Dealing with exams

If you are feeling worried about your studies or examinations, you may find it helpful to talk to your personal tutor or module teachers. Share your thoughts about the exam with other students. Talking to your friends and family can also be reassuring. Remember it is completely normal to feel a little anxious but it is important to be able to keep things in perspective. 

All students are different and what seems like a positive challenge to one might seem more like unhelpful stress to others, so the important thing is to be aware of what works for you. If you do get anxious, try to identify strategies to help you relax.

Preparation can help reduce anxiety so try and plan ahead for how you will deal with exams, and access appropriate advice and support. 

Draw up a revision time-table of the key topics you want to cover and the time you want to allocate to those topics mapped out across the time you have available until your exams begin.

• Look at past exam papers or model questions that may be available through WebCT, Moodle or the Portal - papers can help you identify and understand the types of questions you will be expected to answer.  It can also help you to become familiar with the way questions are phrased and even the weighting (number of marks) per element.
• Practice planning answers - where would you find the appropriate material in your lecture notes?  What stages would you need to work through to complete an answer?  Practicing plans can sometimes be as helpful as practicing writing out an answer in timed conditions.  Each process helps you understand more about what you know and the areas you need to revise.
• Arrange to meet friends on your course to revise set topics together. Study groups can be enormously helpful and reassuring.
• Do talk to your tutors, including your personal tutor or School, for advice on managing exams. 
• Balance your time, especially in the weeks leading up to the exams and during the exam periods.  Make time for physical exercise and time to rest alongside working through your revision.