My name is Laurence Knell.
I’m a distance education tutor.
Exams have a very important purpose.
They are a great opportunity
for the university
to understand
the student’s progression,
understand their learning,
and how well – or otherwise
– they may be learning.
For a student, they also
play a very important role,
in helping them
consolidate their knowledge,
gain greater insight and understanding
into what they’ve been learning,
but also to demonstrate
that knowledge. So actually,
for a student,
I would say that
they have a very positive
purpose as well.
For distance learners,
typically exam centres are set up
in central locations. So, whether
they’re, for example,
in the UK
but in different parts of the UK,
or maybe in mainland Europe.
So, for students who are
unable to reach an exam centre,
my university will work with
them and their organisation,
to ensure that a responsible person
within the organisation
is able to monitor the exam
and create exam-like conditions for them.
I’ve even heard of students
who were sailing round the world
on ships sitting exams.
Yes, there can
be additional challenges.
And that’s where practice,
repetition and rehearsal
really play an important role.
Focus on answering the question,
making sure that their response
is clear, it’s simple and concise,
and that their grammar
is as simple as possible.
Ideally, yes.
It is an exam
in an academic context.
However, it is
understood that nobody
writes the same in an exam
as they do in a formal assignment
or other piece of written work.
A good student exam paper,
simply put, is legible.
It has to be readable.
It needs to
be concise.
It needs to be to the point
and, most importantly,
it needs to answer the question,
using relevant evidence and examples
from the course and elsewhere.
My advice to students
who are really nervous in exams
is to see it as an opportunity:
an opportunity for them to
demonstrate to their tutor
– to the markers –
that they actually
do know the material,
they have engaged with the course,
and to see it in a positive light.
Go the distance.
I’m a distance education tutor.
Exams have a very important purpose.
They are a great opportunity
for the university
to understand
the student’s progression,
understand their learning,
and how well – or otherwise
– they may be learning.
For a student, they also
play a very important role,
in helping them
consolidate their knowledge,
gain greater insight and understanding
into what they’ve been learning,
but also to demonstrate
that knowledge. So actually,
for a student,
I would say that
they have a very positive
purpose as well.
For distance learners,
typically exam centres are set up
in central locations. So, whether
they’re, for example,
in the UK
but in different parts of the UK,
or maybe in mainland Europe.
So, for students who are
unable to reach an exam centre,
my university will work with
them and their organisation,
to ensure that a responsible person
within the organisation
is able to monitor the exam
and create exam-like conditions for them.
I’ve even heard of students
who were sailing round the world
on ships sitting exams.
Yes, there can
be additional challenges.
And that’s where practice,
repetition and rehearsal
really play an important role.
Focus on answering the question,
making sure that their response
is clear, it’s simple and concise,
and that their grammar
is as simple as possible.
Ideally, yes.
It is an exam
in an academic context.
However, it is
understood that nobody
writes the same in an exam
as they do in a formal assignment
or other piece of written work.
A good student exam paper,
simply put, is legible.
It has to be readable.
It needs to
be concise.
It needs to be to the point
and, most importantly,
it needs to answer the question,
using relevant evidence and examples
from the course and elsewhere.
My advice to students
who are really nervous in exams
is to see it as an opportunity:
an opportunity for them to
demonstrate to their tutor
– to the markers –
that they actually
do know the material,
they have engaged with the course,
and to see it in a positive light.
Go the distance.
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