So you've decided that since exams are coming up, it might be fourth dimension to do some studying. Those past papers are sitting in a dusty corner of the internet (well, the NZQA website, if we're being authentic here) and you're purposefully ignoring them, because they audio both boring, and terrifying. You're probably thinking most excessively highlighting your notes instead, right?

First of all, we're hither to tell you that you should definitely end the excessive highlighting, and kickoff doing some exercise questions. Secondly, past papers are the almost constructive way to fix for your exams. While they might exist more confusing than the practice questions you get in class, the best way to ready for those types of questions, is to exercise them.

With that being said, hither are all the reasons why you should open some past papers. We've broken past papers down then that you lot don't have to – and you'll be able to save time, and study effectively, then that you can ace your exams, and enjoy your summertime.

Y'all heard it here first – the mystery of by papers is finally solved.

Let'southward get into information technology.

1. Try a Past Paper Under Total Exam Weather condition

The first thing to do, and information technology sounds pretty obvious, is to effort a by paper. However, you should be doing thisunder full exam conditions.

We know you'd much rather take a snack, nail some music, and have regular breaks when you get bored to pat your dog or annoy your siblings… but the all-time style to prepare yourself for an exam is to put yourself under those conditions.

You might accept heard the term "exam weather condition" thrown around earlier, simply hither's how you can replicate them in your own firm:

  • Put your phone on silent, or put it somewhere where you won't be distracted. (Information technology sucks, but Snapchat really isn't going to assistance)
  • Set a timer, and stick to it. Creating a realistic fourth dimension force per unit area will help you to effigy out whether you need to work on time management in your exams, or whether you've got extra time to think through your answers.
  • Print out the test paper if y'all can, or just write your answers on a refill. This volition make sure that you're practising being able to physically write an exam within the allocated time, which is honestly an underrated skill.
  • Become rid of your notes, and resist the urge to google things that popular up in the test paper that might confuse you. At this point, everything should be coming out of your encephalon.
  • Turn off the music, and become rid of those snacks. You tin can get back to those after.

And I mean, if you really want to put yourself in a realistic state of affairs, you lot can ever chuck your telephone in a ziplock pocketbook nether the dining room tabular array. We're not going to guess.

What y'all tin can do if you're feeling lazy:

If you don't have time to (or tin't) write full answers to the exam questions,write downward a few bullet points of what y'all think the answer should include. This isn't ideal, because you're not practising your writing skills (which are particularly important for those catchy excellence parts, and writing-based subjects such as English or Biological science). Yet, if you're running out of fourth dimension, writing bullet betoken answers means y'all can at least check if y'all're on the right track.

ii. Create a Realistic Time Pressure level

The adjacent tip we have is totime yourself. Doing the past paper under test conditions means you're essentially "taking the exam" with everything that'due south in your brain at the time. This is a nifty style to see how much yous really know, rather than thinking that y'all know it all, and finding out later.

You might think you know all the definitions, but nether time pressure level, you might find yourself getting distracted, or taking too long to call back what they're asking you about in the first place. Practising under the exam conditions, with a realistic time pressure, means you'll somewhen be able to sit your actual exam without worrying about the clock.

This is keen exercise for the existent matter, becausethe all-time way to get ameliorate at exams, is to really do them. Crazy, right?

3. Practice The Same Past Paper With Your Notes Handy

Okay, so you lot survived your commencement past paper (under those crazy examination weather condition) and you've had a break to permit your encephalon recover. At present it'southward time for an easier task.

Do the verbal same paper, but this fourth dimension have your notes nearby (and those photos of the whiteboard that have been sitting in your phone for weeks). It might aid to use a unlike coloured pen, so that you can see what you've added, and what yous originally wrote.

Doing the paper again with your notes allows you to practice applying your knowledge to different situations, even if you haven't quite memorised all of those definitions even so! This is a actually useful skill to exercise, and you'll probably memorise some of the content while you lot're at information technology as well!

4. Utilize The Assessment Schedule To Mark Your Work

Once you've gone through the by paper,utilize the cess schedule to mark your work. This might seem actually boring, but it'southward the most of import part of studying with past papers.

When you mark your ain work (using the very thing that your examiner will be using!) you're looking at an exam from their perspective. This means yous'll be fifty-fifty ameliorate at writing really good answers, becauseyous'll start to run across what the examiner is looking for. Information technology'due south much easier to chase that endorsement when y'all know what your examiner wants to run into.

Our all-time tip for marking your piece of work is to utilize the assessment schedule. This manner, you know that y'all're giving yourself realistic marks, and if you miss out, you can see exactly what y'all needed to include to become Achieved, Merit, or Excellence.

If y'all're doing calculation based questions, and you become them wrong, go back and endeavor it one time you've seen the answer. Or see if yous can work backwards. Think of it as programming your encephalon to exercise the right method, and y'all're problem-solving too when y'all work backwards to figure how to become the right answer.

v. Write Downward The Concepts That Demand More Practice

Once you've done a past paper, and you lot've figured out what you lot aced, write downwardly the concepts that demand more than work. Nosotros all take those few things that we completely forget nearly, and they e'er manage to pop upwards in exams when we least wait it.

Nosotros have a template for our 'practice exam form' which has a really piece of cake print out for you to apply. Essentially, you canwrite downwards all your problem areas, and come up up with a strategy to work on them in the future.

This might seem actually ho-hum and slow, but we hope it'southward not a waste product of time. When you identify problem areas, and write downwards concepts that need comeback,yous're essentially building a personalised report programme. This fashion, yous're only studying what needs work, and you can salve time because you're not cramming everything at in one case, or highlighting every single folio in your book.

Once yous've identified these difficult areas, you can use resources to revise this content, and do practice questions on this specific area inside a subject area.

If you're looking for resources to study with, we recommend using the StudyTime Walkthrough Guides, which intermission downward concepts using piece of cake to sympathise language, so you won't autumn asleep while paging through an former textbook.

six. How to Get Excellence Using Past Papers

Oft, past papers can be the best source of that excellence-worthy content. While NCEA tin can be a bit of a mess sometimes, the best way to figure out what the examiner is looking for is touse the assessment schedule.

One time yous've looked at the excellence sections of the cess schedules for each past paper yous complete,have a look at our " excellence question planner " which is designed to help yous master those excellence questions and chase that endorsement.

The best way to use this planner is to go through a few past papers, and write down mutual excellence level knowledge that you need to have, as well as specific terminology, common concepts, and things that yous need to remember. Basically, this planner becomes a cheat sheet for your exams, and you tin use it to keep runway of everything you need to piece of work on to get excellence.

vii. How to Use Past Papers as a Cheat Sheet For Your Exams

So yous've washed a few past papers, and you think y'all've got the hang of it. Here are our last few tips for really making the most of past papers, then that yous can use them to form a "cheat sail" for your exams.

Wait, we weren't lying when nosotros said that past papers really are the primal to getting the nearly out of the least amount of work! If you written report with by papers and brand the most of them, you'll be all set to ace your exams.

Await for Common Concepts Across the Past Papers

Go through the terminal few years (we unremarkably do 3 years) andwrite down each main concept that pops up. If you're confused about the 'chief concepts' for your specific examination newspaper, have a look at our StudyTime Checklists, which summarise each test, and break it downward into the chief concepts that you'll need to know.

Once you lot make a list of main concepts in each examination newspaper for the past 3 years, you'll notice that the aforementioned concepts are repeated each year.The well-nigh common concepts are the ones that you should focus on. Information technology'south not guaranteed that y'all'll exist asked those questions in your test, merely they're your safest bet, and those are the almost important things to focus on when you're cramming for your exams.

Acquire to Wait at Questions Conceptually Instead of Individually

Patently, each exam question is completely unlike. However, that doesn't hateful you demand to rack your brain every time yous encounter a new question in an exam. Even if the context of a question is completely unfamiliar, you lot know that each question is asking you lot to talk almost ane of the main concepts in the topic.

If youlearn to place the key concepts that each question is tackling, then you'll know what your examiner is looking for (whatever the situation).

Remember,y'all still need to answer the specific question y'all're given (this means including specific evidence from the exam question instead of but giving broad definitions) only you lot'll exist able to hands identify which definitions you'll need to include, and which concepts you should write nigh.

Learn to look at questions across the tricky wording and specific details (peculiarly with biological science!) and find the common themes within these questions.

Whether it's a person rollerskating or a car driving effectually a corner, you'll learn how to identify what yous need to know, use your knowledge to whatsoever situation, and yous'll be fully prepared to reply any weird questions that are thrown your manner.

Reflect After Doing a By Newspaper

Instead of simply doing a by paper and moving on, have a few minutes to go through your answers and reflect on what you've done. This manner, yous'll be more probable to acquire from your mistakes, and you'll be less likely to brand the aforementioned mistakes again in the time to come.

Doing a bunch of past papers is swell, merelyreflection is what makes your studying way more effective. If you're actively thinking near your answers, and looking at ways to improve, then you're well on your way to acing your exams.

Wrap Up

Whether this is your first time studying for exams, or you're a Year 13 student reading this instead of facing your final exam season (hang in there, freedom isn't far abroad) yous now take a range of tools and techniques to use.

At present that you know exactly how to use by papers, and they're no longer a weird mystery in the back pages of the NZQA website, you'll exist able to study way more finer, and hopefully accept more than time to relax one time you're done.

Adept luck for your exams, think to bank check those assessment schedules, and we'll see you on the other side.

You've got this.