Past exam papers - such wonderful tools, such wonderful ways to review your knowledge, such a good way to get an idea of what lies ahead. Most students appreciate past exam papers and make completing past papers an integral part of their study schedule. Should you do the same? Here are three things that all students can learn from past exam papers that should answer that question.
1. Learn from what you got right.
Oftentimes we assume that the best place to start learning is from our mistakes. Although there is a lot to learn from our mistakes, we can still learn from our successes.
Time and time again, I have come across an interesting case: A student restudying a chapter that they fully understand and did well on. Why? Well, frankly, they feel better when studying things they already know. Doing this sets their minds at ease for the exam series to come. So, they spend the majority of time reviewing a chapter that they know well - because it reassures them of their knowledge, all while taking time away from the topics that really need their attention.
So, the first place to start when studying for exams is with the chapters that you are struggling with. By all means, take time to review what you already know. It’s great to sharpen up and, after a difficult chapter, it’s encouraging to review a topic that inspires confidence. But make sure to prioritise what you don’t know, rather than fixating on what you already know.
2. Learn from what you got wrong.
When a student comes to us with the desire to improve their marks, our student advisors always start by reviewing what the student got wrong.
It’s a painful process - to have all of your mistakes examined - but the first place to start improving is to see where you went wrong. Taking note of where you made mistakes will help you focus your attention where it’s needed the most. So, make use of past exam papers and if possible review exams that you have already written.
3. Learn from how the questions are asked.
To improve your marks, there are usually two main things that need your attention: Firstly, you need to focus on the chapters that you didn’t fully understand and, secondly, you need to work on how you answer the exam questions.
It sounds silly, but oftentimes students lose a lot of marks simply because of the way they answer questions. When reviewing past exam papers with students, it has become apparent that they either don’t read the question well or they don’t answer the question in its entirety.
So, when preparing for exams, make sure to review past exams and take careful note of what the question was, how many marks were allocated to the question, and how well you answered it.
There are many more things that can be learned from past exams. As a student advisor, these are the three main things that come up again and again, so make sure to take note of them.
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