Predicting exam questions

Nairobi; Kenya: Even as students prepare for exams, it is not always easy to read all your notes and remember everything. That is why it is important to narrow down the topics that are likely to be tested. This way, you focus more on the most important information and avoid long sleepless nights trying to go through textbooks and notebooks from cover to cover. It also makes you look forward to the exam.

It is, therefore, up to you to identify the most likely source your teacher will construct test questions from. They may include:

• Any reference your teacher makes in class that is not part of your textbook.

• Sections in your textbook that she refers to a lot.

• The questions your teacher asks in class and lays a lot of emphasis on.

• Information she writes on the blackboard for emphasis.

• Any notes your teacher gives out in form of handouts for you to copy.

Apart from the teacher’s sources

mentioned above, you can also;

• Talk to your teacher and ask what is likely to be covered in the exam and in what format, e.g. multiple choice or essay.

• In your exercise book, designate a section where you write down all the likely questions to be asked and their answers, and make frequent reference to it.

•Use a highlighter to mark sections in your notebook or textbook (if it is yours, not the school’s) that are likely to be tested.

• Joining a study group will also assist you to brainstorm possible questions. This makes it easier to anticipate the questions most likely to be covered in the test.

• Any past papers, especially those handed to you by your teacher require your keen interest. When you go through them, you will begin to regognise what questions your teacher likes setting.

• How about imagining that you are the teacher; what questions are you likely to set?

• Always pay keen attention to what your teacher says. I can assure you a question or two will come from the handout. If there is material the teacher keeps repeating, then that is another source of test questions.

• Some of the questions the teacher asks in class is likely to be tested in the exam. Write them down, attempt to answer them when the teacher asks. If the teacher says your answer is wrong, pay keen attention until someone else answers the question then note the answer down.