BASIC EXAMINATION TECHNIQUE

   Good exam technique is about getting more marks than you deserve.  If you can learn to play the examination game really well, you can get at least 15% more marks than you deserve.  Look at it the other way round; if Galileo, Newton, and Einstein, had to do your exam – even as a team effort – they would only get about 85%; they know all the physics, but they wouldn’t be good enough at exam technique; they wouldn’t guess well enough what particular things to write down, in order to get all the marks.

  1. Bullet points.  This is very important.  For any question which is not a calculation, and is out of more than 1 mark:
    1. Look to see how many marks it is out of.
    2. Put that number of bullets down the left-hand side.
    3. Answer with at least that number of separate points.
  1. Calculations.  If in any doubt, go through these stages:
    1. Ignore most of the words; just find the numbers in the question.
    2. At the top right of the space, write down a list of the data given, in the form: symbol = number unit (e.g. P = 60 W).  Convert any wrong units (e.g. minutes to seconds; kilowatts to watts)
    3. Underneath, write down the symbol of the quantity you are asked to find (e.g. V = ?)
    4. Now think of a formula which connects the symbols that you have listed.  Write it down.  Rearrange it.  Put the numbers in.
  1. Words.  Writing a little essay to answer a question is always the worst possible way of answering.  Only do this if you are unable to think of any other way of presenting your answer.  Better ways of presenting an answer include:
    1. Using a diagram
    2. Using a table
    3. Using symbols such as an upwards arrow to mean ‘increase’, three dots for therefore, R for resistance.
    4. Using a graph
    5. Using an equation

   Only if you are completely unable to do any of these things, should you do your series of bullets and write a little essay.