Exam tips?? (looking for a 40+)

[shinymeowstic]

Hey!
I've got 80+% for outcomes 1 and 2 so far, and haven't handed in my folio yet, but hoping for 80+% on that too. I'd love a 40+ in VCD, and I know I'm going to need to ace the exam for that - does anyone have any tips on how to do so? I'm quite nervous about it and have no idea how to study for it!
Thanks!

[Joseph41]

Hi there,

It's a real shame that this board isn't utilised very much!

Well done on achieving very good scores for VCD during the year.  I agree that the exam is important, though - in my experience, I received 100% for Unit 3, 100% for Unit 4 (including full marks on both folios), was ranked #1 in an okay cohort, and received a study score of 44. To put that in perspective, VCD was my best subject all year, but my worst subject in terms of study score.

As such, here are some very brief tips for the exam:

1. Preparation. This includes a) having completed a lot of practice questions and exams (which I found rather hard to find, so maybe ask your teacher); and b) having all of the resources you will need, including pencils, pens, rulers, and so on.

2. Theory. I'm not sure if the study design has changed since 2012, but it's important to know the design elements and principles, 'the three Ms' (materials, methods and media) and types of designers. Moreover, you need to be able to apply these theoretical constructs to case studies - a skill to develop through practise.

3. Practical. The bit that I found most difficult about the VCD exam was that I'm a perfectionist, and couldn't spend as long as I wanted on the practical questions. This put me in a poor frame of mind, for I found it difficult to move on to the next question when I wasn't happy with the design that I had produced. This is where doing practice exams comes into its own; you can time yourself, work out how long you need/have for each question, and realise that sometimes, you just have to move on.

Best of luck, and I'm sure you will ace the exam.