POL EXAM REVISION As you are aware the 7 exam questions come from the area of seminar questions

4-29 and to get full marks for the question you need to respond to the question set and come up with 15 different points-- each point would usually be 3-4 or more lines( with an example if necessary, to show your understanding). In SP 1 there was 1 student who scored 59/60 ( Each of the 4 questions is marked out of 15 giving a total mark out of 60 which is later converted to a mark out of 50 when entered on the mark sheet ) and others in the 50s. Obviously you do not need to aim for 15 points per question unless you are aiming for a very high grade and I am aware there are some who just want a P2 for the course.

It is suggested that the 8-12 hours per week for the course be spent on preparing information around the seminar topics that week as well as coming up with points on the specific question set for discussion in class. What high scoring students in the past have done is collect info well beyond the text-book so that when the exams come they have a dossier of info already prepared about the topics. (Historically, students who have scored poorly in exams have memorised and given answers only for the specific seminar questions even tho the exam question was quite different from the seminar topic. Others just give descriptive answers, where rarely are they asked. For example, I would not ask a question such as Describe Fiedlers theory.) One suggestion is to develop a study group which could be for all students, separate ones for internals and externals who are in Adelaide, or just for each one of the internal classes. First, someone has to take charge and lead the group otherwise it will not work. On a cautionary note the student who was the most energetic in starting the group in a past study period ,setting up rooms and allocating tasks, only lasted one session and then withdrew from the course. In that study period about 30 signed on, combining both internal and external students, but at any one session only about 10-12 attended. It seemed like the ones who turned up to all the sessions did the best in the final exam. In SP1 each of the classes set up their own study group. Once you have organised that and have devised some times AND booked a room (I can help here if you want a room outside the library) let me know the times/

days. If I am on campus, I will tend to drop in for the first few mins and respond to any questions.

One way would be to look at the seminar questions 4-29 and set a different question about the topic and then prepare a range of responses and compare them with the other group members responses. In response to student questions from the previous study period: 1. Only one example needs to be given when making a point-- no extra marks are given for giving further examples on the same point. 2. There seems to be some confusion about how much to write. Some believe that it needs to be 3-4 sentences to get one mark. That is not the case- it is 3-4 LINES on average. No point in writing half a page on the same thing since only 1 mark would be attained. 3. Please read the questions carefully. For example, when you have the initial 10 mins of reading time, read each question thru 10 times before going back and underlining or highlighting the key issue raised by the question. 4. When writing your answers, after every few points look back at the question to see that you are answering the question. 5. You may draw a diagram or a picture if you wish and then refer to that diagram. 6. Do not explain a theory if you are not asked to. In most cases you will be asked to apply or critically evaluate a concept. However, if it helps you might just use a short paragraph or diagram at the start of the question and then refer to it. 7. To save time do not re- write the actual question in the exam booklet 8. You will be given all the scrap paper and as many exam booklets as you require, however, all needs to be given up at the end of the exam. 9. Begin each question on a new page 10.If you wish you may write on alternate lines so you can go back afterwards and add clarification. 11.We do not mark down on spelling in an exam; however, we need to be able to read the hand-writing. 12.If someone answers more than the required 4 questions, then only the first 4 as they appear in order in the exam booklet will be marked.

13.You may come up with more than 15 points if you want to have some "in reserve" in case some of the earlier points do not get full marks or are not relevant. However, we stop marking the points for a question once 15 marks have been achieved. 14.Because failures occur since some end up wasting time writing about a question and then realising they do not know enough about it and put a cross thru it and begin another question, it is suggested to perhaps spend more than the 10 minutes of reading time and using scrap paper to come up with as many points on the scrap paper for the questions chosen. In other words it may be beneficial to spend 20 mins planning what you are going to write rather than beginning as soon as you are permitted. 15.You do not need to get 15 points for each question to pass--that goal is for those going for full marks. Some may just want to score about 8 points per question for the 4 questions, while in the past there have been others who just answer 3 questions and scored 12 marks for each of those 3. That would get them a pass for the exam and a pass for the course if they had been scoring P1s or P2s for their other assessments.