adminExams are underway and CLS wishes you the best. Here are some exam tips on some subjects that are set to be written this week and next week.
Commerce
Importance of production
Definition:
Creation of value
Goods and services are produced to satisfy needs and wants of the people.
Chain of production
The chain of production involves a series of stages, which add value to the end product.
Production chain is the steps taken to convert raw materials into goods.
Primary, secondary and tertiary
Branches of production
Primary production
Secondary production
Tertiary production
Primary production
Primary sector involves changing natural resources into primary products.
The primary sector of the economy extracts or harvests products from the earth.
Examples:
fishing , mining
farming
forestry
Secondary production
Secondary sector converts the primary goods into manufactured goods. The secondary sector of the economy manufactures finished goods.
Examples:
construction
textile production
processing
Tertiary production
Tertiary sector is the service industry which only provides services to its customers. Examples:
banking
hair cutting
teaching
Types of industries
extractive industries
manufacturing industries
construction industries
tertiary industries
Extractive industries
The extractive industry is concerned with the physical taking out of metals and minerals from the earth
Examples:
mining
quarrying
dredging
Manufacturing industries
The industry where raw materials are converted to finished goods by the use of tools and machines
Examples:
Car manufacturing
Textile manufacturing
Construction industries
The industry where land development is done.
Repairing, building or renovating
Examples:
house building
plaza building
Benefits of international trade
Better standard of living
More variety for customers
Increase in government revenue
Business expansion
Better relations between countries
Interdependence of countries
One country has to depend on the other country for goods and services
Reasons for interdependence:
Some countries produce goods at a low price
Countries are promoting international trade
Increase in multinational companies
International trade terms
Imports
Exports
Visible trade
Invisible trade
Balance of trade
Balance of trade is
Visible exports-visible imports
Visible products does not include services
Balance of payments
Balance of payments
Visible exports + invisible exports – visible imports + invisible imports
Customs authorities
These are the authorities which control the foreign trade of a country
Keep the record of goods imported and exported
Enforce rules and regulations
Prevent smuggling and other crimes
Sociology
How to write a good sociology essay
What constitutes a good essay in the exam context?
Examinations test the ability to formulate a coherent argument and analysis; to produce an answer which is clearly structured and directly relevant to the question; to show evidence of reading, critical ability, and knowledge of the course, and to do so concisely and in a restricted period of time.
A good exam response therefore:
1. Directly addresses the question;
2. Develops a clearly structured and logical argument in relation to the question;
3. Supports and illustrates its argument with explicit acknowledgement of published sources; and
4. Shows an ability to manage exam time.
Really good exam papers (distinctions) do all this, and show a marked originality. Really bad papers (fails) will do very little of this.
Criteria of what is expected from a script of a given degree class is the same as that provided in the department handbook (the green book supplement) given out at the start of the year.
Do the criteria for a good essay differ between term-time and exams?
To a large extent then, the criteria for judging a good exam essay are the same as for those submitted during term-time.
The one notable difference is the time factor.
The time factor means that some elements of the term-time essay are necessarily compromised in the exam context. However, the exam essay is not just an abbreviated version of the conventional essay because, in the context of limited time, some aspects offer more scope for compromise than others.
So, which aspects can be compromised and which not?
1. Prioritise argument
In a limited time period, it is essential that you move swiftly into the main body of your answer, prioritising this middle section over a lengthy introduction and/or extended conclusion.
2. Identify and concentrate on key points/arguments
In an exam, you will not have time to cover all the points and expand on all the arguments that you may have included in a term-time response. It is therefore a good idea to focus on a limited number of key points and argue these well. It is ok to indicate that you are doing this ie Implying that although there is more to be said, you are necessarily prioritising.
3. Limit introductions and conclusions
Although a good exam response must still contain some sense of being a complete or rounded piece of work i.e. Having a beginning, middle and end, and developing its argument to an appropriate conclusion, introductions and conclusions of necessity take on a more limited form:
a. Introduction: unlike a conventional essay, you will not have time to unpick the question in any detail (ie Repeat or rephrase it), nor to outline in advance in any depth the main lines of argument your response will be taking. Limit yourself to two or three sentences briefly analysing what you understand by the question, elaborating on its key terms, and indicating how you intend to structure your response.
b. Conclusion: a short paragraph (or more, depending on time remaining) concentrating on key concluding comments. You may find you have little or (sometimes!) No time remaining to review or summarise your arguments. Perhaps focus on two or three reflections or insights that emanate from the arguments you’ve presented, or questions raised by them.
4. Structure
In the context of time pressure and nerves, structure is often what suffers. Ironically, structure is never more important than in this setting, where a large volume of learnt material requires sifting, applying and organising into a coherent, concise response.
There can be a tendency in exams to begin writing with little advance thought and to ‘bash out’ points in the often random sequence that they first occur.
Important points may be marginalised or perhaps neglected entirely, while less relevant material consumes a disproportionate amount of space.
You may also find yourself reverting to a version of an essay question you’ve previously written. If so, since staff are careful to differentiate exam and essay questions, this means you are probably not answering the exam question!
A five minute essay plan may seem an ill-afforded luxury, but will ensure more effective use of your remaining time and help you produce work that is structured, flows logically, avoids waffle, and is concise but nonetheless comprehensive.
5. Signposting
Signposting (ie Indicating the direction of your response) is an important component of structuring and should not be lost entirely in the exam essay. However, it should be kept brief.
In particular, if you are short of time:
Avoid outlining your arguments in brief in advance of expanding on them;
Avoid summarising them afterwards; and
Both are repetitions of a sort and, in the exam context, offer scope for saving time.
Where you do have time to include them:
Keep them brief, and avoid prioritising them over the main body of your argument.
6. Referencing
Referencing is as important in the exam context as it is in term-time – without it you are guilty of plagiarism in just the same way. However, in exams, referencing expectations are modified, as indicated below:
It is not necessary or expected that you include direct (ie “word for word”) quotations
When presenting or paraphrasing an argument, the minimum referencing requirement is author’s name
• Generally then, you will not need to include source title or year of publication.
However, when making reference to key texts (see marking criteria), where your intention is to demonstrate your familiarity with such texts and ability to use them, you may need to include more extensive reference information (i.e. Source title, author’s name and year of publication).
(title subtexts, full article titles, page numbers, journal volume numbers etc are not necessary)
If you forget some of the necessary information, it’s advisable not to invent or improvise! Put the information you know. –wwwtacklingsocioexam
PHYSICS
Hot tips for success in physical sciences classes
We have to give credit where credit is due. Most of these tips came from professors, tutors, and other students. Just remember . . . everyone learns a little bit differently . . . if you try one of these ideas and it does not work for you, don’t give up completely, keep trying different methods until you succeed.
General tips for all classes
1. Go to your teacher’s – you will hear this a million times but it is absolutely true. The professors often sit through entire office hours without a single student coming to see them. Don’t be shy or embarrassed to ask questions. It seems to help to have one or more specific questions to ask. This helps break the ice a little. Then you can relax and ask them more general questions or about their research, etc. If you do this you will find that you end up understanding the class better and feeling more connected to the instructor.
2. Work on the homework, concepts, problem solving a little each day – chemistry, mathematics, and physics are very different from other subjects. You should not wait till the end of the week and try to study all of it at once. You will do much better in the long run if you work out problems each day. If you run out of problems to solve or concepts to understand . . . go back over the ones you did a couple of days ago. The better you understand the problem solving/concepts/mechanisms, the better you will do on your exams.
3. Do all of the reading for the week before you go to lecture – you cannot learn math and physics and chemistry by just hearing about it. You need to first read the information in your book, try to work some problems, then go to lecture. This will help you actually understand what the professor is saying rather than just taking notes on a concept you have never seen before. Memorising everything that the professor says in class will not get you As on the exams . . . you have to really understand the material and be able to draw conclusions, solve problems, etc.
Chemistry 51abc tips
1. Study mechanisms everyday – organic chemistry is difficult in that you have to know the mechanisms by heart. This means memorising them over and over again. If you work on it a little each day rather than trying to get them all the day before the exam, you will do much better.
2. Go to chemistry department tutoring – use the free chemistry department tutoring. You can go to as many sessions as you want. This is a good way to go over material and also meet other students to form study groups. They also hold special reviews before midterms and finals.
3. Remember that you will need this material later – it is easy to question the necessity of what you’re learning when you don’t see the connection to your other classes. Be assured that you will use the material from 51abc later when you take biochemistry and molecular biology. Your grades in those classes will be the direct result of how well you understand organic chemistry.
Physics tips
1. Physics consists of two parts: concepts and equations – you need to be able to understand both parts to do well in physics. If you are having trouble with the concepts, buy or borrow a good conceptual physics book (Hewitt’s Conceptual Physics). Reading a text like this will help you grasp the concepts better.
If you are having trouble with the equations the only way to get better is to work more of them. You should work the equations out first by yourself.
Seeing the solution to the problem or someone else work it will not help you learn the skills to solve it. After you have worked out all of the problems the best you can, get together with some other students in the class and compare results.
This helps all of you see various approaches to the equation while learning the problem solving skills you need.
2. You cannot memorise physics and expect to do well – memorising a lot of physics history will not help you do well in physics.
You have to understand concepts and equations work and how to apply them to different situations in order to survive.
3. Brush up on your calculus – physics has a lot of math in it. You will do much better if you review your calculus before and during the class.
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