Chapter 6 of 6
The Week Before the Exam
Triage, then rehearse under the real conditions.
6 min read
Stop reviewing everything
A week is not enough time to revisit a term equally. It is enough time to fix the specific things that will cost you marks. So begin by finding them.
The two-pass triage
Pass one, thirty minutes: list every topic on the syllabus from memory. What you cannot list, you do not hold. Those gaps go straight to the top.
Pass two, thirty minutes: for each topic you did list, write one sentence explaining it. The sentences that come out vague are your second priority. The ones that come out clean need only one spaced review.
Rehearse the conditions, not just the content
Memory is partly contextual. If the exam is closed book, handwritten, and timed, then at least twice this week practise closed book, handwritten, and timed. Doing every practice question with your notes open teaches you to answer questions with your notes open.
The night before
Do a short, easy retrieval pass — twenty minutes on things you already know — and then stop. Sleep consolidates what you practised. Cramming until 2am trades consolidation for a feeling of diligence.
Practice exercises
0 of 3 complete1.In the two-pass triage, what gets top priority?
2.Why practise under exam conditions?
3.Run pass one now: list every topic in one subject from memory, then name the two gaps you found.