Vent

[Rioch]

I just had a go at Oct' 10. It was my first English exam under time pressure. OMG. I wrote 40 pages (how big is the answer booklet? - how much spare paper is there.)

I took all the American exams and never felt time pressure. I only just finished this one - and only because I went very quickly when I saw I was over time.

There doesn't seem to be much traffic on this page - at least compared to the American forum (which is not related to any particular study material provider) . Is there a more popular public forum for ST-9?

Thanks,

 

[bystander]

Yes you can get addendum sheets to add into exam booklets - not sure howmany pages there are but generally I don't think many people need extra and certainly the number of sheets you use isn't necessarily correlated to your probability of passing.

 

[Rioch]

Thanks - I know pages doesn't equal passing - it was actually Apri '11 (my bad) and I wrote a lot about long-term solutions - which the examiners explicitly say was worth 0. After marking the whole thing, I think I would have passed it - just (though it's subjective how to mark).

 

[bystander]

Yes the later ones are subjective so I strongly recommend getting feedback from others who see lots of efforts --- so basically a marked mock or some assignment marking.

Pure speculation, but if you write lots that don't score, and you end it borderline, it could count against you if examiners feel you were 'scatter-gunning' or didn't really understand the question.

There again, on the day, you have to write what they think so beyond vetoing ideas before you scrawl there is little you can do to guard against that one.

 

[Simon James]

Wow 40 pages! Without having seen your script, it sounds like you have either written far too much or have very large handwriting!

This means for the 100 marks available you are generating a maximum of 2.5 marks per page. This is very low.

Some ideas that may help:
- answer the question - sounds flippant, but many students simply write everything they know about a particular topic without actually filtering their response to the specific question asked
- use bullet points - there is no need to write lengthy paragraphs - instead use bullet points (like these) to get you ideas down as succinctly as possible
- get some feedback on your script - having a script marked (eg a mock exam) will give you more objective feedback about your script and where perhaps you are wasting time and not scoring marks

Best wishes.

 

[Rioch]

Simon, thanks, it was the handwriting (I write large in an exam - like 4/5 a line, also for every subheading (e.g. CDO Advantages) I started a new page). Apart from that last question, most of what I wrote was included in the marks scheme (though I missed plenty also).

I wish I got 2.5 marks a page - that would give me a 100%! I got closer to 50.

Thanks,

 

[yiimaisui]

i noticed the solutions provided for the assignments and Q&A bank, marks are provided very stingily (0.5 marks per point) - is this the same for the exam? e.g. if the question is worth 10 marks, we're expected to write 20 different points?

 

[David Wilmot]

Yes, in general, valid concepts are awarded half-a-mark. However, 'key' concepts may be awarded a whole mark.

As a rule of thumb:

• if the instruction word is 'list' or 'state' then all valid concepts will get half-a-mark each - so, for example, you should aim to have at least 6 concepts listed in response to a [3] mark list or state question
• if the instruction word is 'explain' then you need to give more detail in respect of each concept and so most will get a whole mark - so just 3 concepts, if well explained, should be enough for a [3] mark 'explain' question (note that in a marking schedule that one concept may be broken down into two points of detail, each scoring half-a-mark)
• other instruction words (e.g. 'describe', 'outline' e.t.c.) lie between these two extremes.

This is just a 'rule of thumb' and there will be exceptions. However, it can be a useful guide to judging whether or not you have done enough to (potentially) score well in any particular question.

The reason I say 'potentially' (above) is that even if you have included a reasonable number of concepts in your answer, you don't know if they will be the concepts in the marking schedule. So, it is very important to ensure you get a broad rage of concepts into any answer - rather than a load of similar concepts. Achieving breadth of answer is very important!

 

[yiimaisui]

thanks david, makes a lot of sense!