For most students, this semester will end with exams.
While it’s normal to feel a little bit nervous about your upcoming exams, study anxiety can often be made worse when you don’t know how or where to start with your exam preparation.
When asked one of the Academic Skills Advisors, Dr Kevan Jones, for his best advice for exam success, he said:
"Preparation is more than just study. The key to exam success is to think beyond the content: exams are testing more than just what you know, but also the way you think.”
We can often trick ourselves into thinking there is not enough time to improve our study and exam preparation, but there are things you can do to get ready even at very short notice. If you think about your exam as not just a test of your knowledge but also your ability to think and answer questions under exam conditions, it makes sense that your exam preparation should be more than just learning the content.
Want to make the most of your exam preparation but don't know where to start? Don’t worry— We convinced Dr Jones to share his exam preparation game plan!
Dr Jones' 3 Steps for exam preparation:
- Study the content
- Prepare strategically
- Practice doing exams
While these steps might seem simple enough on their own, the key is to consistently practice all three. Keep reading to find out how you can incorporate these steps into your study routine.
1. Study the content
Organise time & set goals
Start by working out how many exams you have, how many topics you need to revise and how many days left for revision. Use this to organise a study schedule. For more on planning your study, check out our general study skills advice. Break up your study by setting goals for yourself each half hour. Your goals could include:
- Creating a concept map of a lecture
- Reading through & transforming notes
- Making flash cards for key definitions
2. Prepare strategically
Strategic preparation is more than knowing the content. There are two steps to think about: how to approach perusal time & how to engage with the exam itself.
Understand exam requirements
Make sure you're aware of exam requirements, including:
- what is and isn't allowed in the exam room
- when you need to arrive.
On the day, remember to listen carefully to the exam supervisor’s instructions.
How to Use Perusal Time Effectively
Many exams give you a 10-minute reading time (or perusal) before you start answering. Treat reading time like a warm-up before a race. You’re not running yet, but you’re setting your mind up to perform at its best. An important part of exam preparation is practicing these steps, not just assuming they’ll run effectively in the exam. Keep the following steps in mind, and think about how you can actively practice before the exam:
Scan the Whole Paper Quickly
- Get an overview of the structure: how many sections, types of questions (e.g., multiple choice, short answer, essays), and marks allocated.
- Note how many questions you must answer and whether there are choices.
Plan Time Strategically
- Estimate how much time you can afford to spend on each section or question.
- Note any high-mark questions—these deserve proportionally more time.
Prioritise the Questions
- Identify the easiest questions or those you feel most confident about.
- Decide on the order you’ll attempt them (e.g., start with strong questions to build momentum).
Spot Tricky or Time-Consuming Questions
- Flag questions that look complex or could be confusing, so you can be cautious when you get to them.
- Don’t let them stress you out—just know you’ll need to read them carefully.
Mentally Outline Answers
- For essay or long-answer questions, briefly plan your structure in your head: introduction, key points, conclusion.
- Think through your argument or what evidence you might use.
Don’t Try to Memorise Answers
- Use the time for strategy, not cramming.
- If a formula or fact pops into your head, great—but don’t spend the whole time mentally rehearsing answers.
3. Practice doing exams
Find and complete past exams
Past exams are available for some courses. If they're available for your course, use them to guide your study and test whether you've been learning effectively. Alternately, look for other sources of questions (Blackboard, textbooks, workshops etc), or even try making your own exams. You can do this by writing your own questions, or mixing together sources of other questions.
If we follow on from our earlier metaphor of perusal time as the warm up before the race, we can think of practice exams as training for the marathon. We need to prepare our body and our mind for the act of sitting for the exam, including:
- the ability to recall information under pressure
- staying calm and focussed in an exam setting
- potential physical discomfort of sitting or writing for a long period of time
Past exams are also a useful way of practicing the cognitive skills that support knowledge and help you operate faster and more efficiently in the exam.
Just remember, it's never too late to start preparing.
The main thing is to practice all steps -- don't just focus on learning the content, but prepare strategically and practice the act of doing the exam. The more you practice these meta skills, such as allocating time to questions, the more mental energy you’re freeing up to apply your knowledge. There's always benefit to study, no matter how late you start or how small the task might seem.
Want to find out more about academic preparedness, time management or study skills?
Book an appointment with an Academic Skills Advisor today.
Academic Skills Advisors are here to help you develop your study skills, including effective reading, writing and time management strategies. Whether you are an undergraduate and postgraduate student in any UQ program, you can book an appointment with an Academic Skills advisor to clarify ideas from your course workshops, review and discuss assignment drafts as well as interpret feedback from lecturers, tutors or supervisors.
