Dealing With Exams

Introduction

Exams are less of a definitive element of a degree than in the past, but they still make up an important part of a course.

Exams can seem terrifying but with careful preparation and the right approach to answers they can be a manageable experience.

Why exams?

Exams are important for 2 main reasons:

They are clearly the effort of an unaided student - thus eliminating plagiarism and other forms of cheating

By demonstrating the ability to work under pressure, the student is showing that they have the life skills necessary in employment

Types of exams

Students are likely to face 2 kinds of timed exercises:

• Short ‘tests’, often in your normal teaching room. These are usually conducted during a module.

• Formal exams in a specially-allocated room at the end of term – sometimes referred to as ‘finals.’

History students usually face 2 types of question:

• An exercise in source criticism

• Questions on a specific subject area, requiring an essay-type answer

Preparation

You should consult the article on Revision that is available elsewhere on the website as it provides general advice that is useful for exam preparations (here).

Look at past papers if they are available. (If not ask your tutor for some sample questions.) Try to get ones from different years, if possible.

These won’t tell you what questions you will get on the day, but they do provide some hints on the range and style of questions you could face.

Devise answer plans for some of these questions. Keep these simple and devoted only to key facts and key ideas.

Think about which historians and which works are relevant to these questions.

It could help to make this a social experience. If you work with others as a group, it can throw up a wider range of ideas and make the process less daunting.

Test your ability to write under the pressure of time constraints. Keep this as simple and fun as possible – it often helps to do this as part of your group of studying friends.

Do writing exercises to help your handwriting clarity and avoid cramp during the exam itself.

Be aware of your mental and physical health. Take breaks; do some physical exercise; try to avoid excessive alcohol or socialising; remember to eat properly; work on developing a regular sleep pattern.

The day itself

Ensure you are rested before the exam. If you have child caring or work responsibilities, try to get some time off on the day before the exam.

Ensure that you eat something appropriate on the day. High carbohydrate foods like porridge and pasta will ensure you have enough energy for the day.

If you are excessively nervous, do some physical activity to help release stress.

Plan any necessary journey to allow for potential problems. Aim to arrive in plenty of time

Get to the exam room early as it will help you acclimatize to the room and ensure you are aware of practical issues (such as seating, etc.)

Ensure you have the appropriate writing materials. (Make sure you listen to instructions about this.) Take more than one pen.

Think about any needs around smoking or dehydration.

In the exam room

The person in charge of the examination (the ‘invigilator’) will usually give a short address just before the exam starts. Listen to what they say carefully and follow any instructions to the letter.

Read through paper quickly (but carefully).

Focus initially on the structure of the exam and make sure you understand the rules (the ‘rubric’). Look for the number of questions you need to answer and if any of them are compulsory. (This is an issue where seeing previous papers can be useful – but be wary that things may change from year to year.)

Look at all the questions quickly – mark the ones you think you could answer with a tick.

Go back and read each question more carefully – ensure you understand exactly what is required

Then select which questions you will answer. (Also, look for a potential question as a reserve in case one of your original choices goes horribly wrong.)

Writing answers

Take a few minutes to come up with a short plan of the answer you are about to write. This will help you to focus and ensure you don’t miss anything. (If you cross through the plan with a single line, the examiner will know not to read it. But if you don’t finish the question, leave the plan uncrossed as in some cases the examiner may treat it as part of your answer and allocate some marks.)

Using that plan, write a short introduction – clearly signposting how your answer will be constructed to make it easier for the exam marker to see the intended structure of what you are writing.

Select a style of argument to use when answering the question: whether an assertion of one point of view (backed up with evidence and the arguments of historians) or a general discussion of how a range of historians have approached this question.

Whichever style you choose, keep to key facts and key ideas. Keep your answer short, punchy and relevant to the question – don’t meander. You are aiming to produce a coherent argument backed up with evidence.

Ensure you refer to historians and/or key works, and (briefly) acknowledge any different points of view or approaches.

Use statistics only when you are sure that they are correct and definitely relevant.

Use a short conclusion to summarise the case you have made. (Once again, this helps the examiner allocate you marks.)

Try to keep handwriting as clear as possible. Don’t obsess about spelling and/or grammatical errors but ensure your answer is easy to read and understand.

Some additional points

Ensure you allocate enough time to each question. Spending too much time on one answer whilst neglecting another is a recipe for disaster.

Take a break to relax every now and then, especially if you feel any panic. Look out the window, do some breathing exercises, let your mind wander for a few seconds. After doing this, you should return to writing in a more relaxed frame of mind.

Think about the marking process. The large number of papers to be marked means that whoever looks at your answers will spend far less time than your tutors do. They will often only read the introduction and conclusion in detail, scanning through the body of your work for signs of relevant points, evidence used, and awareness of the views of historians. This is why it is vital to use signposting, making their job easier and giving them more opportunities to allocate marks.

Exams are important, of course, but please remember that in most cases your first-year exams are not definitive. Marks usually don’t apply to your final grade. While it is important to pass them, it may help you cope with any stress by remembering that and using these first exams as a kind of test run for what is to follow.

This article was written by MTL Bennett in January 2025 and updated in May 2025.

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Further Reading

Stella Cottrell, The Study Skills Handbook

Adrian Gregory, ‘Examinations’, in Mary Abbott (ed.), History Skills: A Students Handbook.