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| How to 'ACE' your examinations |
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| (You need Accuracy, Consistency and Effectiveness) |
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MENTION the word "examination" and even the most prepared student will fell a shiver running down his spine. |
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| .......................................................................... |
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Many of you will remember your days of cramming and the tension you experienced as you wanted to go into the examination hall: the cold sweat, queasy stomach and the sudden need to rush to the washroom. |
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And it did not end there. You feared that your pen would run dry, or that your calculator would break down. Or that, worst of all, you would not know how to answer all your questions. |
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Feeling this way is perfectly normal. And if you are currently pursuing a higher degree or a course to ugrade your skills, you will experience those same feelings again (maybe to a lesser degree now that you are a working adult) when you sit for the examination. |
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Remember that an examination is just a test of how you apply the know-ledge that you have gathered in your academic course. Although some questions are deliberately challenging, if you have done your work and revision, you will be well-prepared. The important thing is to be calm and focused during your examination. |
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When you answer examination questions, you need to ensure that your answers satisfy these criteria. These can be remembered by the acronym ACE, which stands for accuracy, consistency and effectiveness. These are the three key aspects that most examiners are looking for in the answers. |
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| .......................................................................... |
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| To achieve accuracy in your answer, identify the key issues in the question. Once you have done this, test them with the principles and rules that you have learnt in your course. |
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To show your understanding, cite relevant authorities, elaborate on the reasoning behind the principles that you have mentioned in your essay and give examples to substantiate your points. |
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Write in a clear, concise manner. Hghlight key points that you have mentioned to bring them to the attention of the marker. Keep your paragraphs short and to the point. |
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I have a simple method that I share with my students whenever they sit for their examinations. I tell them to re-read the question after every paragraph they have written. This will ensure that they do not go off the point and are consistenly addressing the key issues. |
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Examination markers check if the answer you give is effective. To achieve this, you need to pay attention to the question. Examiners use words like: "Discuss"; "Explain"; "Critically evaluate"; "In your view..." and "Illustrate" to tell you what they are expecting to see in your essay. |
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A "Discuss" question usually involves a situation, statement or quote which you are expected to analyse. This means looking at the facts, the theories and the issues, giving relevant examples and starting your views on the subject. |
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| An "Explain" question will expect you to make sense of a situation or state of affairs. |
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A "Critically evaluate" question demands a knowledge of theories - supporting as well as opposing - on the subject. You must be able to see the pros and cons in each one, and justify why you think on school of thought is better than another. |
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| Finally, "In your view..." questions expect you to indentify the key issues of a topic, and state what you think about them, and why. |
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The above descriptions, of course, apply mostly to essay questions. But even if you are sitting for accounting, statistics or mathematics papers, the same principles of accuracy, consistency and effectiveness apply. They just involve mathematical formulas instead of words. On the final note, try to see the examination as an enjoyable process. You are getting the chance to show the examiner how smart you are. Enter the examination hall with a positive attitude and stay calm amd composed. Remember, if you should be in a position to tackle any question. |
Article by Daniel Theyagu, a keynote speaker and seminar leader for conferences and training programmes and also a adjunct lecturer with the Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS) |
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