As soon as you know that you will be sitting a law exam and have started the work for the topic, you can start planning how you will learn the material and revise it so that you perform as well as possible in the exam. Of course, there are a number of different types of legal exam, so your study method may vary somewhat according to this. We will start by looking at what these types are, then consider how you can prepare for your exam. In my next blog post, we will discuss what you need to do when you are actually taking the exam.
What Are the Different Types of Exam?
The first type of exam we will be thinking about is the closed book examination. This is probably what you imagine when thinking of an exam – a timed, invigilated assessment without access to any of your notes or books. Closed book exams are the most traditional sort that rely heavily on memory, as you cannot check anything once you are in the exam.
The next type is open book. This is similar to closed book, with the main difference being that you are allowed to take notes and other resources into the exam. The question may also be released before the assessment date. In this sort of exam, there is a lot less focus on remembering the topic. The idea of these is that, in a real-life situation, you would have access to whatever materials you needed. It is more important that you can analyse the question and correctly apply the law, explaining your reasoning.
The final type is a take-home assessment. For this, you do not actually need to go anywhere to sit the exam; instead, you will receive the question to do from home. Naturally, this means that you will have access to all of your resources. In general, there will be a set time period (for example, 24 hours) to do the exam in, after which you will need to have submitted your answers. Again, these focus less on memory and more on your ability to analyse.
How To Use Your Notes To Revise
To be able to effectively use your notes for revision, you need to have them organised right from the start. Your notes being well-structured means that you can quickly and easily find a particular point you are looking for, as well as being able to see what other areas it links to. In addition, organising your notes makes revision easier as you can study by topic, even following along with the syllabus if this helps.
This also makes your revision a lot simpler – everything is already divided up into chunks, so you don’t get overwhelmed by all the material there is to study. Instead, you can work out a revision timetable based on how many topics you have and how much time is available before the exam.
You may also find it helpful to use highlighting for key terms to bring your attention to them, or even as you are going back through your notes for revision. Annotating your notes and rewriting them helps you to remember them better, as well as giving you a new version to refer to.
Alternatively, you may copy out some definitions and key points onto flashcards to revise from and test yourself. Looking just at the prompt you have written on one side, which may be a term or question, see how much you can write about it from memory, then check the answer on the other side of the card.
As you finish each topic, you can summarise all of the major points into a table or similar, with headings for definitions, legal principles, key cases and legislation. This gives you an instant guide to the topic and the act of summarising also helps to reinforce the topic in your memory. Again, see how much you can write out without looking at your notes.
Writing Example Answers
One great way to prepare for your exam is to get hold of any past or example papers you can and try doing these. Do these under whatever conditions you will have in the exam, such as within a time limit and without access to your notes. Check your answer against any answers given, the topic content and your notes and think about how you could improve your answer. You could even try writing it again once you have looked over it.
Final Preparations
Before you go to the exam, take a minute to make sure you have everything you need. Check your pencil case (you will probably need a clear one) and ensure you know what your candidate number is if you will not be given this on the day. You may have to use black ink, so make sure you have this and that your pen is comfortable for you to use in a long exam.
Wrapping Up
I hope that you feel more prepared for your exam now. In my next blog post we will be considering what to do once you are actually in the exam, so come back in two weeks for that. Good luck!
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