Guidance

Who could be better to advise you than an examiner? - someone who has marked thousands and thousands of exam papers; someone who sets questions and therefore knows exactly what examiners look for in your answers; someone who has seen all the errors that students make, time and time again.

There is no secret in any of this. The key to success can be summarised in one word: method or (if you prefer) technique. If you adopt the right method - the right approach - it can make all the difference between a B or a C grade, etc. and ultimately a difference between a Class 2.I or a Class 2.II.

So, please read this guidance time and time again. And please follow it. We want you to do well, but YOU have to put the guidance into practice.

Ten key steps to examination success

1. Prepare for the examination. There is little time for formal revision at the end of teaching in Semester 1, so you must revise as you go along!

2. Look at past papers. This prepares you for the types of question you will be asked, and the time you will have to answer each question. If there has been any major change in the format of the examination, then you will have been told about this in the course literature.

3. Never try to 'spot' questions and never revise selectively. This is a recipe for disaster. Even if your predicted topics do come up in the exam, there is no guarantee that you will be able to answer the specific questions that were set on these topics. Instead, you should go into the exam with enough knowledge to answer questions on any of the major topics in a course.

4. During the examination, organise your time effectively. N.B. This is the single most common cause of under-achievement in exams.

   For example, if you have a 3-hour exam in which you must answer 4 essay-style questions, then that means 45 minutes per question. BUT you should allow yourself 5 minutes at the start (to read the questions and decide on the ones you will attempt) AND 15 minutes at the end - see below. That leaves you 40 minutes per question.

   Now start on the first question, but stop immediately when the 40 minutes has passed. Don't worry if you have not finished the question - you have left 15 minutes at the end, so you can come back to this question and any others that you need to finish off.

   Tackle your second question, and again stop after 40 minutes, and similarly for the third and fourth questions.

   If you always adhere rigidly to this approach you will maximise your chances of success. You will never run out of time for all the questions because you have kept some time in reserve. Equally important, you will have scored the highest overall mark that you possibly can get, because exam marks follow the rule of "diminishing returns" - you get most of the marks for a question early on (in the first 20-30 minutes), and after that you have to work harder and harder for the remaining marks. In fact, the last 10% of marks for a question is almost impossible to get - very few examiners will give a mark above 80 or 90%. [The reason is simple: however good your answer might be, it could always be better, so a marker is reluctant to give full marks. Perhaps it shouldn't be that way. But that's life.]

5. Always answer the full number of questions.

   You would be surprised at the number of students who miss out questions and therefore fail an exam or obtain a lower degree class than they deserve. The reason is obvious - they cannot answer all the questions (usually because they didn't revise) and so they decide to spend all their time on the questions they can answer.

   This is foolish. For example, if you can answer only 3 of the required 4 questions then you cannot possibly get more than 75% of the marks for the whole exam. But it even worse than that - even if you get three first-class marks (70%) for your three questions, this is still only 210 marks out of the possible 400. That's 53%, which is only just above the D/C borderline (or the third/ lower second class borderline).

   Even if you think you know nothing about a topic, you can always get a few marks by making some sensible comments, and that can make the difference of a grade.

   The same advice applies to questions that require you to answer several parts - each part of a question has marks allocated to it, and if you miss out a part then you cannot get the marks for it.

6. Read the question carefully, underline all the relevant words, and stick rigidly to the question as set. Again this might seem obvious, but again many students fail to follow this advice. Remember that examiners think very carefully about the wording of every question, and expect your answer to be directly on that topic. No examiner asks you to "Write everything you know about a subject"!

   For example, if you are asked to write about the wall structure of bacteria then you will get no marks at all for mentioning the other features of bacteria - the membrane, the genome, etc. You get marks only for the wall. The moment that you start to write about other things, the examiner will write "irrelevant" in the margin of your answer book, and will only start giving marks again when you get back onto the subject. In short, you are wasting your own valuable time, and getting no marks for it.

7. For every question, stop writing after the first few minutes and re-read the question, then stop again to recheck before your time is up. Be absolutely honest with yourself, and ask 'Have I drifted off the subject?' This is surprisingly easy to do, and if you don't stop to check periodically then you drift into "irrelevant".

8. Make rough notes at the start of a question, so as to organise your thoughts. Then start your proper answer.

   You almost certainly will be told to cross out the rough notes. But my advice is NEVER CROSS THEM OUT. Remember that anything you cross out cannot be marked, but if you leave your rough notes then the examiner should look through them (if only briefly). Perhaps you made a point in your notes that you forgot to put into your proper answer. That can count in your favour.

9. Never answer more questions than required. You can only get marks for the required number of questions. Every marker sticks rigidly to this rule, because we have to be fair to all the candidates - including those who did exactly what was required.

10. Put yourself in an examiner's shoes and ask 'What impresses an examiner?'

    Imagine that you are spending your evenings and weekends ploughing through 400 exam answers - because that's what examiners do!

    • The examiner will get frustrated if he cannot read your writing. A badly written answer takes a long time to read, and by the time the examiner has ploughed through it he will have forgotten half of what you said. That's bad news for you! And don't try to obscure your lack of knowledge (e.g. a scientific name or a technical term) by illegible writing. We have seen this hundreds of times. If it cannot be read, it cannot get marks.

    • Underline key words or phrases. After reading through the whole answer, an examiner looks back at the number of ticks he/she has made, or the number of key words or phrases that you have identified. If you highlight these then the impression is favourable - the main points covered, so you will get good marks.

    • Never repeat things, even in a concluding paragraph. You can only get the marks once, no matter how many times you repeat the same point.

    • Learn the Latin names of organisms and other technical terms. It might be a pain, but it impresses examiners and shows your competence. A chemist would not get marks for saying "some chemical (I forget the name) combines with some other chemical to produce a tetrazolium compound". So why should a biologist get marks for saying "some fungus (I think it begins with M) parasitises wheat plants by producing cellulase enzymes"? We read that sort of thing all the time. And it doesn't impress.

How to tackle different types of exam question

Essay-style questions

In a few Honours examinations you might be asked to write 'long essays' (time allocation of 1.5 hours or even 3 hours). However, this does not mean that you have to write for 1.5 or 3 hours. Instead, it means that you have enough time to assemble your thoughts and construct your answer carefully. The answer itself might not take more than 1 hour or 1.5 hours to write.

In all other examinations the essay-style questions are shorter. For example, you might be asked to answer four essay-style questions in a 3-hour exam (see the Microbiology 3m examination papers, for example). These essay-style questions require a large amount of relevant factual information, and understanding of the subject. However, you would not be expected to produce a polished and grammatically correct essay. The important thing is to write down as much relevant information as possible, while sticking rigidly to the question that was set.

Short-answer questions (SAQs)

SAQs typically have 8-10 minutes time allocation (but check this carefully, because the time allocation does vary). The best approach to these questions is to produce short notes, with as much relevant information as possible in the time allowed. If you really know the material you should get full marks for these questions.

Applying Online Is Often Easier

Standard paper applications can be a pain to fill out, sometimes literally, if the applicant has carpal tunnel syndrome or arthritis. It is also true that many job applicants, particularly those under 30, are more comfortable using a keyboard to communicate than a pen or pencil. Employers also benefit: Hiring managers or HR employees will no longer have to squint while deciphering poor handwriting.

Better Accuracy

A nervous job applicant may inadvertently make mistakes and leave items unanswered on a traditional form. In some cases, an error like this can be enough to eliminate the applicant from consideration. Online applications can be coded such that they cannot be submitted until completion.

Lack of Personal Contact

Online applications don't require a job seeker to speak to an employer, or potential colleagues, in person. This can be an advantage to those who may be shy or socially awkward: Instead of risking a poor first impression, the applicant submits documentation of his qualifications and experience for consideration. The lack of personal contact can also be a disadvantage, however, for applicants who may not "look good on paper" but may have other suitable qualities that might only emerge during the kind of informal interview that often takes place when someone picks up a job application in person.

Automatic Weeding of Candidates

Another consideration is that some companies may employ filtering software that automatically discards some applications because the applicant does not meet specific criteria. While this can be effective in weeding out the seriously disqualified, it can also happen that someone with strong skills may be overlooked due to a non-essential qualification, such as an academic degree or a specific number of years of job experience.

12 Tips for Filling Out/Submitting Online Applications

Trees everywhere are rejoicing as more and more funders switch from paper to online applications. But for some grantwriters, having to disrupt the flow of their narrative to accommodate character-limited text fields is both inconvenient and cumbersome.

If you're one of those grantwriters, here are some tips designed to make the online application process a little more enjoyable and productive:

1. Get organized. As you create a login for the application, make a note of your username and password. Then bookmark the login page in your favorite browser so you don't have to go through the eligibility survey every time you come back to the application. Make a note of the date and time (including the time zone!) that the application is due.

2. Create a road map. Read through the application instructions and the application itself and map out where your organization and project descriptions need to be inserted. Identify the questions in the application that you'll need to write narrative for and make a note of data and statistics that need to be collected. List the attachments you’ll want to upload. Remember, not every organization can fit neatly into online applications, so highlight any special information you'll need to insert later.

 3. Create a working document. One of the risks of typing right into an application form is having your session time out, causing you to lose your unsaved work. You can avoid that nightmare by cutting and pasting the questions from the application into a Word or Google doc. Some online applications are offered in a downloadable PDF format, but if you go that route be sure to double check the printout against the actual online application, making note of character limits and drop-down choices. If you’re having trouble moving to the next tab in the online application because error messages tell you that you haven't completed the page yet, type in some dummy text (e.g., "draft"); it should let you continue. (For number fields, type in a couple of zeroes as a placeholder.) Use the top header tabs to jump from page to page; the bottom "continue" button will only take you forward a page at a time. Be sure to place your online username/password and the application due date at the top of the working document so it's easy to find when you're ready to start entering your narrative into the online application.

4. Call rewrite! Take a minute or two to go back and read the instructions and any other information the funder provided. With that information in mind, sit down and revise your narrative to make the deepest possible connection between your project and the funder's priorities.

5. Enter the data. Once your working document is complete, start loading it into the online application, remembering to save often. (Note: Online applications often will have you type in your board members one board member at a time. Creating a list of board members and their affiliations that you can cut and paste from will save you a lot of time.)

6. Keep your presentation simple. As you load sections of your narrative into the online application form, it's likely that bullet points, italic and boldface font styles, and other text effects will not transfer over. To save yourself some aggravation, remove font styles ahead of time and replace bullet points with a simple dash. Note that if you chose to review the application in preview mode (if such an option is offered) and notice strange symbols showing up in the text, it might be due to smart quotes or other formatting carried over from the Word document. If it's happening a lot, you might want to cut and paste that section from Word into a plain-text editor like Notepad, save it to your desktop, highlight it again, and copy/paste back into the online application. You can also turn off smart quotes in Word by clicking the Microsoft Office Button > Word options > Proofing > AutoCorrect Options > AutoFormat > and uncheck replace "straight quotes" with "smart quotes."

7. Keep track of characters and spaces. Nearly all online applications limit the number of characters allowed for each question. As you are inserting text from your working document into the online application, highlight your answers in the working document and check your word count. (In Microsoft Word, this handy feature is located under the Review tab.) Note the number of "characters (without spaces)" versus "characters (with spaces)." Now check the online application for the number it uses -- it's usually with spaces (meaning less room for you to write). And remember: Just because an application offers you 2,000 characters for an answer does not mean you have to use them all. Funders greatly prefer that you answer each question succinctly rather than ramble on for the sake of filling space.

8. Use creative placement. Another reason to keep your answers short and to the point is that you may find you have important information to communicate that doesn't readily fit into the space allotted for certain questions. Look for answers where you didn’t use up the allotted space and see if you can squeeze in bits that otherwise might end up on the cutting-room floor. For example, if the application asks for a timeline for your project and you were able to provide it in a few short sentences, consider whether you can elaborate on another aspect of the project in the context of milestones and deadlines. Similarly, if you can't figure out where to talk about an award the organization received (as in the graphic above), check to see whether the application allows you to upload an award letter as an attachment.

9. Take the time to prune. Inevitably, there are going to be places in the online application where your answers just don't fit. In that situation, look for information that is duplicated elsewhere in the narrative. Maybe you described a specific outcome in two different places. Combine those sentences into a single stellar sentence using the best word choices. Look for unnecessary adjectives. Let the reader decide whether a project is "unique," "the best," or "innovative." Take the time to make every sentence in your narrative crisp and to the point. Then ask yourself, Are there any sentences that would work better in a different section? Think of the application as a sort of puzzle that is solved through a process of trial and error. Last but not least, delete extraneous spaces after sentences (you only need one) and paragraphs.

10. Take some care with attachments. When you are ready to upload your attachments, take some time to format them in the same font, add your logo to headers, and label them with consistent naming conventions (e.g., "Attachment 1: Most Current Financial Statement").

11. Read it through it one last time. Before you submit the completed application, read through it one last time for typos and to make sure it flows. Is anything missing or redundant? Would you fund the program or project? If your answer to those questions is "no" and "yes," your work is almost done.

12. Submit! Before you hit the submit button, highlight the entire application and cut and paste it into a Word document for your records. Try not to wait until the day of the deadline to submit it. Online systems bog down to a crawl on deadline day, and it's quite possible you’ll experience delays. Experienced grantwriters do their best to submit applications a week or two ahead of time.

Counselling is a form of psychological therapy that focuses on treating mental illnesses such as anxiety disorders and depression as well as fixing broken down relationships. Many people consider Sigmund Freud and his theories of psychoanalysis as providing the foundations on which the discipline was built.

However, while Sigmund Freud worked with patients known to have hysterical tendencies, today counselling can be accessed by number of people with personal problems. This change occurred within the 1940’s and 1950s when counselling was offered to veterans of the World Wars, and various talking therapies became more socially acceptable.