Opinion | How to ace the upcoming IGCSE and IB exams: the revision and exam-day strategies students need
- Exams demand students apply knowledge under the stress of test conditions. Preparation is key, whether the subject is a science, social science or language
- Knowing what’s being asked and how to answer different types of question is vital, as is having examples you can cite. And there’s no substitute for practice
Recently, a 16-year-old student who takes her IGCSE exams in a few weeks asked me: “What exactly do you mean when you say I need to focus on exam-answering techniques as I revise for my exams, Mrs Hazari?” So, I was compelled to write about winning revision and exam strategies.
Put simply, exam-answering techniques are how your child applies what he or she knows under exam conditions.
Most IGCSE and International Baccalaureate (IB) exam-going students are aware of the need to study to the command terms in the syllabus.
It is imperative that science students go into the examination hall knowing, for example, that “compare” means they are required to state similarities and differences. A “describe” question requires them to support observations with data. And they need to sift through their body of knowledge and construct responses differently to questions that ask them to discuss and explain.
In biology, students are taught topics independently, but they are required to integrate concepts and make connections across the syllabus. Thus when reviewing, for example, characteristics of Kingdom Fungi, they should endeavour to recall and review fermenters in which penicillin is extracted from a fungus, and the process of fermentation that requires anaerobic respiration of yeast.
Jargon is the backbone of biology, so articulating answers using scientific terminology is a must.
