St Grade Admin - General Exam Tips

EXAM TECHNIQUE

• When answering problem solving questions the following verbs are often useful; install, purchase, provide, introduce, use.
• Exam questions often ask for definitions of terms. Make sure you can define particular terms well, for example, chain of command, e-commerce.
• When justifying your answer ensure you do not repeat the question as the reason for the justification.

St Grade Admin - Unit 7 Revision Tips

TRAVEL

Arrangements

• You may be asked to prepare or complete a Travel/Accommodation Request Form in the Practical Abilities project or to complete one which has been partially completed in the KU/PS paper (at Foundation level).
• At Credit level, you will always be asked to justify how travel arrangements should be made.
• In the Practical Abilities project, you may be asked to use the internet to search for suitable travel arrangements and then prepare an Itinerary.
• EHIC was previously called E111 Form – you must now use EHIC when answering any exam questions.

Paying for Travel

• Questions in exams often ask for benefits of cards to the business or the employee. Ensure your answer is specific to the question.
• Travel Expenses Claim forms can be produced using spreadsheet software; using formulae allows automatic calculations, reducing the chance of errors.

St Grade Admin - Unit 6 Revision Tips

PREPARATION & PRESENTATION OF INFORMATION

Types of Presentation

• Graphs and charts can be produced using spreadsheet software.
• Ensuring you practise completing a variety of forms as you may be asked to complete them in your Practical Abilities project or in your KU/PS exam paper.

Presenting Information to others

• When defining a term in the exam, you will not get any marks if you simply repeat part of the term, for example, saying that a data projector ‘projects. You must use different wording to show you understand the terms and gain full marks.

St Grade Admin - Unit 5 Revision Tips

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

• Recent exam questions have focused on the use of paper-based sources of information - naming the source and stating what it would be used for.
• One disadvantage of paper-based sources of information is that the information can go out of date quickly.
• Practice using the internet to locate information, including using a search engine, as you may be asked to do this in your practical abilities project.
• An organisation should promote its website by including the website address on company letterheads, business cards, advertising materials etc.

St Grade Admin - Unit 4 Revision Tips

REPROGRAPHICS

Equipment & Software

• You should not use the words laminate, bind or scan when describing what a laminator, binder or a scanner does.
• If you are asked to name a piece of equipment used to complete a task, saying ‘computer’ is not acceptable on its own.

Staff Training

• ‘Train them’ is an inadequate answer to a Credit question – you must state what the training involves and why it is necessary.

In-house & external agencys

• An exam question may ask you to make a recommendation as to whether an organisation should choose an in-house staff or external agency. To answer this question well you should make a comparison between the two methods and justify your recommendation.

St Grade Admin - Unit 3 Revision Tips

Storage & Retrieval of Information

Filing

• A filing system may be manual or electronic.

Electronic Filing

• When you practise creating databases, always remember to have a field name for each individual item of information, for example, first name and surname, address and town.
• If an exam question asks for the advantages of a database, always use specific terms, such as records, fields, etc.
• A formula always begins with an = sign; if this is not entered, the calculation will not work and you will be awarded no marks in the exam.
• You should also be aware of health and safety implications for operators who use computers for a significant part of their day.

Security of Information

• Remember – computers/data can be protected physically by locking computer/data away or electronically by using passwords.
• ‘Password protection’ is usually an answer to a problem solving question. Make your answer specific – password protected computer/file/screensaver/e-mail. Don’t just say ‘use a password’.
• When asked about back-up procedures in an exam, you should always state that these must be done regularly.

St Grade Admin - Unit 2 Revision Tips

Unit 2a Office Layout

• Exam questions at Foundation/General levels may ask you to identify a layout from a graphic.
• Exam questions regularly ask for two advantages and/or two disadvantages of one type of layout.
• Ergonomics is the study of how the working environment affects the work of the employees.
• Remember, when answering problem solving questions, a one-word answer does NOT solve the problem.

Unit 2b Working Practices

• Remember to read the question carefully. Are you being asked about advantages/disadvantages for employee or employer?
• Do not use the word share when defining job share or shift when defining shift work.
  

Maintaining a safe working environment

• Practise completing forms such as Accident Report Form, Accident Book and Hazard Fault Report as you may be asked to complete them in the exam.

Health & Safety Legislation

• Exam questions often ask you to state some responsibilities of employers and employees for health and safety in general and for health and safety related to ICT.

Unit 2c Reception Services

• Record keeping by the receptionist may be carried out manually or electronically.
• Remember CCTV cannot stop someone from entering a room or building or from stealing personal belongings.
• Remember – problems at Credit level require justification as well as recommendations.

Unit 2d Mail Handling

• In a small organisation with a low volume of mail, the receptionist often deals with the mail.
• Large organisations are likely to have a separate mail department.
• Large organisations may use Royal Mail Business Collection service where the Royal Mail will come to the organisatons premises to collect all outgoing mail.

St Grade Admin - Unit 1 Revision Tips

ORGANISATION OF DEPARTMENTS

• If an exam is asked who would be contacted when an immediate line manager is not available, just use your finger to follow the line upwards to find the person on the next level of the organisation chart.
• Exam questions often ask the benefits of an organisation chart to either employees or customers/visitors. Always read the question carefully and tailor your answer to the requirements of that particular question.
• Learn definitions of key terms associated with organisation charts as they are often asked as exam questions.

TALL AND FLAT MANAGEMENT STRUCTURES

• Learn 2 advantages and 2 disadvantages of each type of management structure.

FUNCTIONAL ORGANISATION OF BUSINESSES

• Each employee within a department is responsible for carrying out tasks which are specific to their level within the department.
• You should not use any word from the job title to describe a task they perform, for example, you cannot say that a Manager manages or a Supervisor supervises.
• When describing a task carried out by an Administrative Assistant in a specific department, you must make reference to that department. For example, it is not enough to say the Administrative Assistant in the Sales Department updates records – you must make reference to customer records.
• An advantage of using a spreadsheet is that calculations can be carried out automatically and accurately using formulae.
• Always refer back to the question when completing your answer. This ensures you don’t forget what the question is actually asking.

St Grade Administration - Top Revision Tips

Revision Tips

Know the course requirements

• Make sure you know what to revise – ask your teacher for details.
• Make sure that you have the course notes for each unit.
• Divide the course into units and sections: then work through these ‘manageable chunks’ one at a time.

Organise yourself

• Produce an exam revision timetable, allowing revision time for other subjects as well. Spread your subjects over the week and only spend short periods of time on one subject at a time.
• Allow regular breaks while studying.
• Attend supported study classes offered in school – this allows you access to the full range of resources available in the classroom, including your teacher.
• Pace yourself during the exam period – you need to rest between exams. Don’t cram – ‘little and often’ is a much better approach to revision.

Revision methods

• Note cards – work through your ‘chunks’ of revision and make notes on small note cards to make it easier to learn key points.
• Mind mapping – create a mind map diagram where you identify all the key points and can visually see the links between key points.
• Work through past papers – one of the best ways to prepare for any exam is to look at what has been asked before, in what way and how often. You may see that the same types of questions appear regularly.
• Work with a friend – go over key points on note cards or mind maps, or work through past paper questions together.
• Do questions against the clock – so you know you can do them within the appropriate time.

Time for Success

Procrastination

Procrastination is a fancy word for skiving! It means looking for something else to do rather than the task in hand. Below are some examples of typical students’ procrastinations for not studying.

• I need to highlight my study planner with highlighters,
• I need to tidy my bedroom,
• I need to check my emails.

It’s not that these are unreasonable excuses for not studying, but if you keep putting something off, you will never get anything done!

Identifying barriers

By looking at how you spend your own time, you can clearly see what your biggest barriers are.

They might include:

• Mobile phone,
• Television,
• Internet,
• Friends,
• Family.

Overcoming barriers

One way to overcome barriers is to be stricter with ourselves but this is easier said than done. If you break up large, overwhelming tasks into shorter, more easily achievable tasks, the task not only becomes less daunting, but you will also feel you have achieved something when you complete it!

Prioritising

Prioritising means doing what needs to be done first, first! We all have things that we don’t particularly like doing, but they still have to be done. Prioritising tasks allows you to be more organised, meaning you make the most of your time, to fit in more of the things you want to do, rather than have to do.

Notes for success

Why do we need notes?

Notes are useful throughout daily life. We use them in a variety of different ways e.g. shopping lists, telephone numbers, “to do” lists etc. Notes are a simple and useful way to do the following:

• to organise our thoughts,
• to condense information,
• to make sense of what we learn,
• for revision purposes.

Note taking is an important study skill, as it helps you to convert the facts and information you want to learn into your own words, therefore making it easier to remember.

What different methods are there for taking notes?

There are many different ways to take notes. What works best for you, will depend upon what information you are working with and the techniques suited to the way you learn best.

Here are some examples of different ways to take notes:

Lists

Also used as bullet points. Useful for jotting down information you may need in the short term

Flowcharts

Helpful for understanding complicated processes. Also a good way to test your knowledge on something by trying to write out all the different stages.

Flashcards

Allows you to test yourself, by writing a question or reminder on the front and then putting the answer on the back.

How do we take notes?

The three stages involved in note taking are very important:

• Reduce information into smaller, more manageable sized pieces.
• Copy the information into a way that makes it easier to understand, learn or remember, using your own words.
• Put the information into an order which is suitable for what you are trying to learn.

When you are taking notes, think about the following:

• Only choose the most important parts to take notes – it’s about quality, not quantity.
• Make sure you organise your notes into an order which makes it easier for you to learn and remember.
• Try putting things into your own words as much as possible. You will find it much easier to understand if you are learning something you have written yourself.
  
  
  

Memory for Success

How does memory work?


Memory is the mental process of storing and recalling information or experiences, but how does it actually work?

Memories are formed when certain connections are strengthened. The more different ways you think about an item or experience, the more efficiently it will be stored and the easier it will be to recall information.

Have you ever met someone and forgotten their name, only to remember it two minutes later when you thought about who introduced you or what they were wearing when you met?

These different cues act as ‘triggers’ which relate to the way your brain stored the memory of the name. The stronger these connections, the easier it is for you to remember information. These are very important for revision – how strongly information is stored will affect how easily it can be recalled in an exam situation.

What affects memory performance?

Memory can be helped or hindered by different aspects of our daily lives.

Diet: What you eat can affect your memory. The best advice is to eat a balanced diet and get regular exercise.

Stress: Stress is the enemy of memory performance. The chemicals released by the body when you feel under pressure interfere with your brains memory function, reducing your overall memory capacity.

Sleep: The amount of sleep you get is very important to effective memory performance. Late night studying or ‘pulling an all-nighter’ results in tiredness and interferes with learning and remembering.

Memory techniques for exam success

If we want to improve memory performance in exams, we need to look at ways we can make it easier to recall information from revision. Here are two of the many techniques you can use.

Journey method

The journey method works by forming a connection between the information you want to memorise alongside a mental list, making it easier to remember both pieces of information together. The method can be used in revision to remember the points of an argument or an essay in the correct order.

Imagine the house where you live and the front door as you walk through it. In your head, walk through the house visiting every room in turn. The key to this technique is to pick specific places in your house (individual rooms or specific pieces of furniture) so that as you walk round your house in your imagination, you visit each place in turn in the same order each time. You then need to form an association between these locations and the items you need to remember.

This method is a very flexible system and is only limited by the number of journeys that you can create in your mind.

Mnemonics

Mnemonics can be used as another method for remembering information that is otherwise quite difficult to recall. Mnemonics use rhymes, songs, acronyms etc. to encode information in a meaningful way.

The basic principle of mnemonics is to find something that sticks in your head and use it as the basis to remember whatever information you need. Just remember, mnemonics are only useful if they are easier to recall than the original information to be remembered. The key is to keep it simple!

Mnemonics are particularly useful as a method of memorising the complicated formulas needed for subjects such as Maths and Physics.

Handy hint

Get all the help & advice you can! More people than you think are willing to help, so go to your teachers, friends, family and don’t be afraid to ask!

How to avoid stress for success

What is stress?

A small amount of stress is necessary in daily life. It's part of our natural warning system, making us alert to danger and ready to run from threatening situations. In an exam situation, a small amount of adrenaline (a chemical produced by your body) keeps you alert. However, stress can cause many problems for mental and physical well-being. Some symptoms are outlined below:

• Getting annoyed easily,
• Sweating,
• Can’t sleep / tired,
• Not hungry,
• Feeling upset,
• Headaches,
• Sore stomach.

What causes stress?

Stress affects everyone differently. What could make you stressed will not necessarily cause someone else stress. Try to think about the kinds of things that make you stressed.

They may include:

• Work,
• Family,
• School,
• Exams.

Stress caused by exams can be prevented by trying to be as organised as possible! Use study guides, mind maps etc. in order to plan out a timetable for studying and stick to it!

How should I deal with stress?

Because stress affects everyone differently, what reduces stress for individuals can also be different. Some ways include yoga, playing football or simply watching TV.

There are many different activities you can try in order to relax, varying from taking a break from studying, to exercising.

Handy hint

Your memory works like a muscle, therefore the more you practice recalling information, you will be able to do so more reliably.

Study Skills for Success

You may not realise it, but you are at an important stage of your life - what you achieve now, will determine your choices in the future. This time is not just about exam results – it is about developing the skills to learn and this is a skill for life. You’ll be working hard on homework and coursework at the moment, but do you have a good idea of what is expected of you in your course? This post will provide you with some ideas and advice.

Some tips for exam day

You may be familiar with some of the advice below, but all are good pointers to help you forward plan for your exams.

Before the exam:

• Try to eat before you go into the exam - your brain needs energy to work and that means food!
• You will be asked to write in black or blue ink. Do not use coloured pencils or pens, so come prepared with the correct writing tools.
• Planning how much time to spend on each question before you enter the exam might just stop you from getting in a panic on the day. For example, if you know you have to answer 3 questions in an hour and a half, take 30 minutes on each. This should include at least 5 minutes to read over what you have written for each question.
• A positive attitude goes a long way - if you sit down thinking “I’m going to fail” then you probably will – be confident in yourself!

Question time:

• Where a question has several aspects, make sure you have covered each part required in your answer.
• Don’t re-write the question in your answer - it wastes precious time. Just make sure you have clearly marked (usually in the margin) the question you are answering.
• Keep your answer simple and concise. It’s not about quantity, but quality. Get straight to the point – do not give a long introduction about “what you are going to say.”
• Answer the question! Don’t write everything you know about the topic, as examiners will be less likely to search for the correct answer when it is surrounded by “waffle.” Make sure you stay on the subject.
• Examiners dislike answers which are written to impress with lots of name dropping and quotes if they don’t help to answer the question or are irrelevant. Where possible, give concrete examples as evidence, as this displays your knowledge of the subject.
• To finish, make sure you relate all parts of your answers to the original question.

General advice:

• Examiners are not telepathic, so explain your thoughts as clearly as you can. Say exactly what you mean – you may lose marks for irrelevant and unnecessary information.
• Remember to show any working you do, as marks can be gained from correct workings even though the overall answer may be wrong.
• Tipex is a menace in exams. Students often waste time carefully painting over whatever error they have made, then forget to go back and re-write the answer. Score out any mistakes with a single line, but do not scrub over it!
• The difference between passing and doing really well is often down to re-reading. Make sure that you read over what you have written and correct the errors. Everyone is guilty of missing out words and punctuation at times.
• Poor handwriting is unacceptable.
  
  Handy hint

Stay positive! If you keep thinking about the enormity of exams, you’ll never get anywhere!

Study Skills

Welcome to my Study Skills blog. On this blog, I aim to put lots of interesting and useful resources to help you with your studies. I will also add any interesting websites and blogs I find which might be useful. If you think there is anything I can do to improve this part of the blog, let me know.

Mr Alexander