How to Succeed in Exams & Assessments

Kathleen McMillan and Jonathan Weyers work within the University of Dundee’s Learning Centre and Academic Affairs Office respectively and have each been teaching for over 25 years and now specialize in supporting academic skills across both the arts and sciences.

• Introduction 1. Succeeding in exams and assessments – understanding the processes involved in revision and exam-sitting 2. Assessment at university - How tests and examinations work 3. Physical and mental preparation – How to gear up for assessment and exam-sitting 4. Your learning personality - How to identify and capitalise on your preferred learning style 5. Studying independently - How to organise yourself and develop good study habits 6. Study buddies - How to work with fellow-students to improve the revision experience 7. Time management - How to balance study, family, work and leisure when studying and revising  8. Creating a revision timetable - How to get yourself organised for exam study 9. Focussing your preparation - How to make full use of learning objectives, past papers and other assessment information 10. Exploiting feedback - How to understand and learn from what lecturers write on your work 11. Consolodating your learning - How to revise effectively through active learning 12. Memory tips and techniques -  how to develop tools and strategies to help remember information and ideas 13. Dealing positively with stress – How to cope with the pressures of university life 14. Combatting exam nerves - How to reduce anxiety and perform well under pressure 15. Exam strategies - how to ensure you have the appropriate tactics 16. Improving your exam performance - How to avoid common pitfalls 17. Multiple-choice and short-answer questions - How to tackle short-answer formats 18. Numerical questions - How to approach quantitative problems 19. Essay-style assessments - How to maximise your marks 20. Tutorial Assessment – How to make your contribution count 21. Assessments of practical and laboratory work – How to improve your marks References and further reading Glossary