Hello exam-takers. (A super warm welcome to those who are having finals in less than 1 week's time and reading this)
You are probably here for a series of reasons, such as being inconsistent with assignments throughout the sem or having tons of lectures to catch up but you don't have time. If you decide that you don't want to just pray for a B or B+ when you know that getting a B- seems impossible, then you have came to the correct place :D
Just a note before I carry on: this guide does not guarantee you will pass with flying colours, it is just some last minute things I did other than praying for a PASS/B/B+. I manage to get B and B+ for some of the mods, additionally, the bell curve god was kind enough to give me an A- for one of the mods. One other thing to note is that these tips may or may not work for everyone, so just take it with a pinch of salt. As I am an engineering student, the tips below applies more to the engineering mods I took, but it doesn't mean the guide does not totally apply for FASS mods (I took GES and GEH under FASS so I have tried university level essay writing).
Firstly, divide the time you have for the number of modules. If you have 1 week and 5 modules, then you can take 1 day for each module, spending the leftover 2 days for the module that require more time/more practice; Unless you plan to tabao certain mod (meaning S/U), then maybe you can cater less time to the mod(s).
1. Watching the webcast at twice the speed
This tip is for those who did not attend lectures and accumulated tons of webcast to watch in a few days, one way is to watch it at twice the speed. Some of my lecturers speak a little slow, so I can still understand what the prof is saying when I play it at x1.75 or x2 speed. The key point here is that sometimes lecture notes uploaded on IVLE could have some fill-in-the-blanks or important notes that the lecturer did not include. For example, the lecturer for one of the mod I took provided extra information which I wrote down. It so happened that I had to make use of the extra notes I wrote down to answer a question during finals. Hence, it is important to watch the lecture in case the lecturer gives some hints/wise words.
2. Learn the Pattern, not the Concept
When you have no time, the best bet is to ditch the concept which needs more time to understand. Basically, focus on pattern recognition; In order to do this, spam your tutorials and assignments. By spam I mean redo the questions again and again. If there are too many questions, then do all of them at least once. For the extreme cases where you have never touched/read the tutorials before, copy the solutions key at least once (with understanding if possible). This is to aid in spotting the pattern/memorising the formulae and steps (if it is a closed book exam). I always rely on muscle memory when I have no time for the concept.
Still cannot spot the pattern? Move on to the Past Year Papers (you can get them on the website NUSLibraries). If you are lucky, the lecturer would have uploaded the solutions to the PYP. If there are no solutions/answer key at all (I'm talking about CE2184), and you have no time for consultation with prof, then what you can do is to match the PYP questions to similar tutorial/assignment questions and apply the pattern you see.
3. Spamming Smart
When spamming papers, ensure that you can do the assignment/homework questions. If I were to weigh the importance between assignment/homework and tutorial, I would choose the former. I am saying this when the assignment/homework is
a. a collation of all the topics into 1 question with many parts, or
b. an application of the tutorial questions, or
c. a more complex tutorial question, or
d. past year exam question
Hence if you are really running out of time, then at least attempt the homework/assignment. Take note that the above scenarios might not hold true for all the modules. Some modules could have no assignment but only tutorials.
4. Attempting the paper
The tip I want to share here is to write something even if you cannot do the question at all; I think most people are already good at this part. Try not to leave any blanks totally, maybe just throw in a formula or two, substitute some values inside. Everytime I attempt a question that I cannot do in the exam, I make sure I act as if I know what is happening by not leaving it blank. As stupid as it sounds, writing something (correct or wrong) boosts my moral of the paper and gives me hope that the marker might give me some marks out of pity or for the benefit of doubt. Of course before that, ensure that you have sufficient time to finish the entire paper, although you know that whatever you are writing is actually fluff. Also, remember what they say? If you cannot convince, then confuse.
Parting words: For the sake of your CAP and that piece of paper, be consistent next sem. (But if next sem turns out like this again, feel free to come back here and read hehe but seriously
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