Monday 17 February 2014

EXAM TIPS

PHILOSOPHY STUDENTS

Here are some tips to help you in the examinations for the courses

1. The examination is very often three hours. Remember to read the instruction on the question paper to see how long the exam is and how many questions to answer per section.

2. Most exam questions are short essay format. You will be required to write short essays to the questions asked. Be brief but make sure you exhaust the questions. Essays generally should have some introductory remarks, the main body of the essay, and a conclusion.

3. Some terms to keep in mind when answering exam questions:
  • Critically discuss .... : You are required to first explain the topic that you are critically discussing, then you give some of the strengths of that topic, give some of the criticisms to that topic and end by taking a position or simply conclude.
  • Evaluate .... : Similar to assessing arguments, such questions are asking whether you think the argument is good and valid argument. It asks whether the argument has supporting evidence to make the claim. Whether there are weaknesses in the argument.
  • Explain ....: In clear terms showing the meaning of what is being asked. Give some details to what is being asked. Briefly explain --- type of questions demand that you should as precise as possible.
  • State ..... Mentioning what is asked for without giving any explanation.
  • Compare and contrast ....: Normally this involves two theories or concepts and it is asking for some similarities, difference, where one is lacking, whether one is better than the other .. etc.
  • Assess.....: Same as evaluate.
  • Describe .......: Giving details of the concept being asked on.
4. Of course read instructions on the question paper. Check if each section has its own instructions. This will serve you a lot of time. Sometimes students take a long time doing the wrong things or answering the wrong questions only to discover halfway in the exam that maybe only one question should be answered.

5. Read the instructions on the answer sheet  also. This is very important to avoid being penalized or having missing exam sheets.

6. Remember to ask the invigilators where things are not clear. There is no need brooding on your desk and trying to figure out something that your invigilator can easily help you with. Don's fear invigilators in exam -- this can also cost you valuable time.

Good luck in your examinations!!!

1 comment:

  1. exactly what i needed to know before hand...thank you

    ReplyDelete