MSc in Theoretical Psychoanalytic Studies
Exams
Overview
Mock Exam
Exam Technique
Marking Proceedure
Past exam papers.
Exam dates 2013
PSYCGT10 Wednesday 12th June 2013
PSYCGT11 Friday 14th June 2013
PSYCGT12 Wednesday 19th June 2013
PSYCGT13/99PSGFC1 Friday 21st June 2013
Each of the programme's taught modules is examined by a two hour unseen exam, during which students must complete two questions/essays. For each module, the seminar series are represented by two questions each except for Module PSYCGT10 Fundamentals pf Psychoanalytic theory, from which there is a larger selection of questions.
Foundation Course students Module 99PSGFC1 will be assessed on the theoretical (lecture) material of their Institute of Psychoanalysis teaching by UCL. Specific exam questions are devised for students taking module 99PSGFC1, which are appropriate to their Foundation Course learning.
In addition to writing practice exam essays, many students find it useful to do a Mock exam paper, and we will arrange this in exam conditions for those students who wish, during Term 3 and you will receive feedback in order to guide your revision. Others may prefer just to do it informally. For anyone who has not sat an exam of this type (two essays in two hours), it is highly recommended that you do have at least one 'dry run' first, to give yourself experience of planning essay structure and timing yourself during the exam and to give your self the best chance to show what you have learned during the programme. However, we leave this decision to individual students and try to fit in with whatever style of preparation they find most helpful.
Exam Technique Guide
Spend sufficient time at the beginning to read the whole paper and make sure you understand what each question means. A member of the programme staff will be present for at least the first fifteen minutes of each exam (which will subsequently be invigilated by the MSc Programme Administrator), during which time students may ask for clarification of the meaning of unfamiliar words on the paper, or of ambiguous instructions. (Of course, the exam papers are carefully read for language and clarity by several programme staff beforehand, but sometimes unexpected misunderstandings may occur especially under stress, and the first quarter hour of the exam is a final opportunity to avoid them.) Students may not ask for help with answering the question. Any clarifications will be brief, and given to all students.
Be as careful as you can about choosing the question you can best answer, given the 1 hour available. This involves reviewing what you know about the subject, whether that knowledge is suited to answering the particular question, and whether there are any aspects or parts of the question which you are unclear about, which you might get ensnared in.
Write a brief plan of your essay. Anything you do not wish to be marked should just be scored through.
Keep close track of the time, so that you have enough time left for the last question(s).
If you do run out of time, make notes of the rest of what you would have written, this will get some marks.
Please note that legible handwriting is very important; occasionally students have had to type their exam scripts before they could be marked, because it took hours to read each short essay. Although examiners try not to be very influenced by this difficulty, it is advisable to write as clearly as possible, to make sure that the markers can follow your arguments fully and give you the credit you deserve.
The considerations stated under essays apply also to exam answers.
All exam essays are marked independently by two examiners (usually, a seminar coordinator and an internal marker). The External Examiner reads many of the exam scripts. Where there is a significant disagreement between the two markers, the marks are discussed by them, the piece of work is sometimes marked by a third internal examiner, and in all cases these marks are reviewed by the External Examiner. The exams are assessed by averaging the marks across the two essays, so the exam paper can be passed as a whole even if not all essays are of passable standard. The marking scheme used by the examiners is the same as the coursework essay marking scheme, except that allowance is made for the fact that students have only 1 Hour to write their answer, under unseen examination conditions.
