UoM General Chat

[Rod]

24th of April this year

Hey Trav! Is it true that we only get about a week to prepare for all our exams? So just one week of SWOT VAC?

Just based on your experience last year did you think it was enough time? Should we start earlier? I have so many pracs + assignments in the last 3-4 weeks of this semester, so it's just so hard to start early. But since the exam is worth way more I'd be willing to just skim through the pracs rather than preparing for them, and spend less time on the assignments.

Thanks!

[Smiley_]

24th of April this year

Thank you so much

[Stick]

When do exam timetables usually get released? Thanks

Hey Smiley_! Are you at unimelb now? If I recall correctly I don't think you started off here...

[Russ]

You should be preparing for exams well before SWOTVAC (although I suppose it depends on what you want out of your marks)

[Stick]

Hey Trav! Is it true that we only get about a week to prepare for all our exams? So just one week of SWOT VAC?

Just based on your experience last year did you think it was enough time? Should we start earlier? I have so many pracs + assignments in the last 3-4 weeks of this semester, so it's just so hard to start early. But since the exam is worth way more I'd be willing to just skim through the pracs rather than preparing for them, and spend less time on the assignments.

Thanks!

A good rule of thumb is to leave the same number of days for revision as there are lectures. So, when the exam timetable comes out, count back 36 days from the date of the exam (most Science subjects have 36 lectures during the semester) and start your exam revision on that day. This means that you will revise one lecture per day. This shouldn't eat up too much of your time (I'd say spend no longer than about 45 minutes going over one lecture again, and prioritise more urgent work over exam revision - you can use the weekends to catch up on your schedule). You can use SWOTVAC to catch up further or go over some of the lectures you had a look at earlier in your revision again if you feel the need to re-revise.

This works quite well for most subjects. The exceptions are ones like BIOM20001 and BIOM20002 where there are about 70 lectures, in which case starting revision 70 days before the exam just isn't feasible (I'd have to otherwise start revising for my exams now, even though I haven't even covered half the course yet lol). In this case, constant revision whenever you get the chance is key (although I don't think any of this will apply to you). Hope this helps.

[Rod]

^It does, thanks so much!!

Just one more quick question, during year 12 most of my revision composed of me doing lots and lots of practise exams. But that's only because I had 100s around me.

For my uni subjects, I've got like 4 exams for chemistry available, one for bio, one for my breadth (lol). So is it better to use them one week before the exam? And just do lecture revision before you do the practise exam?

And since we only have one practise exam, what's the best way to use it?

Thanks again!

[EspoirTron]

^It does, thanks so much!!

Just one more quick question, during year 12 most of my revision composed of me doing lots and lots of practise exams. But that's only because I had 100s around me.

For my uni subjects, I've got like 4 exams for chemistry available, one for bio, one for my breadth (lol). So is it better to use them one week before the exam? And just do lecture revision before you do the practise exam?

And since we only have one practise exam, what's the best way to use it?

Thanks again!

I wouldn't say that leaving them to the week of SWOTVAC is the best idea. Perhaps start a little while earlier when you begin your revision and answer what you can. Then have a look at the solutions (if there are any) or talk to friends about what they said. In terms of the lack of exams, I wouldn't stress, uni is different to high school and you don't need to spam practice exams to do well. I'd suggest doing some pre-SWOTVAC and then going through some during SWOTVAC.

I think a really advantageous thing to do is, is to go through your tute and assignment problems! Often these are underrated but similar questions usually pop up on the exam. Go through the ones you had difficulty with and if you have issues ask for the advice of friends.

Another important thing is to go over each lecture's learning objectives (LO). If you're like me and have no tute problems and one practice exam with no solutions, this becomes absolutely vital. You're best off going through these objectives and seeing if you can answer the questions. E.g. the LO may be "Be able to describe the process of gastrulation and when it occurs and where",  so then you could answer that as a question and see if you could answer every component of the LO. If you see that you can't, go back to the relevant portion of the lecture and relearn this part. This method of revision is a really great way of revising for Biology subjects, e.g. Microbiology, Immunology, Molecular Biology and developmental biology. The spamming tute questions part is really great for Maths and Chemistry is somewhere in the middle of these two.

The method imo, applies for MCQ exams, Short-answer question/Extended-response question exam, and those that have a combination of question types.

Hope that helped!

[Bardia Saeedi]

Anyone know if UNIB20007 has past exams?

none on the LMS

[Shenz0r]

If you keep up to date with your lectures consistently then it makes studying for exams so much easier. You don't always have to start studying before SWOTVAC, although doing things earlier won't hurt. I've never started revision before it. Playing catch up in SWOTVAC is a terrible idea though, please don't be waste precious time listening to lectures you haven't summarised yet. Have all your notes out and ready to go as soon as possible. And throughout semester you should also be making sure to iron out any questions you have with your tutors etc as this will make revision much easier and quicker.

Generally I do lecture revision before hitting the practise exams because those exams are good for identifying the details you tend to gloss over even with a good understanding.

When you start is entirely up to you. There are people saying that studying earlier is better, others can start later. Begin when you think its appropriate.

Anyone know if UNIB20007 has past exams?

none on the LMS

Nope, they don't have any practise exams. They may have some sample questions in the final lectures.

[vox nihili]

Some people start revision very early. That's probably the best idea to be honest.

Personally, I just do a lot of work to get the content down pat when I first do it, so then I can cram it at the end of semester in SWOT VAC because it's just refreshing my mind about things I already knew well.

You're in your first year, Rod, so the best you can do is just try out and see what works for you

[Russ]

Writing your own questions and then answering them is an excellent method of revision when you don't have access to a dozen practice exams any more and is validated by various learning theories.

[scribble]

Yall bitches be crazy. Ive always started revising for most my subjects a couple days before the exam. SOMEONE TEACH ME HOW TO BE ORGANISED WHAT ARE YOUR SECRETS :I

[mahler004]

The best way to be prepared for exams is to study consistently throughout semester. It's much, much easier to get prepared if you already know what you need to know. Don't get into a position where you need to try and cram all the lectures into a week.

But you're in first year. Part of university is making these mistakes

[scribble]

^im in third year and I still regularly rely on cramming 9 lectures in a day. :<

[charmanderp]

A good rule of thumb is to leave the same number of days for revision as there are lectures. So, when the exam timetable comes out, count back 36 days from the date of the exam (most Science subjects have 36 lectures during the semester) and start your exam revision on that day. This means that you will revise one lecture per day. This shouldn't eat up too much of your time (I'd say spend no longer than about 45 minutes going over one lecture again, and prioritise more urgent work over exam revision - you can use the weekends to catch up on your schedule). You can use SWOTVAC to catch up further or go over some of the lectures you had a look at earlier in your revision again if you feel the need to re-revise.

This works quite well for most subjects. The exceptions are ones like BIOM20001 and BIOM20002 where there are about 70 lectures, in which case starting revision 70 days before the exam just isn't feasible (I'd have to otherwise start revising for my exams now, even though I haven't even covered half the course yet lol). In this case, constant revision whenever you get the chance is key (although I don't think any of this will apply to you). Hope this helps.

This is how I start. First it's one lecture per day. Then it's two. Then it's 3.6. Then it's 7.2. Then it's 12. And then I'm fucked.