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I am a first-time student.
I finished working through the content of my module earlier this year and spent most of my leave over an extended long weekend revising and doing a sample paper.I finished going through my work again on Friday. I do my exam [End User Computing Practical] next Wednesday. What is the best thing I can do to prepare myself between now and then? I am beginning anxious about this even though I found the sample paper fairly simple apart from a few nasty trick multiple choice questions where none of the answers offered were right. Othet than multiple choice questions, the paper also asks one to identify elements of software interfaces ["give the number of the button used to refresh the page'] or computer hardware peripherals and accessories ["which of the three discs (650Mb, 4.7Gb, 8.5Gb0 is a DVD"] Should I be reading through my work again and trying to cover it a third time, or is that overkill?

Help!

Well considering I'm writing Friday and haven't gone through all my work a first time yet it is probably overkill but then again I'm probably not the best example for how to prepare for a exam

There's no such thing as overkill when you're a student. That's my opinion, at least, and that's from my experiences. Unless you know that work better than the back of your hand, going over it another 10 times can only do you good.

@ Nemo: Brave man!

@Dae: Thanks.

How normal is it to forget what you supposedly learned the previous day? Things like pros and cons of online shopping and telecommuting, what constitutes a good backup/security policy and what the parts that make up a CPU are called and what their
functions are. I remember the broad outline [hey, I've sketched out several], but it is the details that confound me.

Do you ever feel anxious prior to an exam? What do you do to help yourself calm down?

Sometimes my bravery even suprise myself

I try and not study the last hour or 2 before an exam and just listen to music and tell myself that "what I know I know and what ever I don't it is to late to worry about now"

Oh and always be rather early for the exam you don't want to stress about being late for it also

Rescue remedy works well - so does fresh air and deep breathing.

Also picture yourself being calm and relaxed during your exam. Keep that in you head for a day or two before you write. Every time you get anxious, remind yourself how easy the old test was, how much you have revised your work and how the information is stored in your head. Getting upset could cause you to get confused or forget.

Some people work out visual cues to help them remember too. When you learn something difficult - choose an object that you will have with you. Stare at it while reciting the information. Do this a few times. Theoretically, when you are stuck you can stare at the object and your brain will give you the information. As silly as it sounds, it works for me.

But Birdie - you will do well. You have studied harder for this exam than I ever did. You need to believe that you will do well - and you will. You have put in the work and now it is time to reap the reward (great marks).

What is "Rescue remedy"?

Will see if I can persuade them to allo me to write the exam outside using a laptop.

Surely I cannot assume that I shall pass simply because I believe I shall? If that were so, I need not study at all.
Hehe...not after great marks. Just looking forward to finishing this. I don't have to do brilliantly, just get 70% for my first
two exams and 60% for my final exam. That means that I can get 40 MCQs wrong....

Thanks Cat

StarPhoenix wrote: Surely I cannot assume that I shall pass simply because I believe I shall?

That is already 50% of the marks right there since if you believe it you won't stress about it. Ok given that you actually did work as well.

I'm also curious about that remedy

rescue remedy is a herbal supplement (liquid form) that helps calm you.... it works, trust me!
(tho i don't use it for tests and exams, rather for big social events.....)

I think I should try some of that

StarPhoenix wrote:How normal is it to forget what you supposedly learned the previous day? Things like pros and cons of online shopping and telecommuting, what constitutes a good backup/security policy and what the parts that make up a CPU are called and what their
functions are. I remember the broad outline [hey, I've sketched out several], but it is the details that confound me.

Then you need to change how you study. The way you commit information to memory will define how well you remember stuff. If you're forgetting stuff the day after you studied it, you probably didn't study hard enough, or your study method isn't the right method for you.

THE_STIG wrote:I think I should try some of that

maybe you should bypass all the marketing rubbish and grab yourself of bottle of strong alcohol.... for similar effect possibly something in the 27% volume range...

any herbal claim to efficacy is a lie of the highest order....

so the RR advice could be restated...

• get drunk
  get arrested for stealing traffic cones/street signs/pantaloons
  write test
  ???
  start work at mcburger king

No that is terrible advice, I know somebody who got drunk and then wrote an exam(think it was Physics or Maths) and he failed badly and then dropped out of school.

so wait... rescue remedy would then be the opposite of good? given that RR is brandy with herbal woo-woo...

repetition, diet, practice, practice, practice and plenty of sleep... the mind only beds down new knowledge when the rest of the body shuts up for a bit... lack of sleep is a sure-fire win for failing...

if you're not gifted with a photographic/parrot memory there are plenty of simple exercises you can use to retain reams of pointless information for a short spell... rhyming, acronyms, maps,stories...

Yea rhyming, acronyms.... are very helpful and almost always work. Medication that claims to help does not

Rusty is right....

That he is

KatrynKat wrote:Rusty is right....

He usually is.

/DAE is also right. There is something wrong with the way I studied in the opening months of this year. I have been going through my outlines and comparing them to what I think I know as well as my textbook. Vast gaping holes in my knowledge there are.... Couldn't find the words to explain some of the concepts I should know about.

I suppose the best I can do now is to try to go over everything in a hurry again over the next few days and the weekend and hope it sticks until I have written the exam next Wednesday.

Perhaps I am getting too old for this...

I’ve just got back from writing the exam.
It was more difficult than the sample paper and there were several questions I was unsure of and guessed at.
I’m hoping that that was enough to pass.

Do we have an "I feel ill" emoticon?

why do you want that it is over for now any which way so why worry now
It probably went better than what you think any way that is how it normally go

just one note about multiple choice answers / questions.

Yes, there is times when not one of the answers seems correct, however - at the top of that section you are informed to select the "MOST CORRECT" answer - they never claim to give the correct answer as an option.

Just eliminate the obvious blatant incorrect answers and select the leftover. Not always that simple, but something to be aware of.

oops - seems my comment might be too late

can be used for next time...

CapNemo wrote: why do you want that it is over for now any which way so why worry now
It probably went better than what you think any way that is how it normally go

Funny thing is that I managed to hold it together most of the time when I was doing the exam, but on my way back, my thorat felt as though it were being constricted and I was dry heaving.
Born worriers automatically get an anxiety +10 boost to their stats.

Thank you for the advice Sojourn

Another thing on multiple choice. It can happen that they use negative marking- in this case marks are deducted for wrong answers. Most uni's don't use this method. but just make sure of that. I do think however they will inform you in the test if they do this.