For All Students

Revision and Exam Techniques

Boost your performance with our comprehensive guide to revision and exam techniques, designed to help you study smarter and excel in your exams.

Revision and Exam Techniques image

Positives about Exams and Revision

It is not uncommon to approach exams and revision feeling negative and this can make preparing for exams feel like an uphill battle.

Here are three positive things about the process of revision and exams.

  1. Every exam will ask you to do the same thing - look at a question, break down the problem, and apply your knowledge to it.  These are the skills that you will be developing as you prepare to sit your exams and they are also skills that will stand you in good stead for whatever the future holds.  Whether your future profession is in law, politics, sport, health, design, hospitality or beyond each day in the workplace you will have to consider questions in front of you. Break down the problems that you face, and consider how you might use your knowledge to solve that problem.  Exams are preparing you for the rest of your life and your future career.
  1. Revision is about reinforcing your learning and identifying your strengths.  Exams encourage you to look back over what you’ve been learning.  You have been attending lectures, reading course materials, learning about how your subject is applied in different contexts. At the end of a section of learning your exams will ask you to review what you’ve already learned and ensure that you take that knowledge with you.   Think of revision not as showing you all of the gaps in your knowledge, but rather as showing you the things that you know really well.  Just a simple shift in the way that you see it but it can make a huge difference.  As you begin to prepare for exams you might find that you have learned so much more than you realised you could in a few areas and that there are some themes and topics that you need to know a bit better.  That is a positive and healthy process.
  1. We often describe exams as “stressful”.  First of all, that’s true, but secondly, stress is not always the enemy.  It has been long established by health science that we often exist in a place of healthy stress.  It is a natural, adaptive, built-in response that is there to prepare us for action.  It gives us energy and focus so that we can tackle whatever challenge is in front of us.  Try reframing your thinking when it comes to “exam stress” by accepting that it can be healthy stress that is there to energise, motivate , and challenge you so that you are able to overcome and emerge stronger.

Revision Skills

Targeted Revision

One of the reasons that revision sometimes feels hard is that we fail to approach it in a helpful way.

Sometimes we are guilty of

  • reading through lecture notes over and over again
  • getting distracted and walking away
  • trying to quickly read and digest core textbooks and journals

Targeted revision is a focused approach to studying that involves concentrating on specific areas or topics you have identified as a weaknesses or a gap in your understanding.

Here are some helpful tips -

  •  Revision Needs Audit

    Before you begin to digest learning material spend time figuring out how to focus what you are revising. This is called a "Needs Audit".

    • First refer to your module handbooks. This includes key information on the module aims and learning objectives that will form the focus of your assignments.

    Lets look at this paragraph from a module handbook.

    In seminars, you will be given exercises to undertake in groups. These exercises will give you the opportunity to identify and address the key issues that arise in each topic. Feedback and guidance relating to these exercises should inform the manner in which you approach corresponding examination questions.

    In this module the lecturers emphasise that exercises from group activities in seminars will provide a solid foundation for responding to examination questions. Students approaching this module would benefit from revising themes, topics, and content covered in seminars. As well as reviewing feedback from their group work activities.

    • Your module handbook should also include a marking rubric.

    A marking rubric is like a mark scheme which helps to guide examiners in grading student submissions.  It is helpful to read over assessment rubric in the module handbook to get an idea of the kind of content that you might need to revise.

    Here is an example rubric.

     

    Academic Understanding

    Unacceptable

    0%-39%

    Poor

    40%-49%

    Good

    50%-59%

    Excellent

    60%-69%

    Exemplary

    70%-100%

    Engagement with reading and resources

    Little evidence of having engaged with course resources or other relevant resources.

    Evidence of having engaged with the course materials (including core textbooks) but not with other relevant books and resources.

    Evidence of having engaged with the course materials (including core texts) and with a small number of other relevant publications.

    Evidence of having engaged with the course materials (including core texts) and with a healthy number of other relevant publications.

    Evidence of having engaged with the course materials (including core texts) and with a wide range of other relevant publications.

    Synthesis

    Little evidence of understanding relevant reading materials.

    Evidence of understanding of relevant literature.

    Evidence of understanding of relevant literature and makes connections between a small number of texts cited in the work.

    Evidence of understanding of relevant literature and combines elements from cited publications to develop their argument/position.

    Evidence of understanding of relevant literature and uses wider theories and ideas to bring coherence to cited publications.

    Criticality

    Little evidence of thinking critically.

    Identifies some strengths and weaknesses of arguments and cited publications.

    Provides clear explanations of strengths and weaknesses of arguments and cited publications.

    Provides well-argued evaluation of ideas within any referenced books and other publications.

    Provides well-argued evaluations of all ideas presented in the work and in supporting publications.

    Use of evidence

    Makes statements/claims without any evidence.

    Provides limited evidence (e.g. personal experience) to substantiate claims.

    Substantiates claims using logic.

    Substantiates claims with references and/or data.

    Substantiates claims with weighted evidence from the literature and/or robust data.

    • Next, look at your reading list.

    To achieve the highest marks in exams, you will be expected to demonstrate a familiarity with the wider literature in your subject area, and not merely an ability to re-produce your lecture notes.  Your reading list will often contain “must read” books, journals and articles.  They are good places to start when it comes to revision.  Hopefully you have done some groundwork in that reading. Your lecturers will have embedded this preparation into your course workload so that each week you will have had readings to undertake. Which will include make notes on and evaluate. Now in your exam you can refer to that work.  But do not panic if you have missed readings or have not had the opportunity to engage with some of these texts.  If you know now that they are going to be important to draw on as you come into your exam, add them to your revision list.

    • Look at any guidance that you’ve been given for assessment.

    Your module handbook may contain a description of how your exam will be structured.  It will let you know if you have any seen questions. A seen question is one that you know will appear in the exam.  These questions are gifts and will let you know exactly what you need to revise for.

    • To give you an idea of other things to revise look at past papers.

    When you access previous exam papers for your module you will get an idea of the kinds of themes, topics and ideas that you need to be prepared for.  Remember that revision should help you see what aspects of your course you are strong in and what still needs work.  Past paper questions can help you start to see that.

    • Finally remember that your lecturers want to see you succeed in your assessment.

    They are right behind you in all that you are doing. Very often they give really good guidance throughout the year around topics that you should focus on.  Do not ignore their advice.

    To summarise, targeted focused revision means looking at the following.

    1. Module Handbook
    2. Assessment Rubric
    3. Reading Lists
    4. Assessment Guidance & Seen Questions
    5. Past Papers
    6. Topics Emphasised by Lecturers
    7. Identifying what you need to cover ahead of your exam

    This is your Needs Audit.

  • What To Do With Your Needs Audit

    Once you have made a good list of everything that you need to cover ahead of your exam, read through that list and think about what will be asked of you.  Consider your knowledge strengths and the things that you need to work on and then begin to build a revision timetable.

    1. Make a list of everything that you need to revise.  Break it up into chunks based on what you read in your module handbook etc.
    1. Identify core topic areas including facts. Including themes/concepts, theories, terminology, legislation, equations, debates, definitions, processes, examples from lecture & seminars.
    1. Figure out how much time you have.  You may have other exams or assignments, as well as other things blocked into your week.  How many hours do you have to look at the topics that you have listed?
    1. Prioritise your topics.  Re-order your list starting with those things that you are least confident with.  Sometimes we procrastinate by looking at material we already understand but that runs the risk of falling short of time to properly get to grips with the things that we do not.
    1. Begin to build your timetable.  Your calendar on your phone or a paper diary can be a huge help for this because you can visualise exactly what each day looks like.  It keeps you motivated, keeps you on track, and means that you’re less likely to fall behind.
  • Managing Revision

    Sometimes we are intimidated by our workload, and sometimes we just do not have motivation, but we end up wasting time.

    Here are three pieces of guidance that, when combined might help you to make the best use of your time.

    Parkinson’s Law:  Cyril Parkinson was an historian who identified the principle that “work expands to fill the time available for its completion.”  What he meant by this is that if you have a deadline for 11th April, the chances are that most people will submit on 11th April.  The work will fill all the available time.  The few times that you might submit before 11th April are the times when, for instance, you know that you are going on holiday on 11th, so you need to have it finished by 10th.  You set yourself a deadline because, in that case, your workload can not expand into 11th. When you prepare your revision timetable, do not just block out Monday and write “revision.”  Set yourself deadlines.  09:00-12:00 could be reviewing your seminar notes.  13:00-15:00 after lunch could be revising a particular article.  15:00-17:00 after a break could be practising past-paper questions.

    The Pomodoro technique: Pomodoro is Italian for tomato and the technique gets its name from the tomato shaped kitchen timer that its designer used to measure time.  When you sit down to study, set a twenty-minute timer on your phone and switch it onto airplane mode.  Study until that timer goes off.  When it does, take a break – even just three minutes.  Distractions can wait until your timer goes off.  Repeat this process four times –  four twenty-minute chunks of uninterrupted study, perforated by short breaks.  After your fourth twenty minutes, take a longer break of twenty or thirty minutes.  Go for a walk, make some lunch or watch an episode of your favourite show.  Some people find that twenty minutes is not enough.  Make it work for you.  If you want to take thirty minutes, that’s okay.  The key is that while you are studying, you are studying.  No distractions.  They can wait.

    Eat That Frog: Apparently someone once said “Eat a live frog the first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.”  That is the idea behind this last principle of revision time management.  Get the worst material out of the way first thing in your day.  Identify the things that intimidate you, the tasks you are dreading, the themes and topics that seem the hardest to you, and do them first.  By the time you get to the afternoon, energy will be waning and your concentration lower.  That is the time you want to be revising the content that you are most interested in or that you find you understand the best.  Trying to tackle material that is difficult later in the day will be demotivating and make you more likely to leave it.

  •  Learning Styles  

    We are not taught well as human beings that we absorb information in different ways.  Your friend’s revision technique might not work for you because you are wired differently.

    When you come to revise reach into this toolbox and find the tool that works for you.

    Consider this scenario:

    Imagine that you have to use an online database that you’ve never used before.  You open your computer, you set up your account, you login and the screen in front of you is very complicated.  There are boxes, lists and fields that don’t make sense to you and you don’t know where to start.

    There are four ways that you could solve this problem.  Which of them do you identify with most?

    1. You google it and you find that there are a series of instructional videos on YouTube that you can follow.
    1. You know that your friend has used this database and they seemed to get on okay.  They told you that if you got stuck, you could call them and they would talk you through it.
    1. The first page of this database has a PDF instruction manual that you can read and follow.
    1. Learn by doing.  Just start clicking buttons and see if you can work it out.

    Visual Learner

    If you identified with option one, watching an instructional video, you might prefer to learn visually.

    • Use different coloured flashcards to draw, sketch and scribble down ideas as you picture them in your mind.
    • Visualise things that you hear or that you read and remember those pictures.
    • Draw diagrams, mind maps and word clouds to help you understand new ideas.  You will need to write some things down, but use your writing to explain your sketches.
    • Colour code files/sections/notes/flashcards.

    Visual people are often easily captivated the things happening around them.  You will need to find quiet environment to study in to avoid distractions and stay focused on your tasks.

    Audible Learner

    If you identified with option two, having a friend explain it, you might be someone who learns audibly – through what you hear.

    • Write new words and concepts on index cards and then read them out loud.
    • Read essay titles, exam briefs and instructions from your module handbook out loud to really process them.
    • Record yourself reading study or revision material and then listen to the recording.
    • Have questions read to you by friends, family or housemates and answer them so that you can talk through what you have learned.
    • Find a quiet, private place to read course resources and then read them out loud to yourself.

    As someone who is stimulated by sound, you might find that you like to study with noise in the background.  Try to avoid podcasts or music with lyrics as there will be too much information competing for your brain space.  Music without lyrics can be helpful to keep you focused on the task at hand and avoid distractions.

    Read/Write Learner

    If you identified with option three, using a PDF guide. You might prefer to learn through reading and writing.

    • Write information down and make good notes but, crucially, read and re-write them.
    • Make good use of lists and headings to organise your notes and work.
    • Keep a glossary at the back of your notebook or folder (or in a note on your phone/tablet/computer) where you can write down new words or ideas and their explanations.
    • Get a copy of any core textbooks that your course uses.
    • Find past papers and practice by writing answers.

    Whether you read digital materials or physical ones, just make sure that you keep them well organised in files and folders so that you can quickly and easily find the material you are looking for.  Similarly, some of you will enjoy typing or marking up digital documents while others prefer the tactile sense of writing.   Find what works best for you and embrace it.

    Kinaesthetic Learner

    If you identified most with option four, click buttons and learn by doing, you might lean towards kinaesthetic learning.

    • Walk around, tap your feet, rock in your chair or tap your pencil while reading.
    • Find a study zone with lots of table space where you can use flashcards, spread them out, organise them into categories/topics/themes and then move about and interact with them.
    • Buy some flipchart paper and pens which you can use to list, draw, practice and make notes while standing.
    • Pacing with study materials in hand will help you to learn without being distract by the impulse to get up and move around.
    • Take frequent but short breaks where you can get up and move around while studying.
    • Use a mobile device or computer to help augment your studying with your sense of touch.

    Kinetic learners can find it hard to absorb information while seated so make sure your studying and revising incorporates opportunities for you to move around otherwise you’ll find yourself distracted really easily.

    Different Learning Styles

    There might not be just one thing that will change learning for you.  Most of us will effectively learn through some combination of these different styles.  Remember that these are tools in your toolbox that you can pull out when you start revising.  You may have used some of these techniques in the past with success so start with them.  If some of those things resonated with you, give them a go.  Remember that we are all wired differently, and you may process information and learn in a way that is completely different to the other people around you.  That is perfectly normal.  Try different things and find the strategy that works best for you.

  • Organising Information

    Regardless of what learning style suits you best or what memory recall techniques you are employing, revision is usually accompanied by the organised recording of information.  It might be pages of notes, it could be on flash cards, or it could be in diagrams or mind maps, but you will have to commit to recording information in some way.

    Our memories thrive on organisation so here are two ways that you might consider structuring your information so that it’s easier to remember.

    1. Concept Pyramids: Our minds like to draw on concepts - mental representations of a group of items which are similar or linked in some way.

    If you were asked, what do you know about ‘trees’, your mind might start to go through the conceptual identity of a tree in a logical and systematic way.

    A tree has branches.  They are the bit above the ground.  Branches have the leaves on them.  A tree also has roots.  They are below the ground.  They are how a tree feeds itself. This is a concept pyramid.

    When you are making notes, preparing flashcards or drawing mind maps. Think about and list all of the ideas that you are trying to capture.  Then organise them into a concept pyramid.  General information at the top, granular specific details as you move down.

    The most general information or the most inclusive heading goes at the top of the pyramid and then linked aspects and ideas are placed below that.

    Be creative with you content to suit your learning style and your memory recall techniques.  Colour-code different levels of your pyramid.  Include shapes and drawings. Box, circle, underline and capitalise important words and details.

    1. Chunking Information: The other thing that we can do is divide our information up into manageable chunks.  Our memories like this.  We do not cope well with long strings of information.  We like to remember things in bite sized blocks.

    Two examples of this:

    • Phone numbers: Our phone numbers are presented not as a long string of digits, but as smaller chunks of three, four and four - 028 7012 3456.  We pause when we say it.
    • Credit cards:  When we read out our credit card number or debit card number, it’s presented as four groups of four – 1234 4567 7654 4321.

    We can do the same thing when organising information for revision.

    • Break large sections of content into smaller units.
    • Identify patterns and similarities.
    • Organise the information by grouping it into manageable units.

    For example, these two groups of words:

    List A

    • Plum
    • Apartment
    • Caravan
    • Elbow
    • Puppy
    • Hand
    • Foot
    • Apple
    • Pony
    • Cherry
    • Donkey
    • Bungalow
    • House
    • Giraffe
    • Knee
    • Banana

    List B

     
    FruitAnimalHomeBody
    Plum Giraffe House Foot
    Banana Puppy Apartment Knee
    Apple Donkey Bungalow Elbow
    Cherry Pony Caravan Hand

    Taken from Cottrell, S. (2013). The Study Skills Handbook.  4th ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Both lists contain the same words.  List B, however is much easier to remember than list A.  The information is organised, it’s grouped and it’s symmetrical.  Revision notes, flashcards, diagrams etc. can be prepared in the same way.  Break them up into smaller connected chunks and you’ll find it not only easier to digest, but easier to remember too.

  • Memory Recall  

    If you go into an exam feeling like you remember your material, it will build confidence and reduce nerves massively.

    It is also going to be a good skill for the future as you find yourself having to remember details in whatever comes next in your life and career.

    Our brains take in much more information than we actually need.  The problem is that if we do not make active use of that information. The path to it in our brains gets lost making it hard to access.  We have to work to build roads in our mind – create easy to walk pathways to help us find the information that we need when we need it.

    Try this exercise.  Ask an online AI to generate a list of twenty words.  Study it for one minute, try and remember as many words as you can and then scroll away so that it is off your screen.

    Next, take one minute and write down as many words as you can remember.  The list of words that you remember might give you some clues about how your memory works.

    1. Regency/Primacy: If you look at your list and see what you have remembered. Remembering the first word that you thought about or the last word that you thought about that’s a regency of primacy effect.  Information for you is most easily absorbed either at the start or at the end of a learning episode.  You will need to arrange your learning so that facts, details and cases that you need to remember are stacked at the start or the end of your learning.
    1. Sound: If you remembered words that rhymed (cog, log and dog) or words that were interesting to say, sounds are important to you.  Odd sounding words or things that you can group together will stick with you.  Use this to your advantage. Maybe remembering obscure names in cases or thinking about rhymes and patterns in your notes.
    1. Locus: When we read a word like 'holiday' we might think about a memory from a family holiday years ago.  Place is important to people who do this.  You can employ a strategy called Locus that researchers have found really effective for some people.  Imagine yourself placing information around a room that is familiar to you and then go back in your mind and pick it up.  Learn the details of a case or a legal precedent, and then imagine yourself putting that information down for instance beside the TV in your family living room.
    2. Visual Features: You might have remembered words you associated with pictures.  You can use this as you revise to help you remember details by drawing pictures and using symbols and shapes to help you recall what you have learned.
    1. Visual Arrangement: If you remembered words by visualising where they appeared. For instance visualise words in a column. Then arrangement will help you to recall information that you are learning for an exam.  Use lists, flowcharts and patterns in your notes to help you picture that information later.
    1. Semantic Association:  If you grouped words that had connections (for example bread, butter, jam, sandwich), your memory recalls things through meaningful associations.  Make connections between words, facts, details and cases. You will find that when one comes to mind. The others follow more easily too.
    1. Stories: Sometimes people use stories to link and remember unrelated things.  "The pink dog ate walnuts on the kitchen chair."  If you need to remember names, dates or facts, invent a story that features each item on your list, in the right order. Make your story funny, strange and exciting, and you will find that it is even easier to recall.
  • Active Revision  

    Revision can not be passive.  We can make beautiful flashcards, organised flowcharts, colourful mind maps.  We can associate words and phrase, link them to places or arrange things visually.  Those things are helpful. If we simply do them as passive activities, we will find that we do not get anywhere with our revision.

    We must be active in the way that we revise.

    • If you draw a diagram, make notes or write out flashcards, learn them, visualise them, then put your notes away and try to draw or write them again from memory.
    • Test yourself, talking out loud if you need to.  Ask yourself, for example, “what are the details of that case?”  Write down what you think it is or speak it our to yourself and then consult your notes.  What did you get right?  Celebrate that! Where are your gaps?
    • Go to those past papers that we mentioned early and now, actually have a go at answering them.  Do it under exam conditions.  Close your door and give yourself and hour or three hours or whatever time the question demands of you exercise your revision by practically employing it in response to an exam question.

What Examiners Are Looking For

There are three common pieces of feedback that examiners often give in terms of what they are looking for in an exam answer.  Thinking on these three points can help to guide you when it comes to preparing for exams.

  1. Focus: When you sit down to write your exam answers take a second to remember that you are not just being asked to write down everything that you know about the topic at hand.  Your examiners have posed questions and they want you to focus on those questions.  Even if you use all of your time and fill a booklet with writing it does not matter if you do not answer the question.
  1. Structure: You will need to remember information, facts and details for your exam questions. Your final mark is based on more than the level of information that you’ve been able to recall.  Academic responses are about assembling information into a clear, logical, structured response that flows well and demonstrates your ability.
  1. Appreciate the Task: Different styles of questions ought to be answered in different ways.  Do not be too quick to jump into responding to a question before truly understanding what you’re being asked to do.

Essay Style Questions

Whether you’re practicing a past paper or sitting your actual exam, it’s important to consider exactly how to approach and address the question that you’ll find in front of you.

  • Breaking Down the Question

    There are a few steps you want to undertake when approaching an essay in an exam and it starts with the question.  Sometimes you will be given a choice of essay question. Sometimes you will just have to answer a set question.  Either way, it is crucial that you take time to fully understand exactly what the question is asking of you.  Read them, and re-read them, and then start to break them down.

    Here are examples of two essay style questions. One from History and the second from Law.  Even if you do not study either of these subjects, read them as good examples of the wording of essay style questions.  Your subject will most likely use similarly structured essay questions for assessment.

    ‘Insensitive to cultural change, and without much respect for sources, Machiavelli used history primarily to supply answers to current political problems.’ Discuss this assertion with reference to his Florentine Histories.

    Critically evaluate the importance of judicial discretion to exclude evidence, with particular regard to evidence unlawfully, improperly or unfairly obtained and consider how, if at all judicial discretion has been affected by the Human rights act 1998.

    Instruction Words

    The first thing that you need to do is take note of instruction words within the question.

    • Discuss… 
    • Critically evaluate… / Consider…

    These are instruction words and they tell you what it is that you need to do to get the best marks in the question.

    • Discuss: This is a written debate where you are using your skill at reasoning, backed up by carefully selected evidence to make a case for and against an argument. Or point out the advantages and disadvantages of a given context. Remember to arrive at a conclusion.
    • Critically Evaluate: Give your verdict as to what extent a statement or findings within a piece of research are true, or to what extent you agree with them. Provide evidence taken from a wide range of sources which both agree with and contradict an argument. Come to a final conclusion, basing your decision on what you judge to be the most important factors and justify how you have made your choice.
    • Consider:  Say what you think and have observed about something. Back up your comments using appropriate evidence from external sources. Or your own experience including any views which are contrary to your own and how they relate to what you originally thought.

    Here are some other instruction words –

    • Analyse: Here you need to provide a detailed comparison of the causes and effects of how something has happened / developed. Wherever possible use examples, especially if the stimulus material has some within it. Sometimes the word "critically" is inserted before analyse. This means that you must make suggestions as to why / why not something would / would not, in your opinion, be appropriate to the issue being analysed. As ever, it's best to offer support to your findings/opinions.
    • Explain: Clarify a topic by giving a detailed account as to how and why it occurs, or what is meant by the theme or topic. Write clearly so that complex concepts can be understood. Define key terms where appropriate and substantiate with relevant research.
    • Make Suggestions: Offer solutions by providing a body of evidence to support your ideas and points of view. In order to present a balanced argument, consider opinions which may run contrary to your own before stating your conclusion.
    • To what extent: Present in a logical order and with reference to relevant evidence how far you agree with the statement or theme of the essay. This type of question calls for a thorough assessment of the evidence in presenting your argument. Explore alternative explanations where they exist.

    Key Aspect

    Once you have underlined and understood the instruction words, next look for the key aspect of the question.  This is the primary thematic focus of the question.  The topic or theme that you will be talking about in a way befitting your instruction words.

    • Machiavelli, his use of history and contemporary political problems.
    • The importance of judicial discretion to exclude evidence.

    The key aspect of the essay will tell you what knowledge you need to recall in order to answer it.  It can be helpful at this point in your exam to pause and start to write down a few things that you’re going to draw on that you know relate to the key aspect.

    Context

    Finally, you need to look at the context that is presented in the question.  Essay questions limit themselves by telling you the specific circumstances that you’re being asked to address the key aspect within.

    • … with reference to [Machiavelli’s] Florentine Histories.
    • …with particular regard to evidence unlawfully, improperly or unfairly obtained…

    Every essay has and needs a focus.  If you were to write everything about a topic even about a particular aspect of a topic you would be writing a whole book.  The context represents that focus and gives you direction about the scope of the essay.

    If your essay question is asking you to refer to the Florentine Histories or unfairly obtained evidence then that ought to form the bulk of your conversation.  Arguments that press into related topics are often useful but if your essay fails to focus on the context that your question has given you. Then you are not answering the question.

  • Planning an Answer

    Once you have understood your question, you need to plan how you are going to answer it.

    Jot down your initial thoughts.  Ask yourself –

    • What do I know about this question?
    • Do I agree/disagree with the premise presented in the question?
    • If I were to summarise my response to the key aspect in a couple of sentences, what would that be?
    • How can I turn those sentences into an academic argument?
    • What evidence will I need to argue my case?
    • Which authors can I refer to in my answer?
    • Are there specific cases and examples that I can draw on?

    With those thoughts considered, step back and make sure that what you have written down answers the question.  Sometimes we get excited and begin a frantic mind dump, but on second consideration we see that everything we’ve written isn’t totally applicable to the question.  Re-focus.  Get rid of the things that are irrelevant.

    With whatever is left form your argument and summarise that argument into key points.  These points will form the paragraphs of your essay so decide on a logical order to those points that flow well from one to the next.

    Having a clear and logical structure will help ensure that your essay stays focused and does not stray from the question being answered. Each paragraph should add value to the argument you are presenting. As you are planning it is good to ask yourself. What value does this section add? How does it link to my overarching argument? If you find that you can not answer those questions, there is a high risk that you have strayed from your core argument, and you may want to reconsider the path you are taking.

    Next, map your essay plan to the time that you have.  If you have an hour to write your essay, you should be spending around 6-8 minutes on the introduction and conclusion leaving you 45 minutes to convey the points of your argument.  Consider how you are going to divide that time up so that you will have the space to start and end your essay well.

  • The Structure of an Essay Style Answer 

    How you present your argument is nearly as important as the argument itself. Which is why it is imperative that your essay follows a logical structure.

    A classic piece of advice is to "tell them what you are going to tell them.  Then tell them.  Finally tell them what you told them". This summarises the core introduction, main body, and conclusion structure of your essay.

    Introduction

    “Tell them what you’re going to tell them.”

    • Introduce your topic to the reader/examiner.
    • Identify the issues that are going to be explored.
    • Give a preview of your answer plan and overall argument.

    Main Body

    Following your plan, make sure that all the different parts of your essay fit together as a cohesive and logical whole and that the transition from one argument to the next is fluid.

    The PEEL paragraph method is a technique used in writing to help structure paragraphs in a way that presents a single clear and focused argument, which links back to the essay topic or thesis statement.

    It’s good practice to dedicate each paragraph to one aspect of your argument, and the PEEL structure simplifies this for you.

    P = Point

    Start your paragraph with a clear topic sentence that establishes what your paragraph is going to be about. Your point should support your overall essay argument.

    E = Evidence/Example

    Here you should use a piece of evidence or an example that helps to reaffirm your initial point and develop the argument.  That might be a case, an argument from a source, a specific piece of legislation etc.  Remember to appropriately attribute any evidence that you present including the names of authors and dates of their work.

    E = Explain

    Next you need to explain exactly how your evidence/example supports your point. Giving further information to ensure that your reader understands its relevance.

    L = Link

    To finish the paragraph off, you need to link the point you have just made back to your essay question, topic, or thesis.

    A paragraph responding to the History question on Machiavelli, as shown above, might be structured like this -

    [POINT] Machiavelli's primary motive in writing "Florentine Histories" was deeply political.  [EVIDENCE] Evidence of this political motive is found throughout "Florentine Histories". Machiavelli’s detailed accounts of events such as the Pazzi Conspiracy and the rise and fall of various factions in Florence serve as cautionary tales or models to be emulated. His focus on the practical applications of historical events, rather than a mere chronicling of facts, underscores his utilitarian approach (Banfield, 1988).  [EXPLAIN] Engaged in the politics of his time, Machiavelli saw his histories as part of a broader project to influence contemporary governance (Hale, 1961). By documenting Florence’s past, he aimed to provide political leaders with concrete examples of strategies that had either succeeded or failed. This approach was inherently prescriptive. Machiavelli’s analysis of factionalism, civic virtue, and leadership was designed to critique current political practices and offer guidance for the future (Najemy, 1982).   [LINK]  This didactic purpose demonstrates how Machiavelli used history as a tool for political instruction, seeking to distil lessons that could inform contemporary and future political conduct.

    Conclusion

    Finally, “tell them what you’ve told them” by ending with a conclusion.

    • Summarise the main argument that you have made in your essay.
    • Do not present new themes or arguments.
    • Draw the essay to a satisfactory close.

Stress Management

In our section on Positives About Exams, we discussed how stress can be a good thing. Motivating us to accept a challenge and overcome difficulties.  Stress can, however, veer into unhealthy levels.  If that happens you might need a little bit of support and encouragement.  To keep stress at healthy levels, here are three things to pay attention to in exam season.

Diet

Our bodies need the right food to function well.  Please remember to eat and drink well as you prepare for your exams.  Caffeine can help with alertness temporarily, but it also causes dips where your focus will wane.  It will also impact your sleeping habits and that is not a good thing.  Sugary foods and drinks provide a burst of energy but it is not long lasting and you will crash.  Limit the caffeine to two cups of tea or coffee in your day.  Focus on wholegrain foods like porridge, wholemeal bread. Eat berries, or nuts if you can eat them to have as little snacks.  These are packed with slow release energy which will sustain your energy levels for longer.

Sleep

You need sleep to revise well.  Research shows that sleep is when memories become more stable.  When you fall asleep, some memories are strengthened.  We often make the mistake of trying to power through the night to cram everything.  But that will actually be less effective than revising well through the day and then having a solid eight hours of sleep through the night where your revision memory will take root in your mind.

Exercise

Exercise oxygenates your brain, keeping it working.  It’s also linked to the release of positive hormones which keeps your wellbeing balanced which keeps you relaxed and helps you to focus.  Find what works for you, but it does not have to be a 10k every day.  Take a ten-minute walk on your breaks.