How To Write an Essay : Step 1 - Don't write

When you are given the task of writing an essay it is tempting to get stuck in straight away. Afterall nobody likes a blank page and once you have a few words down you'll be able to build up some confidence. Soon enough the question that seemed incredibly difficult to understand is starting to make sense and you're a writing machine.

While it may seem like getting started has helped here in many cases it has had the complete opposite effect. For many people the question clears up not because they have come to understand it but instead because they have begun to redefine it. Such a move is incredibly dangerous as it means you end up answering the wrong question and drifting away from the target topic and, if its part of an assessment, the available marks.

Rather than starting by writing start by breaking down the question. Ensure that you understand all of its components before hitting the library or the word processor. Use the question to build the structure of your essay and a plan of attack for your research.

Exam Tips - Psych Based Tips

If you're a psych student you've probably learnt a lot of things about how memory works. What you might not have thought about are the practical applications of this information. As many of the studies are done on humans who need to remember things many of the studies will be relevant to humans (such as yourself) who need to remember things (for exams for example).

Repetition Repetition Repetition
Strengthen those synapses

Depth of Encoding
Most stage 1 courses will mention a study where people in 3 groups were given a list of words.
Group 1 looked at whether the words were upper or lower case.
Group 2 looked for words that rhymed with the list words.
Group 3 thought about the meaning of the list words.

Group 1 remembered the least words, Group 3 remembered the most words.

The take home message?
Focus on understanding the material at a deep level. In doing so you will remember the information better (= more exam marks) and have a deeper understanding of the material (= more exam marks).
One really good way to ensure deep encoding and understanding of the target material is to organise a study group where you have to teach the target material to each other. Teaching information well requires you to have a deep understanding of the information.

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Read the same information in different ways. This will increase the memory cues associated with the information.

Time is your friend... and your enemy
If there's one message to take away from Ebbinghaus's memory curves it is this:
If you learn something but don't review it quickly it's as good as gone.
As such you should review information quickly after learning it and often to prevent memory decay. This applies to information you learn during the study period and during the course itself. If you can keep on top of the information during the course (as it comes in) you won't have to study as hard during the study period!

Interestingly this also relates to...

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Repeating information often will help prevent memory decay.

Anchoring and Self Efficacy, Stereotype effects...
How well do you think you're going to do?
If you've read anything on Stereotype effect or anchoring work related to self efficacy you'll know that this can impact on your results.
Put simply if you think you're going to do well you will probably do better than if you think you aren't going to do well.
Believe in yourself, it's in your best interest.

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Repetition Repetition Repetition

Exam Tips - General Tips

The simplest things can often help in exams. Be sure to keep the following points in mind:

Look after yourself
-Sleep well the night before
-Take water with you
-Eat a good breakfast/lunch before hand
Double, triple, quadruple check time and location
Answer all of the questions
Don’t save the rainforest

-Double space your answers so it’s easier to make corrections later
Manage your time
-Divide the time available by the marks available to get a rough guide for how long you should spend on each section
-If you get stuck, move on, come back to that question later
Mark yourself
-If the question is worth 3 marks have you written something worth 3 marks?
If in doubt include an example
-Use to clarify a point or try to get more marks
Read the questions carefully
-Typically you won’t get marks unless you answer the question that is asked