Presented by Greg Durkin For DLTV 27 August, 2015

Why Are We Here?  That’s a good question!

Why Are We Here?  Your teachers have presented the curriculum

Why Are We Here?  You have read your notes and studied the text

Why Are We Here?  You have passed your SACs

Why Are We Here?  Now, we will tackle “The Exam”

What is Really Important?  Problem Solving Methodology  Analysis  Design  Gotcha! – Evaluation Criteria!  Development  Debugging is a coding step  Testing is not Evaluation  Evaluation

What is Really Important?  IT Apps  Web Authoring Software  RDBMS  Efficiency vs Effectiveness  Software Development  UML and Use Cases  Programming techniques  User Documentation  VET IT  Core Units only  Anything in units 1 – 4 may be examined

Making The Best of Time  Start studying NOW  Concyclic Method, dear boy!  Leave time for reflection  Focus on a single aspect at a time  Don’t try to take in the whole subject at a time  Write an outline of the course from memory  Best way to point out your weaknesses  If you can recall it without prompting, you know it

Additional Tools  Practice Exams from DLTV  Apply formal exam conditions  Ask a fellow student to grade you  Former Exams from VCAA  Use as for Practice Exams  Read Examiners’ Reports  Peer Support Q & A  Make up questions to ask each other  Reinforces understanding  Forces a search of the study material

WHEW!! Almost done.

Writing The Exam Paper

Preparation  Get a good, restful sleep the night before  Use the reading time to understand the exam  Find some clues  Organise your thinking

Pace Your Answers  Use point value to assign time  120 minutes vs 100 points  Complete MCQ in 20 minutes or less  Find questions you can answer quickly, accurately and safely  There should then be adequate time to answer the more difficult questions

Answer The Question  “It was a great answer. What a pity we didn’t ask that question.”  Read the question carefully – rephrase the key terms.  Make certain that your response addresses all of the terms of the question  Write one correct, relevant statement per point for that question.

Key Examination Language  List: You can answer in dot points  Explain: looks for the reasons behind the question. Support and make clear.  Describe: Write about the appearance, characteristics or properties of the topic. What is it like?  Distinguish between x and y: Make sure you have identified a feature of each item.

Key Examination Language  Justify: Explain why the answer you have given is the right answer under the circumstances.  Give an Example: Name an instance that illustrates a point in the question or a previous answer.  Name: Usually seen with “and explain” or “and justify”  Identify a feature of: Read carefully. This question really asks for the qualities or properties of a topic.  Compare and contrast: Use a grid to ensure that you have at least 4 statements.

Are You Ready Now?

Thank you  Greg Durkin : 