the content of the different topics you have covered but more importantly it helps you to apply that knowledge to the question asked.
- Remember that essay exams aim to test understanding of the course material not simply recall, although recall is certainly a part of your preparation.
- This approach will also help you feel more comfortable and confident when you first read your exam paper, as you will have already been exposed to the different ways a question may be framed. This is particularly useful if you are inclined to feel stressed during exams.
- This approach works best if you access more than one paper to obtain a range of possible questions.