10th March 2017
When asked what would be of interest to readers, one comment was “how to recover from bad exam results”. In spite of what you might think this need not be make for depressing reading.
Of course it is much nicer to get a good set of results but the experience can prompt further reflection. Think about how you engaged with the module – not just revision but throughout. Did you attend all of the lectures and classes – were you prepared? Equally you might have just had a bad day and this influenced the mark. The important thing to remember is that you have other exams and you will need to focus on doing better on these.
For the record I failed an exam in my first year at University (NOT Uni you will observe). We did 4 subjects examined by 4 three hour exams at the end of the year. There were no resits so you carried the exam into the next year and resat it with the other students sitting it for the first time.
I passed the next year although it did lead to one of my more embarrassing moments when I fell asleep in the exam room – it was a lovely warm summers day in Central London and I had completed the first two questions and thought I would think about my answer to the third so shut my eyes. It gets even more embarrassing because I was woken by my personal tutor who by pure chance was invigilating that exam – he never let me forget it.
So here is my tip for the semester – don’t fall asleep in exams. You have to be in it to win it, so make sure you are actively participating in your course and if you’re stuck speak to a lecturer!
– Dr Roy Edwards is a lecturer in Accounting and Finance. If you have an idea of what you would like to see him write about next, please email us at SBSEDO@soton.ac.uk at put ‘Roy’s Ramblings’ as the subject line.