FAQS

Questions from the workshop
Over to you!
How do we discern which questions are appropriate to use considering the topical nature of certain issues or changes in the modules such that the questions they would expect you to be able to answer change year on year?
It is highly unlikely that you will find many questions relating directly to the content of your current modules, as precisely as you say, these things change. However, you can get a good idea of what kind of questions are asked, and the way they are posed. You can have fun creating questions of your own using the same format, but a different focus, or a different task question
For my take home exam we have 48 (or 72) hours after the paper being released to write it and submit it. how much time per day would be advisable to spend on it? or how should this time be spent/divided up?
I suggested that you should consider the time as 'two working days', or 'three working days'. This means you need to take time to sleep, to eat, and to take down time with your friends or family to relax (within reason!). Then you need to factor in time to plan, time to research, time to write, and time to edit your assignment - people's processes are different, so you need to practise by looking at some past questions and setting youself a task. Time yourself so you get an idea of how you work, and what you can achieve, and then you will feel more in control when the exam time comes. Nicola also said that she also factored in a bit of buffer time, so she left the last afternoon free for unplanned distractions, things taking a bit longer than planned, or tech problems - good idea!
How you would recommend preparing now (should we be revising in a different way)?
This question was posed about a month before the end of the semester. The exam period isn't for six weeks or so, and the teaching isn't finished for their modules. So do be aware that exams are coming up, and take note of what appear to be the key questions that you are debating in your seminars or are mentioned in your lectures. Don't forget that the assignments are there for you to demonstrate your engagement with the course materials, and to show that you can apply what you have learned to your own chosen material (texts / case studies / other primary material) or to a new problem, or related issue (e.g. Law), so you should have a good idea of the range of possibilities for topics to revise. However, on the other hand you will probably have an element of choice, so you don't need to learn a little bit about everything you have read and discussed. The key point of any assignment is that you need to delve deep, rather than give a broad sweep across the topic. That would give you good points for acquisition of knowledge, but you have left yourself little space for interpretation and analysis, and developing an argument. So keep your antennae out for key questions in your reading and lectures, and just take a bit of time out to summarise the main points raised and make connections across the topics you discuss. Then you will have a good overview of your course, and be in a good position to understand the questions, and the import of the questions, when you see them.
I know on my course they are trying to avoid clashes but I don't think that can be guaranteed. Do you have any tips for having these take home exams for different modules in a very short space of time?
As you say, everyone is trying to make this work for you, but you may get two take home exams timetabled close to each other - and that kind of thing does happen in life. If you keep attuned to the news coming out and plan accordingly, as above, then you should be able to cope - it will mean you have more time to relax afterwards if they are both at the beginning of the assessment period, so try to focus on that!

Questions for your department

These are some of the questions we suggested you should take to your department - we gave you some suggestions as to what they might say, but this must be checked with your module leader. They are the ones setting the exams

Are the Canvas quizzes the same as take home exams? For first year Law students, there is a module called LSAM where 50% of the grade is an MCQ quiz on Canvas.
If there is a clash between take-home exams and we need to request an extension for one of the module's submissions, who should we contact?
If we are second year students, and we haven’t had any exam experience at University due to Coronavirus, should we expect adjustments in third year?
Would it be ok to print out the paper once it has been released to annotate it?
Do we have to complete the exams at home or are we able to use study spaces on campus if we find it easier to concentrate on our work in those places?
Do we write the exam into a timed/ live submission box or is it like an essay in that we write it on word and submit it before the deadline into a submission portal?
What is the process if we have technical difficulties?
When are we likely to be told the day that the exam will be released?