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I need some help!

(edited 9 years ago)

What year are you in?

If first - the name of the game is to pass! Worry about getting the classification when there's weighting! (mist unis this doesn't kick in until 2nd year)

TBH I think when I went to uni (2000-2003) techniques for revision were not really taught!

If you have to submit questions each week for each lecture course (which we did, although isnt there some strike preventing marking going on this year?) at least you know you understand some of the content.

I would (if they are available) print off all the past papers for each module you are taking, assuming these exist. If you are unlucky and its the first year the module is being delivered, see if there is a specimen paper. If not, you are in the dark, but remember, so is everyone else! If you are lucky, the papers will go back several years. There is bound to be a cutoff point from when the past papers are relevent/useful. Ask a lecturer direct or by e-mail (they usually set the exam questions) which are useful - decent ones will want to help those students that show a desire to learn/do well.

Once you have (any) past papers, see if you can answer the questions. Use the mark schemes if available. Please don;t panic if your initial thought is expletive ridden - that's why we have revision! (or/and gaining understanding.)

With Science based modules, questions are likely to cover knowledge, understanding and application. (I taught it at GCSE and A level for 6 years so I have some knowledge of how this stuff works.) Exam questions are likely to be 'differentiated.' This means easy ones are at the start of each question, with a humdinger to stretch the brightest at the end (at least thats how most of my Physics ones went.) Reading Science notes alone is not enough. You have to understand it. (although again, some concepts will be 'remember x,y,z and others will require understanding - if in doubt ask your coursemates who are motivated and lecturers - please don't spend hours trying to understand something you only need to 'memorise.') If you don't understand something, try again in a different environment. (I kid you not, in my 1st year I did not get Gauss's theorem at all. I went on a night out, had alcoholic drinks and looked at it again and it just made sense! Now I'm not advocating drink to understand everything in your degree course :smile:

but there's an example.

You won't be alone, even at A level students are pretty 'spoon fed' and at Uni, although it varies with the course (one lecturer pretty much told you what would be on the paper in lectures!) you pretty much have to find out for yourself sometimes exactly what you have to 'feed yourself' and how!

You are a good student to be concerned - particulalrly if first year I bet there will be people rocking up to the exam streaming a wide variety of expletives from their mouths!

PS January exams - nasty! Don't unis want you to enjoy Xmas? Mine set theirs in just May-June!

Reply 2

elcie

Original post by Wimbs

Yeah I'm in first year! But I need to get 60% minimum to stay on my course...and our first year does count!

Thanks for your advice though, it was really helpful. I've just got to get on those past papers and keep on working on it. Also change of scenery might work a treat, and learning to stop comparing myself to others :colondollar:

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 3

jonathanemptage

The question s will most likely be similar to the ones in the previous papers see which ones come up most often and concentrate on them you may even have a question copied word for word from a past paper lectures are lazy you'll find they just change values from old papers and put them in a new cover and it's done good luck

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