Study support

Writing Support from our Writing Fellow

We offer fantastic writing support for our undergraduate and graduate students. We have a Writing Fellow who acts as an adviser and helps students to develop better lucidity, fluency and style with essays and written tasks they have been set. The Writing Fellow in post in 2024/25 is Caspar Henderson, best-selling author and Fellow of the Royal Literary Fund.

Caspar is an acclaimed writer of nonfiction whose books have been translated into a dozen languages.

Before becoming an author Caspar was a science communicator, policy analyst, reporter and editor, with particular interests in climate change, energy and environmental issues, as well as human rights, culture and music.

He has been a frequent contributor to the BBC, The Financial Times, openDemocracy and other publications, and has a well developed understanding of what it takes to communicate and write clearly and precisely about complex and diverse topics, and how to help others do so.

Caspar is available for consultation two days a week in term. Students can book a session by emailing him at the address below.

All sessions are 50-55 minutes, individual and confidential.

In addition, there is sometimes a drop-in session (no appointment needed) to chat informally about writing in a group. Caspar is also very happy to receive email requests for advice and will answer these as quickly as he can via:

caspar.henderson@rlfeducation.org.uk

• Comprehensive essay writing guide
• Overview of dissertation writing
• Alex, the RLF step by step guide to the process of essay writing*

*also available as an app

You will have already constructed a revision timetable, but here are some basic thoughts on perhaps how to refine it.

• Make sure you have structured blocks with regular breaks. Put in some of your normal leisure/sport activities, as mentioned above
• List all the areas you need to revise, and allocate very specific times to them
• Allow more time for subjects you are less confident about or did a long time ago
• Leave some slots open to allow extra time in case some things take longer
• Be realistic about your concentration span, so timetable in a short break probably after each hour of study. (But don’t use it to do any activity which might easily turn into procrastination and keep you away from your work – your breaks are a time to “switch off”, but need to be as organised as your study)
• Set clear times for starting and finishing the day

One good structural tip is to revise something you are fairly comfortable with first (for the first couple of hours perhaps), so you don’t lose confidence or get too stressed. Then do revision of your hardest subject, then back for the last part of the day to a “middle-difficulty” one.

You don’t need to know absolutely everything – drop topics about which you know least.  As a rough rule, if you need to answer three questions in an examination you need to have a thorough understanding of six topics.

Make sure your revision isn’t just a passive exercise (reading notes) but it is active (making notes, practising answering past exam questions, reading material out aloud). Being “active” in engaging with the material will help you to remember it so much better.

One key revision-time tip is to know exactly when each of your examinations is taking place. Double-check so you won’t miss an exam. (This might seem obvious, but some people neglect to do so).

Some other long-term planning tips:

• Make sure the College Office has your current mobile phone number (in case we need to contact you about the examination)
• Have as many sub-fusc white shirts/blouses as possible clean, so you don’t need to worry about washing things too much in the hectic exam period itself.

For tips specifically related to your area, see the drop-down accordion sections below for "Revision tips: Humanities and Social Sciences" and "Revision tips: Sciences and Medicine" for suggestions made by St Hilda’s tutors. They cover revision techniques and how to tackle the actual exam.

Even if your subject isn’t listed, have a look at them all or at least the ones in the same broad area as your own.

Then look at the practical tips within the drop-down accordion sections for "The day before the exam" and " On the day of the exam".

Here you will find suggestions made by St Hilda's tutors.

Ancient History

I do stress the importance of shaking off the tutorial essays and tutorial topics at this stage, breaking everything down into component parts (i.e. bits of evidence, passages of set text, individual points and ideas), with a view to building up fresh arguments in response to the actual questions asked on the paper. The worst questions to answer are the ones that look most reassuringly like ones they've done tutorials on - it's never the same question again, but, instead of concentrating on answering the new angle there on the paper, they're diverted by half-remembering old work - never goes well.

Having readily usable material in your head, but answering a question which isn’t just like the tutorial topic, can produce better answers because it demands fresh thought in the exam room. I do also make something of showing both breadth and depth in essays - wide vista alluded to (fine to do this in brackets and very briefly) but also a few times in each essay the need to drill deeper, take a case study etc, to show the rich texture that can be achieved.

More generally, I always tell them to read the entire paper before starting to write - particularly important on papers with many elements (e.g. 3 commentaries and 3 essays) where it's important to have a strategy for how to avoid overlap, show oneself off to best advantage across the whole paper; but also important because then the brain has already got going on the later questions so that one arrives at them pre-warmed-up at a time in the exam when tiredness is beginning to set in. 5 mins reading benefits the whole paper massively (as of course does 5-10 mins planning before starting each essay).

Classics

For Classics, although I imagine it would hold true for several other humanities subjects too, the best use of revision time is to go over set texts thoroughly rather than focus too much on old essays, which can lead to stale regurgitation rather than thinking about things in a fresh way in the exams.

For the exam itself, mine is the most obvious tip in the world, yet somehow still often needs repeating: in the exams, read the paper carefully and answer the actual question, not something that just relates to the topic of the question!

History

Revision: reading articles and books, and writing practice essays, is worth far more than rereading your lecture notes endless times. Collaborating with your peers is invaluable - even if doing different papers they are historians and can evaluate and challenge your argument.

Exam history essays need a clear, consistent, strong argument throughout: as if you're a barrister. And read William Zinsser, On Writing Well. For Finals, remember examiners are assessing your paper as a whole, not just individual essays, so have an overall view of the period and how social, political, economic and cultural developments fit together (constructing timelines while revising can help).

Management

While Oxford examines students individually and encourages independent (not group) study per se, I endorse finding a suitable study buddy. The operative word here is suitable. I encourage my students to look beyond the college and obvious friends for someone who can provide mutual support and structure to a revision schedule. Someone who keeps to a schedule and forces you to keep to it as well. Someone who will help you reflect on what you are learning/revising because you may have to explain concepts to that person and they will reciprocate. It is my view that a committed study buddy can facilitate better outcomes and reduce stress. I structure my group revision in a way that encourages these relationships to happen naturally.

Do not assume that just because you revised a topic that you will utilise the material in the exam. Always have a back-up strategy and always read all the questions available to you before you start writing. Be flexible and choose the best questions in an exam, they may or may not be the ones you thought you would answer.

Modern Languages

Know your papers: get hold of the past three years' papers for each paper you are sitting, and study them for any rubric restrictions, the format of the paper, the patterns of questions (check any 'conventions' posted online, so that you are aware of any expectations not explicitly stated in the rubric on the paper itself)

On the basis of this study, make a strategic selection of topics which you will prepare for each paper; having a smaller number of topics allows you to go deeper into them.

When preparing your topics, don't rely only on material from when you did these topics in tutorial; do some extra work to expand your comprehension of the issues and because new material will be fresher in your mind when it comes to the exams.

To keep the preparation for each paper within limits, make out a reasonable timetable of preparation for each paper, and try to stick to it; this will probably involve thinking of some short cuts with some material (e.g. instead of re-reading an entire book, focus on excerpts, e.g. writing a commentary on a selected passage or two in order to focus on the detail).

Create a form which enables you to keep your prepared topics for each paper in bundles relevant to the paper (e.g. putting all the notes for each paper in one specific place), and try boiling down all the information you have for each paper into a brief set of 'mnemonics' - for example, a single page of memory prompts which you can check over immediately before the relevant exam.

It is important to get as much practice as you can in writing answers of the length and duration expected in the actual exam - e.g. for a three-answer, three-hour exam, practice writing 50-minute answers (3 x 50 mins writing time will give you 30 mins for selecting your questions, drafting answers, thinking); get the 'feel' for what you can do in 50 mins, and practice getting a 'shape' for your answers which you can fill with different material, depending on the specific exam; get your tutors to look over your practice answers with you and discuss which are the best and why; then continue honing the technique.

Practice writing dense, informative, well-structured answers which respond directly to the question asked; get yourself accustomed to discerning whether a question needs qualification or 'unpacking' before you can write a clear answer to it - i.e. define the terms of your answer to a question first, before you write the main body of your answer.

Everyone gets nervous preparing for Finals and sometimes the nerves can be overwhelming; if this happens, take some time out; go for walks, maybe even go out for the day, go shopping in London, go and see friends who are not studying in Oxford - i.e. get 'normal' for a space of time; it'll freshen you for when you return (and give the head time to work out the relation between bits of information you've been revising; the mind is miraculous in the way it carries on working at problems you've been thinking about even when you are not concentrating for a period of time).

It is possible to divide yourself into a person who is suffering from nerves and a person who is calmly observing what is happening; keep the sense of that calm observer and use it to maintain focus on your strategy for the exams.

Once in the exam period, keep looking forward; if an exam goes badly (there are always some that feel as though they do or even actually do!), don't spend time worrying about it; it's all water under the bridge; focus on the task ahead, not on the one you've ticked off the list.

If there is a problem with an exam paper (a mistake in a question, for example), report it immediately to the Academic Office when you come out of the exam.

When it's all over, enjoy a long bath; it'll be the best bath of your life.

Philosophy

In philosophy the biggest point loser is not answering THE QUESTION. Questions are specifically designed to be from a certain angle. The point is not just to regurgitate old essay answers. The student should take time to think through what specifically is it that is being asked about a certain topic. And they should look out for any important or interesting words used in the question.

Students needn't be in a position to answer more than the needed number of questions. The rest are there to ensure that different modes of teaching are covered. So no individual student should feel that they ought to be able to answer all or even most of the questions on the paper.

Finally, don't avoid questions because you "know too much". Sometimes students tell me that they avoided questions where they had too much material and went for something a little different. Big mistake. What is important is having plenty of relevant material at hand, and knowing how to hone what you know to the specific question.

Here you will find suggestions made by St Hilda's tutors in the following subject areas.

Biochemistry

Time management within the exam: candidates have never achieved good results by neglecting one answer in order to favour another: three essays in three hours means that each answer gets one hour exactly. The results are means, after all.

A one-hour essay is a big thing and organisation of the contents is necessary to give the appropriate property of direction to it. Therefore, planning is necessary for all essays to ensure that the points made build on those coming before. The reader is supremely sensitive to a sense of direction and part of exam preparation is for the candidate to put themselves in the position of the reader in order to see what impact their writing is likely to have by practising writing answers to past questions.

Biology

Make sure you take the time to work out exactly what the question is asking, and that your answer addresses the question in full. If you are still in doubt about what the question means, then define your interpretation of the question in your introduction.

Chemistry

My tip is that it is best for students to aim for a good performance in every paper rather than an excellent performance in the areas they are best at while neglecting a bit the areas they don't like or find more challenging. We have to spend more time working on our least favoured subjects, not less.

Engineering

Go through all the engineering course material (coursework, lecture notes, recommended textbooks) and past exam papers (attempted blind, under timed conditions) and budget time for all papers.

Read the questions fully before starting; write clearly and explain every step;  make use of the data book ("HLT");  if it helps, draw a diagram and put the key numerical information from the question onto it; sanity check your answers – e.g. are equations dimensionally consistent.

Medicine

In medicine, this will depend on which year we are looking at.

1st years

Look at past exam papers: which topics come up a lot, which are more “exotic”. Is there a pattern to their occurrence, e.g. alternating smooth versus cardiac muscle contraction questions. Be prepared not to know everything in detail – it’s impossible in medicine. Prepare essay plans and know how to define certain topics/words in one sentence (e.g. action potential, resting membrane potential).

2nd years

Look at past exam papers: which topics come up a lot, which are more “exotic”. Is there a pattern to their occurrence, e.g. alternating peripheral versus central mechanisms questions. Try and think broadly: what patterns are common (e.g. lateral inhibition, two populations of neurons with opposite effects, cell hyperpolarising with stimulation (vision, to some extent audition and vestibular system), use of common transmitters etc), what is unique to some brain areas (e.g. neuroendocrine neurones to hypothalamus). Prepare essay plans.

3rd years

Make notes of preparations/cells/animals/models used, techniques employed, diseases addressed etc for each original paper that you read for paper 1. This will inform your paper 2 and help with paper 3. Remember, the key for paper 2 is structure so allow yourself time to organise the essay. Try and think of broad questions and how you would address them. Brush up on your stats (which test when and why).

Most good students can trot out the received wisdom, repeating the technical points reasonably well. Take a minute to think what's missing ....put a couple of your own critical and/or creative thoughts at the end.

Physics

Learn ‘standard proofs and bookwork' carefully so you can reproduce them quickly, and then practise past papers. Work through the last 5 years worth of papers. It will cover most of the styles of questions that come up.

The day before the exam

Final preparation

• Review summaries and notes
• Go over the most difficult things

Organisation

• Make sure you have the correct information about the date, time and location
• Make sure you have all of the things you will need during the exam (and extra pens)
• Set your alarm and a back-up system
• If you can’t sleep, just rest and try to think about something pleasant

Look after yourself

• Eat and sleep well; drink plenty of water
• Allow time for relaxation and light exercise
• Don’t cram into the evening
• Think positively

Taking items into an examination

Required

• University ID (Bodleian) card
• Stationery (pens, pencils, etc), ideally in a clear plastic bag. You may not bring paper into the examination
• sub fusc; mortar boards and gowns may be removed during the examination

Permitted

• Non-carbonated water in a clear spill-proof bottle (sports/valve cap)
• Calculator (if permitted for the exam paper)
• Watch and wallet/small purse (subject to inspection by invigilator)
• Individual timetable (subject to inspection by invigilator)
• In-ear ear plugs

You may bring the following items into the exam room provided that you have a medical need and you have a letter of support from the Academic Registrar

• Insulin and silent diabetes testing kit
• Asthma inhaler
• Epi-pen
• Over-the-counter and/or prescription medicines
• Medical aids such as a wrist splint/support, back support pillow, ice pack, etc.
• Glucose or energy drink in a clear bottle with a spill-proof top (sports cap)
• Small unobtrusive snack (please note that nuts may not be taken into the exam room). Please be aware that the invigilators will remove any items of food that may cause a disturbance to other candidates, e.g. crisps, items with noisy wrappers, etc, and that chewing gum is not allowed
• Glucose tablets
• Coloured overlays

The examinations staff will require you to show the letter in support of these items, and reserve the right to confiscate any item should they deem it inappropriate to be taken into the exam room. If you are in any doubt about whether you may bring an item into the exam, please check in advance with the Exams and Assessment team by calling: 01865 (2)76917 or emailing:

eap@admin.ox.ac.uk

Disallowed

• Unauthorised material (including revision notes) or equipment relevant to the examination
• Good luck charms and items
• Coats and bags (these should be left in the designated holding area)
• Screw-cap bottles/non-clear bottles/fizzy water (except on medical grounds with prior approval)
• Medicines (unless prior approval granted)
• Mobile phones/MP3 players/cameras and similar electronic devices
• Smart watches

Do not bring valuable items to the Examination Schools. Items which are not permitted in the examination will have to be left either in the main hall or marquee at your own risk.

Sitting your examination

Examination conduct

 

Here are some very key general points about reducing anxiety and stress in the run up to exams.

• Never work right through on revision until you fall asleep at night – have a break before going to bed of at least an hour, doing, thinking about, something else. That will allow you to rest more effectively and keep you much fresher for the next day’s work.
• In your revision plan (see the general revision tips accordion tab) timetable– in time away from revision – including for some of the usual leisure/sport activities you have: keeping some life balance is essential for making sure you are fit enough to do your absolute best.

• Pushing yourself too hard might squeeze five per cent more material into your head, but being too tired or stressed on the exam day might reduce by 10 per cent your capacity to turn any of it into an answer!

• Don’t get caught in a cycle of keeping going and trying to reduce stress through the consumption of more alcohol or more coffee or similar things – alcohol and coffee dehydrate you, make it harder to get to sleep, and make your system more likely to crash.

• Drink plenty of water

• Eat properly. There are some good suggestions on this BBC website.

• If you are not doing regular sport, then at least do some light exercise – don’t just be stuck in your room at a desk.

• Don’t load extra pressure on yourself by comparing what you are doing with what others are – focus on your own preparation and goals.

• Remember some days won’t feel as productive as others. If you leave yourself enough time and have a good timetable, a few “bad” days are fine.

• Always seek assistance if you are having difficulty with sleep, or if you feel your anxiety is really getting too much: the College Nurse is the best place to start, or the College Doctor.

You can talk to any of the people listed here in the Student Handbook who will always be willing to discuss how you are feeling and how they can help. Please do so before any problem you are feeling gets too big.

One very good booklet describing the whole process of what you are feeling, and how to best deal with it is produced by the University of Nottingham.  It is really worthwhile taking 5-10 minutes to read through this, and to pick up the tips that you think might help.

If you are feeling stressed try some relaxation exercises.

If you feel you are panicking in the exam itself – see the tips for dealing with this within the On Examination Day(s) accordion tab.

During the exam

Organisation

• Check you have the correct exam paper; check all pages
• Check the number of questions you must answer, marks allocated to each question, and types of answers required
• Read the questions carefully at least twice
• If you think there is something wrong with the exam paper, ask the invigilator

Time management

• Plan out your time for each section or question and write these timings down where you can check them
• Tackle the easiest questions and the ones worth the most marks first (tick these before you start)
• Don’t spend too long on any one answer
• If you are having trouble with a question, move to another and come back to this one later
• If you run out of time, jot down some points to try to get some marks
• Towards the end of the exam, read over your answers and add anything that might get you extra points (these sometimes occur to you later)

Planning

• Underline key words and ‘direction’ words in questions (summarise, analyse, justify) so you know what kind of response is required
• Write brief outlines of the questions you are going to answer with key points, supplementary points and examples (but don’t spend too much time on this)
• Jot down ideas as you go
• For multiple choice questions, form an answer first before looking at the options and then match your answer to the choices given; read all of the alternatives to decide which is the best option; if you don’t know the answer, eliminate those you know are definitely wrong and then make a guess

Writing

• Make sure your writing is readable
• Be concise and make sure that what you write is relevant; don’t waffle or ‘pad out’
• Keep sentences relatively short and straightforward
• Show your calculations

Dealing with stress or panic

• Breathe deeply
• Close your eyes, shrug your shoulders hard and then let your arms and hands drop; take a deep breath, then slowly exhale and say ‘relax’ to yourself
• If you have a mental block, on a spare piece of paper, jot down any words you can think of and key questions (who? what? where?) to prompt your memory
• Avoid writer’s cramp, shake your hand occasionally
• Avoid neck tension by occasionally moving your head slowly from side to side

Frequently Asked Questions

Below are some frequently asked questions regarding examinations.

Where can I find my candidate number?

You can view your candidate number either through Student Self-Service on the Academic and Assessment Information page, or by looking at the top of your individual timetable.

I do not feel very well on the morning of my examination, what do I do?

If you are taken ill on the morning of an examination you must contact the College immediately. Call either the Porters' Lodge (01865 276884) or the Academic Office (01865 276889).

I do not feel very well during my examination, what do I do?

If you feel ill during an examination inform the invigilator in the room who will inform the Examination Schools staff. The Schools staff will take whatever action is necessary, which may include making arrangements for you to be escorted back to college or, with serious illness, calling for an ambulance.

Once you have left the examination room due to sickness, you will be advised that you will not be able to continue that same paper in college. If you choose to return to the examination room then you will not be allowed to leave and return again.

Is it possible to withdraw from an assessment or an examination?

Under some circumstances a student may withdraw from an examination, either before attempting any papers or before the written part of the examination is complete, and apply to re-enter on a later occasion.

A candidate who is deemed to have withdrawn from an examination is considered not to have sat the examination or any part of it: therefore he or she has not failed the examination, but nor are any marks valid (e.g. for essays etc. submitted before the unwritten papers).

Candidates who wish to withdraw from an examination must inform their Senior Tutor (or other responsible college officer) who in turn will notify the Examination Schools and Chairman of Examiners.

When is the latest point I can withdraw from an assessment or examination?

The regulations do not allow candidates to withdraw after the written part of the examination is complete. The point of completion shall be deemed to be the conclusion of the last paper for which the candidate has entered, or the time by which a dissertation or other written material is due to be submitted, whichever is the later.

What should I do if I've lost my Bod Card?

You should present your University Card at Exam Schools before each exam. If you've lost your card, please email the Academic Office and a new card will be ordered. A lost card will be replaced only after a fee of £15 is paid via the online University Shop.

What happens if I fail to turn up for an exam on time?

Exam Schools will admit candidates to exams up to half an hour after the exam has started and no later. If a student is absent at the start of an exam, the Exam Schools will notify the College who will then attempt to find the missing student. If you are unable to get to the Exam Schools on time, for whatever reason, please let the Porters' Lodge (01865 276884) or the Academic Office (01865 276889) know immediately.

What happens if I don't complete an exam?

If you do not complete the written part of an exam (including failing to turn up for a paper, or failing to submit essays, notebooks, dissertations etc. which are part of an exam), you will be deemed to have failed the exam unless the Proctors are satisfied that there was an urgent cause, such as illness). In the case of illness, a medical certificate must be submitted to the Proctors, via the Academic Registrar.

Please note that computer or printer problems, or the loss or theft of computer data that has not been backed-up or kept separately, will not be accepted as legitimate reasons for a late or non-submission.

Can I amend a submission once it has been handed in?

It is not possible to make amendments or add material to an extended essay, thesis, etc. once it has been submitted. Please ensure that you check your work thoroughly before it is handed in.

What happens if the examiners say that my script is illegible?

The UAS Exam Services team will contact you if one or more of your examination scripts has been identified as illegible to arrange for them to be transcribed. You will be asked to attend a scheduled transcription session at the Exam Schools, for which you will be assigned a date and time.

There is an administration fee of £40, plus £10 per hour for an invigilator and £10 per hour for a typist. A transcription session lasting three hours would cost £100.

Payment for transcription can be made via the online shop. The administration fee must be paid before the transcription session and you will then be asked to pay the fee for the invigilator and typist at the end of the session, before you leave the Exam Schools.

Transcription sessions are limited to four hours, and sessions begin at either 9am or 2pm.
Please make every effort to ensure that your answers are clearly legible.

How do I get my results?

Results are published via:

 Student Self-Service website