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texts in exams

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
edited March 27 in Work & Study
I understand why it isn't allowed for some subjects but why not for English Literature :confused: If we are referring to a text then it makes sense. Exams at the moment just seem like a memory game to me. At the moment I really don't see the point in this rule. Does anyone else?
Post edited by JustV on

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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    xsazx wrote: »
    nope tis driving me mental in IB :( stupid closed book exams... I'd understand if they were our own copies annotated but the lit books had to be new for the gcse exam when we were allowed books

    Up until the year before I did GCSEs you were allowed your own copy with your notes in. :(
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I had to re-read that there, I thought you meant phone messages! :blush:
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I even understand about not being allowed to take in your notes but when you don't even have the primary material to refer to in an exam it seems very stupid and pretty much limits people who don't have the memory of an elephant. I don't see what students have to gain by having a text in an exam for English Lit. I don't really know about other subjects
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    clementine_the_tangerine wrote: »
    I even understand about not being allowed to take in your notes but when you don't even have the primary material to refer to in an exam it seems very stupid and pretty much limits people who don't have the memory of an elephant. I don't see what students have to gain by having a text in an exam for English Lit. I don't really know about other subjects

    I don't get it either - its more like a memory test. We should at least be able to take in some key quotations that are likely to be useful.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Ballerina wrote: »
    I don't get it either - its more like a memory test. We should at least be able to take in some key quotations that are likely to be useful.

    exactly. grrrr :(
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Ballerina wrote: »
    Up until the year before I did GCSEs you were allowed your own copy with your notes in. :(

    Wouldn't this deafeat the object of an exam if your copy had notes in?
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    oh do not get me started on stooppidddd exams.. it is a memory F#@%*ng test.. espescially when your doing law at uni and they want you to kno all statutes and sections and case law with the year.. sorry ppl i didnt mean to sound evil lol :)
    im finding it quite hard remembering stuff even with my silly rhymes as im running out blah..
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    We weren't allowed texts for our A-level Eng Lit exams, just memorised key quotations and critical analysis. Not too hard if you're at the top of your game.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Yerascrote wrote: »
    We weren't allowed texts for our A-level Eng Lit exams, just memorised key quotations and critical analysis. Not too hard if you're at the top of your game.

    I'm not at the top of my game but I think doing that seriously impairs people with a regrettably shit memory because of a learning difficulty.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    clementine_the_tangerine wrote: »
    I'm not at the top of my game but I think doing that seriously impairs people with a regrettably shit memory because of a learning difficulty.
    Do you not get extra time though?
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    TheKingOfGlasgow wrote: »
    Do you not get extra time though?

    yeah, i get 25% but it's not gonna make me suddenly conjure up quotes
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    lacrymosa wrote: »
    I felt the same at Uni. The amount of case names, judgements and statutes I had to learn for my Law exams was unbelievable. I had no idea how I managed it. I wouldn't have been so annoyed but I heard that people at other uni's were allowed to take a copy of statutes into exams.

    Tis just something you've got to put up with I'm afraid :(

    I'm allowed to take a copy of a statute book into my exams but it has to be unannotated.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    clementine_the_tangerine wrote: »
    yeah, i get 25% but it's not gonna make me suddenly conjure up quotes
    I realise that, but to be fair all exams are memory tests (even the law ones). It's unfortunate that your disability puts you at an advantage, but having a book where you can take quotes out of as you wish kind of defeats the purpose (in my mind anyway) of reading a book (or play or poem) and being able to show that you have a thorough understanding of the themes and ideas within it. And where do you draw the line? Are they allowed to be annotated? Can it be an edited version? Can you write your own notes in it? Can you have bookmarks and underlined sections? What about a book that deals with specific sections or acts, are they allowed?

    To be fair, it's not like literature exams are expecting you to be able to pull 20 plus quotes and put them in context of an exam essay. It's more like two or three (at best), and I know cause I did literature up to honours level. And in most literature exams I did there were also 'open' sections which had a poem or a section of a play or novel written out and it would ask you for an analysis. Crazily enough, you can also use these sections to answer other questions in the exam, provided they fit.

    Not got much else to say except that I'm sorry you're affected by this, and I hope that it doesn't hold you back too much in your studies.

    P.S. Not sure if it helps but I don't have a 'memory of an elephant' either and I managed to do ok in my lit exams :yes:
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