* While Answering It *

Bismillah.

 I know it doesn’t suit me much to write about this but I just hope that at least it can help some of the readers out there. Since it’s the final exam fever for IIUM-ers, it suddenly popped out in my mind that I want to try to write something regarding it. Precisely, I will talk about the tips for answering questions and not the tips of studying smart. Lol. This is so not me.

These are just some of the observations I made from what my lecturers used to say to us after they mark our papers. I am not sure whether these tips are applicable for all courses but for IRK students like me, inshaAllah you may try them if you like. :)

Firstly, I remember that Sir Israr Ahmad Khan reminded us to answer the questions as if WE ARE THE LECTURER AND OUR LECTURER IS OUR STUDENT. So try to explain as clear as possible. For example, if the question asks: Give four reasons why sunnah is very important in our lives. Basically we need to explain the meaning of the word sunnah itself first. Then only we can start giving the reasons. Each of our points needs to be elaborated in detail, together with concrete argument from alquran or assunnah (if any) and finally it’s your time to give example to make your explanation more crystal clear. (In order to exercise this tip, it is highly recommended for us to make a study group and try to be the lecturer to our friends. Because sometimes we think we really understand certain topic, but when we were asked to explain about it verbally, no words come out from our mouths. “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough”. That’s what Albert Einstein said!) 

Secondly, BE CRITICAL, especially when you encounter the ‘we never learn this in class!’ type of question. Think out of the box! No need to recall each and every page of your course materials or notes because the answer is not there. Instead; be calm first, then try to really understand what is the relationship between that question with every topic learnt, analyze as much as possible. Think rationally because some lecturers really want us to master the subject thus having the ability to relate it with any questions given. For example, I was once asked this question: Explain the features of Tafsir Imam As Syafie. It really makes me shivered at first because we didn’t cover that topic at all during lectures. Then I tried to remember that Imam As Syafie was a well known scholar in the field of jurisprudence (fiqh). Hence, I wrote what are the possible points regarding jurisprudential tafsir .

Thirdly, sometimes the question is a confusing question, meaning to say that we can’t recognize which topic discusses about it. In order to help us answering such question, try to think about the course outline. Seriously. Remember the LEARNING OUTCOMES part? It actually tells you what the lecturer wants us to benefits from the course. And they need to know whether they succeed to meet their goals of teaching us the course, simply by testing us whether we can grab what they’ve taught us throughout the semester or not. Plus, it is also their responsibility to create exam questions in accordance with the learning outcomes stated there. For example, when I sat for my Language for Occupational Purposes paper, this one question asked us to write an informal letter to our friend who studies oversea. All of us thought it was really a piece-of-cake question. However when we got back our papers, all of us got very bad mark for that question. Then our lecturer explained to us that in order to answer that question correctly, we need to remember the goals of learning that subject and we need to write that informal letter by including all the related stuffs about ‘occupational purposes’, by using the exact related terms. Gosh, I should make a note about my course outline...

Finally, it will be a big help too if we USE OUR LECTURERS’ PHRASES or words in our answers (I mean the words they used when they were explaining the subject to us). It will make the lecturers know that you gave a deep focus during their lessons. And, somehow it will let them to have more pride, knowing that their students really adore their teachings hence the focus and usage. :)

I know some of these tips are very awkward and not familiar to you. Yes, I intentionally did that. I just want to share some points which we might overlook them for all this while. Sorry if they’re totally not applicable. Well, they are just some of my observations and experiences. They don’t work for everybody I guess. By the way, I really hope somehow in some way, this writing can help you a little bit to answer your examinations. Ma’an najah my fellow IIUM friends! :D

p.s.: I really have this one disease; I can’t get over the fact that I am no longer a degree student. I am very obsessed with my degree life. Deal with it, but I till today, I still read my mind-map notes of every subject, my calendars for each semester, my little notebooks about anything during degree, as well as my marked mid semester’s papers. Weirdo. Yes I am.