How To Pass London Exams
It is time to think what to do if you want to succeed in passing London exams.
Preparation
Start preparing for your London exams in the very beginning of the year, not only a week before exams. Collect as many abstracts and summaries as possible in order to accumulate information, which means that during the active preparation, you will already have all the materials you need to reproduce. However, a month before the exams put all the efforts on the studies. I recommend you to isolate yourself from most of the entertainment, as it is h better not to distract in this period, but study as hard as possible, constantly widening your knowledge.
Study Guides
The first thing you should read is the Study Guides, which are all provided by the LSE University and will be delivered to you in a month. Try to read each chapter to your seminars as it would be difficult to read them all the day before an exam. Moreover, Study Guide is s basic of any subject if you want to pass exams at least on the ‘third-class’. While reading, select topics you like and you are quite confident in, hence, you will take them on the UOLs. If you need just to pass an exam, don’t waste your time on other readings; instead, try to be as much confident in Study Guide as possible and you can even learn it by heart.
Further Readings
You definitely can pass UOLs basing only on the Study Guides, but if you want to succeed or even get a ‘first-class’, you SHOULD read more. However, the Internet is not enough and sometimes there is no information you need. For instance, if you have to pass ‘World History after Cold War' or ‘International Relations’, there are definitely a lot of data about IR concepts and historical backgrounds on the Internet, but you will face differences, if you try to google ‘Political Science’. Hence, further readings, as well as main Student Books, are recommended to read. The more Further Readings you master, the more chances you have to get a high grade, but don’t forget to memorize the names of the authors.
Number of Topics
In the course of any subject, there are a lot of topics (from 9 to 20). Obviously, you do not need to know them all as on UOLs usually you have to write 3 essays. However, it is not enough to take 3 topics because you don’t know which questions will be on the exam. I recommend to take at least 5 themes, which allow you to select more preferential one if all of them, luckily for you, will be included.
MOCK Exams
Twice a year your program will hold MOCK exams, where you can test yourself and your knowledge. Obviously, you can even fail them and it will not affect your London exams, but I recommend to prepare for it as it is a real UOL. Hence, you will approximately estimate your expertise and grade you will get in London.
Lecture Attendance
It is good when you make your own drafts based on readings, but if you attend lectures and write summaries, you do not need to spend time to do it at home. Besides, it is easier to prepare at home if you already have base from seminar.
References
Honestly speaking, we are not scholars here, that is why you should not only rely on your knowledge. Essays should include different points of view and references on fellows that are specialized in the sphere you write about. These will make your essay more academic, adding some extra points to you. So, do not forget to learn surnames of authors and the year they’ve published an article.
Teachers are also people
Your handwriting may not be perfect but remember that all the essays will be checked by London scholars. Hence, is better for you (in order to avoid ‘zero’ for unclear writing’) to write distinct and clear, avoid crossing out and mess on your examination paper.
Good luck with your studies!
Text by
Sofia Lyakhova