Tackling Tough Longer Written Questions
Longer written questions: they’re a bit like marmite! Some teenagers thrive off them; others want to run for the hills!
The thing is, long written questions can certainly be one of the most intimidating and tough aspects to face when it comes to exams. Not only do these typically hold a large portion of marks, but long written questions demand many skills from your child.
Plan and Structure
Firstly, your child needs to be able to plan and structure their writing effectively. Answers that are well organised and show clear direction are far more likely to gain marks.
Be Succinct
Secondly, written questions require your child to be focussed and respond relatively succinctly to a question. Students often find this confusing, but what they’re really being asked to produce is a quality piece- and not waffle.
Your teenager needs to provide depth, and often analysis, which is a very challenging thing! In order to do this, your child needs to have an excellent and detailed understanding. This is why it is so important that they revise! Additionally, by attending our revision courses, you can be assured that your child will be exposed to excellent subject knowledge from our expert teachers, who lead our SQA classes. We offer these for students taking National 5s, Highers and Advanced Highers.
Practise
Our next set of intensive courses span a 3-day period just after Christmas. This is the perfect time for your child to truly start practising longer written questions, as their prelims are ahead. Looking to the long term, by rehearsing this type of question, your child has a much better chance of mastering these in the coming months- ready to smash it in the final exams!
You want your child to feel confident about examinations- so do we! Our brilliant revision classes walk your child through top techniques and past papers, providing opportunities to see ‘how it’s done.’
To improve, keep practising and keep preparing to make progress! Every mark won will be a factor towards your child’s overall success. See every single mark as important.
Learn Key Vocabulary
Lastly, with longer writing tasks, your child needs clarity in using key terminology from their subjects. This is where revision is vital: flashcards, drill tasks or quizzes can help for keyword recall. Preparation like this will help to familiarise and boost confidence for written exams.
Lots of youngsters get used to being on laptops, phones or tablets, but it’s a given that your teenager must be prepared to write at length for exams (unless access arrangements are in place.) Subjects which demand essay-style pieces are often some of the longest tests in terms of time: exams can last between 2-3 hours! The only way to get good at this is to keep working at it and trying practice papers realistically your child needs to rehearse this type of activity at home if they hope to succeed.
Ultimately, the last bit of advice is to: write, write and write!