Exam Techniques and Advice

This section follows on from the information in the ‘ICSA Exam Overview’ section and provides advice and strategies for exam success.

Manage Your Time

• Read the guidance included with each exam to assess how long to spend on each section.
• The mark allocations on the right-hand margin also indicate how much and how long to write.
• Remember that the total marks are 100, so you can treat the mark allocations as a percentage figure – a 10-mark question is 10% of your potential final mark.

Follow the Rules

Read the instructions on the paper and note:

• How many questions to answer in each section – any extra questions you answer cannot be marked.
• Which questions have high mark allocation and which have low marks.
• How much time you should spend on each section.

Read Through the Paper

• It is worth taking 5 minutes to read through all the questions on the paper quickly to understand which questions: you want to answer, feel confident about or that may be difficult for you.
• In the final section of the paper you have to answer a certain number of questions from a choice. Think about the order in which you tackle the questions: will you answer the most difficult question first, while your mind is fresh, or do you prefer to answer a question you feel good about first to build up your confidence?

Read the Question

Each question on the exam paper details the type of answer that’s expected. Look out for instructions such as:

• Number of points to include in your answer (e.g. “Give four reasons...”)
• Length and depth of the answer. Length may be indicated by the mark allocation given to the question, and depth by the ‘command words’ such as “explain” or “discuss”, which indicate different levels of analysis (e.g. “State the reasons…” would require a shorter answer than “Analyse the reasons…” and the ‘state’ answer would be merely fact-based and would not require you to give opinions).
• Format of the answer: some questions require the answer to be written in, for example, report, memorandum or letter format (e.g. “Prepare a memorandum for the director, explaining…”)
• Need for other requirements, such as providing examples for what you have explained (e.g. “Give four reasons, with examples, why…”).

Review Command Words and Approaching the Question sections for more guidance in this area.