I, the eio Owl (alias E I Owl), wish you to live long and prosper.
The best way to do this is to get your mind around the best way to pass your assessments and assignments.
No, seriously, Work Smart. I used to work hard and if I passed an assessment or assignment, I felt lucky. Now, because I work smart, I expect Merit/Excellence. The only time in the past decade that I failed to get Merit, I still walked away with Achieved - due to illness, working as well as studying, and splitting my efforts between 3 assignments due at the same time. Now that was a traumatic fortnight!!
Assignments
This is where you start to put your "Work Smart" ethic into practice. Start at the start of the school year.
- If you are given a past paper to do - Do It, there's no substitute for the real deal.
- Make sure you know what is expected of the assignment - so that you don't waste your time answering a question that wasn't asked.
Revision
- Prepare a revision schedule.
- If you have the smarts to start at the start of the school year. Start slowly, and ramp it up with each term.
- The sooner you start your revision calendar, the less stressed you will be when it comes to the external assessments. So many people put revision off till it's too late, and then they try to cram for the exam.
- Make sure you have scheduled "down time" - time with friends, sports etc.
- Find a quiet space to work, it helps you concentrate.
- Set it up into a pattern, and get into the routine - i.e. it's Tuesday, so I must be working on Physics!
- You can make up for some lost socialising, but you cannot make up for lost revision.
- Reward yourself - if you have succeeded at a difficult problem, give yourself a chockie (well, that's what I give myself).
- Review your schedule by all means, but don't keep chopping and changing it.
- Be proactive - don't wait for the Teacher to give you work. Take it upon yourself to think up a goal relevant to your subject of study that night.
- Don't just re-write your notes, try something different - a mind map etc.
Getting Close to Exam Day
- Prepare your equipment - have it all assembled in one box/bag. Make sure it includes back-up equipment:
- 2 pens, 2 pencils, highlighters
- pencil sharpener, rubber, ruler, protractor
- calculator (with spare!)
- Don't be panicked into ramping up the revision so much that it affects your sleep patterns.
Exam Day
- Eat breakfast - even if you don't feel hungry (it may be just nerves). There's nothing worse than hearing someones stomach rumble while you are concentrating on a question (especially if it is your stomach!!). So eat breakfast.
- Relax - chew gum to loosen the jaw muscles (but DON'T leave it stuck to school property).
- Shake your arms and legs - again to loosen your muscles. Tension is what can give you headaches.
- Make sure you have all the right equipment - with back-ups.
- Take a bottle of water.
The Exam
- Read the whole paper through before writing anything other than your name.
- Mark (use a highlighter) important works in each question.
- Decide which questions require more time.
- Answer questions fully.
- Remember to write the answer to the correct number of Significant Figures.
- Remember to include the correct Unit with your answer. Don't forget, you can work it out from the formula!!
Some potentially useful websites:
I think you will find that many tips are repeated - I haven't had the time to distil them yet!!
- RUR's Top 10 Exam Tips
- Studyit NCEA Study Advice. Check out their "Study and exam advice" link.
- Kinsler's rules for surviving physics and other technical courses. Oh, and here's Mark Kinsler's current website.
- Revision Tips - by Andy Darvill, UK.