|
Passing Exams by Dave Schaller
Introduction
In modern society, the potential for an individual to succeed is to a large extent determined by his or her ability to succeed in passing exams. As unfair as this may seem, it has been the reality for many years and is likely to be the case for some years to come.
So why this book? My main inspiration was my own experience with exams: I worked out that in the course of my school, university, post graduate and professional education, I had written a grand total of about 234 exams. The shocking part was that for the first 226 I had no idea what I was doing! I claim this despite enjoying reasonable success in the process - with hindsight, it turns out that I was accidentally employing some reasonable techniques that saw me through. The intention of this book is to give you the benefit of foresight - and thus a better chance of succeeding in exams, and therefore life.
I stumbled my way blindly through 226 exams, right through to post grad finals, before I was introduced to some of the simple yet powerful techniques which ensure passing becomes a habit. Having read fairly widely since, I have concluded that there are enough hard-core texts on super memory techniques, speed reading, infinite brain power, etc. to keep the majority of students locked in their rooms for the rest of their natural lives.
This work, I hope and trust, is a departure from the high-tech norm. The approaches outlined are simple enough for everyone to grasp and apply within the context of a normal, well-balanced lifestyle. You aren’t going to develop any super powers and remember 1000 names and numbers by morning. The approaches presented are all fairly basic and easily understood. They don’t require strenuous exercises or memory gymnastics, although repeated application with a view to habit-forming is proposed.
What follows is what I learnt at the very end of my exam-writing career, and what every scholar and student should know at the outset of theirs.
If you are left with a basic awareness and understanding of how to nurture, feed, maintain and then use your most valuable asset - your brain - to not only pass exams, but to conquer the many challenges that life is undoubtedly brewing up for you, then that is my true reward.
Dave Schaller
|
