Exam preparation checklist
Some advance preparation will help you feel confident on the day. Here’s what one student has said.
"I have a mental checklist of what I need to do once I've turned over the paper. I do this because I used to rush in and answer the first question that looked at all familiar, only to find that there was another question that would have suited me better. I tended not to plan and so the answer was all jumbled up and I realised, then the exam was over, that I had left out some really good material in the heat of the moment. My mental checklist makes me stop and think."
"I have a mental checklist of what I need to do once I've turned over the paper. I do this because I used to rush in and answer the first question that looked at all familiar, only to find that there was another question that would have suited me better. I tended not to plan and so the answer was all jumbled up and I realised, then the exam was over, that I had left out some really good material in the heat of the moment. My mental checklist makes me stop and think."
Check the examination arrangements
- double-check the date and time
- make sure you know where the venue is
- check travel/parking arrangements
- find out what you can take into the examination room
- check to see if there’s any special equipment you should take – e.g. calculator
Use your specimen exam paper
- make sure you understand the structure
- note how many questions you have to answer
- be clear about how the marks are distributed
Practise getting started by giving yourself ten minutes to do a mock start to the exam
- check the instructions
- read the whole exam paper through carefully
- choose the questions and decide their sequence
- plan your time
- jot down key points to cover in your first question
- decide on the order in which to cover them
- start writing, crossing out each point as you cover it
Get used to writing quickly
- handwrite a complete answer to check that you can do it in the time allowed
- make sure your writing is legible – try out different types of pen
On the day
- remember to take a photographic form of identity
- take more than one type of pen (when you’re writing quickly, changing pens is like changing into a more comfortable pair of shoes!)
- remember that if you’ve passed the continuous assessment part of the course, there is every reason why you should pass the exam
More advice
Go to our Exams and Revision website and the BBC’s exams written by the OU's Andy Northedge..
Registered students can also obtain a hard copy of our Exams and Revision Toolkit from Regional Centres.
Registered students can also obtain a hard copy of our Exams and Revision Toolkit from Regional Centres.