Help yourself to better marks

Exams enable you to demonstrate your knowledge and learning. The following key tips on achieving good marks may
seem obvious but they are all taken from common mistakes.
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Read the questions carefully, in exam conditions students often misread words or miss out words discuss
qualitative features mistaken for discuss quantitative features would seriously affect your marks.
Stick rigidly to the question. Students are encouraged throughout the module to read around the topics but the
desire to demonstrate all your knowledge on your favourite topic is a common cause of wasted time. If it does
not contribute to answering the question it will not gain extra marks no matter how accurate or interesting. If a
question has 10 marks allocated then that is the maximum for that question. If asked for one example of a
substantial amendment listing three examples will waste time.
Plan your time carefully including time to read the paper and time to check your work. Use the marking scheme
to allocate time to each question. A common mistake in an exam of 3 questions is to spend a third of the time on
each regardless of a marking allocation of 40 marks, 30 marks and 30 marks.
When you get to the end of your planned time for each question move on. An extra 10 minutes might get you a
few more marks on that question but is likely to lose you far more on the next question when you run out of
time. You may make mistakes or forget things if you have put yourself under extra pressure.
Write clearly although there may be no marks for presentation the examiner cannot be expected to spend time
deciphering poor writing. Whilst they will always try, illegible answers cannot be marked.
If your time plan goes wrong and you dont have enough time for the last question then list the key points. This
will gain more marks than perfect sentences on a few points.
Ignore rumours and predictions regarding which questions will come up. Staff will not reveal such information in
advance and students guesses are just that guesswork. There are no planned trends so prioritising your
revision based on suggestions such as the MHRA always comes up or Ethics was/wasnt asked last year will
lead to poor exam preparation and disappointing results.
Masters level students are expected to have a wide range of knowledge. Any of the material covered in the
course may be used in exam questions. This includes compulsory personal study such as the online GCP course
which all students are expected to work through for Module 1.
This seems very obvious, but answer the correct number of questions; e.g. if asked to answer 2 out of 3 do just
that. If you think you have made a poor choice dont just answer an extra question in the hope the examiner will
count the best marks. The first questions will be marked and extra ignored unless you have crossed out your
earlier poorly answered question.
If asked to answer all the questions then do so. The same applies to multi-part questions, each part has its own
marks allocated, if you miss a part out then you cannot get any of those marks. Even if you think you know
nothing about a topic a few marks gained from sensible comments can make a difference. In calculations good
methods will gain marks even if the outcome is flawed.
Dont repeat yourself, it wastes time and does not gain extra marks. The rare exception is when you have been
asked repeat information e.g. Summarise your arguments highlighting 3 key issues. In this case the summary
will have its own marks allocation but note that highlighting just means mention then not repeat your
discussion.
Another avoidable waste of time is arriving late, you will not be given extra time to complete the exam. If you
arrive late to the exam there is no guarantee that you will be granted extra time, or be allowed to sit the exam at
all.
Be prepared with everything you need including spare pens (good quality black, not lighter colours or pencil) the
invigilator cannot be expected to provide them.
Observe the rules on phones, calculators, dictionaries etc. They are not allowed and will result in disqualification.
Make sure you put your CID number on each answer booklet; you may think your writing is easily recognised but
unidentifiable booklets cannot be marked.

August 2013