Final guidance for your exams Show students the guidance about exam format, and explain what it means. Show them an example. Where can students access past/example exam questions to practice? Show them on Blackboard, or at exampapers@Leicester. Dunlosky et al (2013) identifies 3 particularly useful approaches for revision and learning: Distributed Practice: start early and go back to the same topic area repeatedly (Revision planning). Going back to a topic repeatedly strengthens your memories. Practice testing: answer exam style questions. This practises the skills you need in the exam, and gets you thinking/applying the information. Elaborative interrogation and self explanation: discuss and explore a topic with your peers, friends. Rephrasing information in your own words, in different levels of detail or complexity, makes you think about the information. Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving Students’ Learning With Effective Learning Techniques: Promising Directions From Cognitive and Educational Psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4–58. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100612453266

Answering essay questions in exams Rephrase this question for your discipline, as an example for students. You could then ask them to analyse the assignment question themselves, and give feedback on how they do it. Instruction Key aspect Subject Account for the emergence of the policy of privatisation developed by successive Conservative governments during the 1980s. Other significant words One technique for unpacking an essay question is to identify the following: Instruction – what are you being asked to do, what type of analysis, comparision, conclusion are you expected to produce. Subject – what is the overall subject area? Key aspect – you won’t be asked to cover an ENTIRE topic area, so what aspect or part of the broader topic are you looking at? Other significant words – what else does the question tell you? Does it require you to use a certain type of evidence of analysis? Or to refer to a certain theory? Adapted from: Williams, K. (1995) Writing Essays: Developing Writing. Oxford: OCSD

Structuring essay answers in exams What does the question mean to you (definitions)? Why is this question important? How will you answer it (structure, evidence form of analysis)? Add brief subject specific advice on how you prefer students to structure their sections and paragraphs in exam essays INTRODUCTION POINT 1 Show students an example exam essay answer and ask them to identify how the author does each of these things. POINT 2 POINT 3 CONCLUSION Summarise your key points. State your answer/conclusion. Explain the implications of your conclusion. Key points are in a logical order.

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