Exams
Exams can be a stressful period during your studies, and we hope to help you in whatever way we can. Read on to find details of support and resources available within the College library and the wider University. We are still here to help you find books and more, in the College library, within the University, and online whether you are looking for material for revision or a new angle. Email Niall if you need help searching on SOLO.
You can get in touch with us about anything relating to your use of the Library’s collections, spaces, and services during the exam period.
Wishing you all the best of luck!
Study Skills
The Library has many books to help you develop your study skills, most of which can be found in the Welfare section in the foyer of Hartland House Library. Topics include time management, mind mapping, note taking, reading with dyslexia, writing in exams, referencing, and more. Check out our Study Skills online reading list which has much of this collection. We are open to hearing suggestions for similar books which would be useful to you and future generations in preparing for exams and studying.
There are also many e-books available on SOLO. The subject heading “Study Skills” combined with the keyword “exam*” might be a good starting point for browsing, such as in this example of results.
Past Papers
The University’s digital Exam Paper Archive holds past exam papers from academic year 1999–2000 to the present and can be found on SOLO. To find past papers in SOLO, you can limit the search bar to “Exam Papers” and enter the title or code for your course, if you know it, as in the example below.
Please note that the code indicated in your timetables may not be the same as in previous years and the final letter should usually be replaced with the letter W. For example, searching “A16408H1” for the paper European and World History 1: The World of Late Antiquity, 250-650 yields no results, as the paper was previously A16408W1.
You can also search by School, for example, “Honour School of Ancient and Modern History” in order to browse the wider range of papers in the relevant subjects, or with keywords like in a normal SOLO search.
Exam Regulations and Examiner’s Reports
You can find Exam Regulations and more practical information about the examination process, including links to timetables, on the University’s exam webpage or your course’s Canvas page.
Examiner’s Reports, which are published each year, can be useful in giving a generalised overview of how previous papers have been treated and how certain approaches have been reflected in marking. These may be available on Departmental webpages, as in the case of English, History, and Maths, or within Canvas. Your librarians can help you find these, where available.
Wellbeing
Taking sensible study breaks is an important part of the revision process. Visit the Relaxation Station in the foyer of Hartland House Library, where we have an assortment of jigsaws, colouring books, Lego, Play-Doh, and origami, which can be used for mindfulness or just to take a break from revision and do something relaxing and enjoyable for a short while.
And don’t forget about the Rooftop and Sunken Garden in the Tim Gardam Building, where you can eat, drink, and chat with friends.
The Univeristy has lots advice and resources on their Exam Wellbeing and Preparation pages, including tips on revision planning, preparation, exam practice and orientation sessions, counselling workshops and podcasts, physical care, lessons from psychology, and more.
Fiction and DVDs
There is no need to devote every waking hour to your studies. We have a strong collection of fiction and literature in a variety of languages and DVDs (as well as DVD players) which can be borrowed to help you to get out of the revision headspace. You can find these in Hartland House at the following locations:
| Shelfmark | Subject | Location |
| 810s-820s | Literature in English | Landing and Main Library (First Floor) |
| TR | Literature translated into English | New Reading Room (Ground Floor) |
| 830s-890s | Literature in other languages | Corridor, ML1, ML2, Classics Room (First Floor) |
| DVD | Films, TV series, documentaries | New Reading Room (Ground Floor) |
