Passing Exams Without Anxiety: 5th edition (How to) [Paperback]

David Acres (Author)

Book Description

Series: How to | Publication Date: May 1, 1998

This is a fully updated exam handbook. The book is aimed at those taking exams at all levels, from GCSE and A Level to university level, and offers advice on how to approach coursework, planning revision and techniques for improving memory and relaxation.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'solid advice... for students at all levels... gems scattered throughout.

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: How To Books; 5 edition (May 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1857032691
• ISBN-13: 978-1857032697
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,314,992 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you want to ace your exams with flying colours, grab hold of this one!, September 7, 2005

By 

Lee Say Keng "KNOWLEDGE ADVENTURER/TECHNOLOGY... (Ho Chi Minh City/Singapore) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Passing Exams Without Anxiety: 5th edition (How to) (Paperback)

This is an excellent guide for those readers who want to adopt powerful study habits & who also want to pass their exams with flying colours.

I am very impressed by the author's opening approach. At the onset, he starts off with a unique preamble as outlined in Chapter 1: How to Use This Book. He stresses the importance of asking questions as an initial guiding principle in reading his book (or any other books &/or reading materials), as follows:

- Formulating questions about the topic as you read;
- Formulating questions about what you are doing & how you are proceeding with your reading;

He even goes beyond by showing you how to formulate questions from the headings/sub-headings/first or last sentences of paragraphs in printed or written reading materials, using the well-know Rudyard Kipling method.

In the same opening chapter, he even demonstrates, with two working examples, the process of asking questions as a technique for analyzing assignment question. This is a very powerful technique to acquire for dissecting exam questions. (This technique is part of a larger process known by learning experts as the Question Dissection Protocol.)

Other useful techniques are outlined by the author in the other chapters:

- Chapter 2: Tackling coursework deadlines;
- Chapter 3: Organising your revision;
- Chapter 4: Improving your memory;
- Chapter 5: Taking exams;
- Chapter 6: Coping with anxiety;
- Chapter 7: Using others as supporting aids;

Each chapter is prefaced with a problem checklist, which is a quick way for the reader to access specific information (pertaining to the appropriate technique to use) immediately from the respective chapter. This makes the book a handy reference.

As you can see, a full-scale chapter on lesson revision is incorporated in this book. This chapter is beautifully crafted, covering the entire spectrum of the lesson revision process. This is definitely a rare occurrence for a study skill book, since I often notice that most authors of such kind of book tend to skip (or maybe they themselves are not aware of) this important aspect of the effective study process.

Chapter 5 (Taking exams) & Chapter 6 (Coping with anxiety) are very well-researched & carefully thought of expositions by the author, backed with a vast array of techniques, tools & hints, although a few of which in Chapter 6 seem to be somewhat esoteric.

Nevertheless, the techniques outlined by the author in both chapters are wide-ranging & all-encompassing. I have never seen a DIY Guide to Muscular Relaxation so finely detailed & systematically illustrated in a study skill book.

The last chapter provides many useful guidelines for getting help from supporting aids in your academic pursuits.

There is also a very rich bibliography & further reading list at the end of the book.

Attention Readers: If you are a student, & you want to ace your exams with flying colours, grab hold of this book! The book is targeted as secondary students but I feel that the techniques can also be applied for adults preparing for further academic work.