Exams and Revision
How to get the most out of the Library and other University support for revising for and taking exams
Introduction
This guide contains key information about the following topics:
- Preparing for your exams: Resources to help you develop your study skills
- Using e-books for revision and exams: Information about searching effectively, using DiscoverEd and Resource Lists to find e-books and tips for effectively studying with e-books
- Managing your information: Advice about how to manage and back-up your files, and keep on top of your references and reading
Past exam papers
- Exam papers onlineExam Papers Online provides access for staff and students of the University of Edinburgh to the collected degree examination papers of the University from 2004 onwards, They may be used by students as a study aid.
Exams guidance and updates
- University of Edinburgh exams guidanceUpdates about exams will be communicated on the Examinations homepage as more details become available.
- Assessment continuity guidanceGuidance has been published on the changes to the assessment of students during the COVID-19 pandemic which provides information about how teaching staff can set alternative forms of assessment.
- Coronavirus (COVID-19) UpdatesUniversity-wide updates are added to the Coronavirus updates page daily.
Study space
Looking for a quiet space to get your revision done? A wide range of study space is available across campus with additional study spaces made available during the exam period. Find a study space to suit your needs.
- Study SpacesFind out more about study spaces in libraries and other University buildings and how to book a space.
Getting Help
- Contact your Academic Support LibrarianFor more support with finding and using online resources for your revision and exams, you can contact your Academic Support Librarian.
Wellbeing
The most important thing right now is your wellbeing. Please make sure you're taking as good care of yourself as possible, and consider some of the resources below.
- Library Wellbeing CollectionThe Library Wellbeing Collection contains resources on all aspects of wellbeing.
- Stress: a short guide for students (pdf)We have created this brief guide to stress, what it is and what to do about it when it gets too much so that you can get some idea of how to manage stress in your own life.
- Student Counselling: self help resourcesWe encourage all students to explore ways to work towards your own mental and emotional health and wellbeing. Sometimes, this is all the support you need; at other times it complements individual therapy sessions.
Escape your exams
We've put together some resources from the Library that you might find helpful when trying to unwind during this stressful time.
Listen to music
Bored of Spotify, iTunes, whatever music streaming service you normally use? Did you know through the Library you have access to databases that allow you to listen to millions of songs from pop and rock to classical music, from operatic arias to alternative dance?
- Music and Dance Online This link opens in a new window Over 10 million audio tracks, 3,600+ videos, 1.3 million pages of scores and 124,000+ pages of reference material. A large, diverse and comprehensive catalogue of online music content from Alexander Street (a ProQuest company). From classical music, to alternative rock, to zydeco, from ballet to operatic arias to alternative dance, Alexander Street's music and dance resources cover many genres and content formats.
- Naxos Music Library This link opens in a new window A music listening service which allows you to search, browse and listen to over 2.2 million tracks of music, including classical, jazz folk, world music and pop and rock.
Visit our museum and art collections
While it's not always possible to physically visit a museum or gallery, you can still do a lot of exploring of collections online.
Google Arts & Culture allows you to virtually explore around 500 museums and galleries across the world, includes online exhibitions from the University's own cultural and heritage collections.
Enjoy a film or drama performance
Does it feel like you've completed Netflix? Amazon Prime not feeling so amazing anymore? You can access a wide range of TV programmes, documentaries, films, drama and theatre performances through the Library.
- BFI Player (subscription) BFI Player is a video on demand service from the British Film Institute, streaming acclaimed, landmark and archive films. BFI Player’s focus is on British and European independent films, as well as international releases. The availability of films is dependent on rights agreements with licensors. Instructions for registering for access to BFI Player subscription: 1. Go to https://player.bfi.org.uk/academic/subscribe and create an account using your UoE email and a password of your choice OR sign in if you already have one by selecting 'Already have an account? Sign in'. 2. Select University of Edinburgh from the dropdown list and click "Link institution". 3. Authenticate subscription using your university credentials. Please note: if you already had a BFI Player account linked to our pilot University of Edinburgh institutional subscription before 1st October 2023, you will need to relink your account using the instructions above when you first log in after 1st October 2023. Once your account is relinked, you will then be able to sign in to BFI Player as normal via http://player.bfi.org.uk/
- Box of Broadcasts (BoB) This link opens in a new window BoB (Box of Broadcasts) enables all staff and students in subscribing institutions to choose and record any broadcast programme from 60+ TV and radio channels. The recorded programmes are then kept indefinitely (no expiry) and added to a growing media archive (currently at over 2 million programmes), with all content shared by users across all subscribing institutions.
- Academic Video Online This link opens in a new window Academic Video Online is a multidisciplinary collection of videos that touches on the curriculum needs of virtually every department. With 66,000 titles available now and 400 new titles per month, this collection is unmatched in its breadth. Academic Video Online allows students and researchers alike to analyse unique and valuable content from over 500 producers and distributors around the world.
- Digital Theatre+ This link opens in a new window Digital Theatre+ provides access to 600+ theatre productions and supporting educational resources, with over 300 videos of quality live performances of classic, contemporary and international productions.
- Drama Online This link opens in a new window Drama Online is a digital library of the world’s most studied and critically-acclaimed plays, accompanied by a wealth of innovative teaching and performance tools, critical analysis, contextual information, references and practical texts.
This link opens in a new window
- Theatre in Video This link opens in a new window Theatre in Video contains more than 250 definitive performances of the world's leading plays, together with more than 100 film documentaries, online in streaming video - more than 500 hours in all, representing hundreds of leading playwrights, actors and directors. This video resource is searchable by title, actor, playwright, and subject. It is also browsable by actor, director, playwright, genre, and dates. It is possible to bookmark specific scenes, monologues, and staging examples and then include those online links in learning and teaching material and in Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).
Read some fiction
Forgotten what it feels like to read for pleasure? Some of these databases may help you rediscover that feeling.
- ProQuest One Literature (PQOL) This link opens in a new window For literature scholars who need an exhaustive set of scholarly resources around a literary topic for research and course planning. 500,000 primary works and millions of records from journals, monographs, and dissertations.
- Eighteenth Century Collections Online (ECCO) This link opens in a new window Contains over 180,000 titles (200,000 volumes) published during the 18th Century, covering a range of subjects including history, literature, religion, law, fine arts, and science. The full text of the collection is searchable, from books and directories, Bibles, sheet music and sermons to advertisements.
- Early English Books Online (EEBO) This link opens in a new window Early English Books Online (EEBO) contains digital facsimile page images of virtually every work printed in England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and British North America and works in English printed elsewhere from 1473-1700. Fully searchable and full text available.
- Nineteenth Century Collections Online (NCCO): The Corvey Collection of European Literature This link opens in a new window As part of the Nineteenth Century Collections Online (NCCO), this unique collection of monographs includes 7,717 works in English, 6,504 in French and 3,640 in German published in Britain and on the Continent during the Romantic period and the early Victoria era. Sourced from Castle Corvey in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, the Corvey Collection is one of the most important collections of works from the period in existence, with particular strength in especially difficult-to-find or even previously unknown works – by women writers in particular. The collection’s vast archive of materials documents the nature and scope of literary publication in England and on the Continent during the Romantic period and the early years of the Victorian era. Scholars can research and explore a range of topics, including Romantic literary genres; mutual influences of British, French and German Romanticism; literary culture; women writers of the period; the canon and Romantic aesthetics.
- Archives of Sexuality & Gender Part III: Sex and Sexuality, Sixteenth to Twentieth Century This link opens in a new window This unique resource contains over 5,000 monographs that provide context to the twentieth-century materials included in Parts I and II (the Library also has access to these parts), and providing perspectives on history, society, social mores, and changing views of sexuality. The collection examines patterns of fertility and sexual practice, prostitution, religion and sexuality, the medical and legal construction of sexualities, the rise of sexology, and more. Includes the Private Case from the British Library, a collection from Alfred C. Kinsey Institute for Sex Research dating from 1700 to 1860 and a collection of rare and unique books from the New York Academy of Medicine.
Library opening hours
Some libraries have extended opening hours during exam and revision periods. Study space in the libraries must be booked. When using the study spaces, you must adhere to 2 metre physical distancing and a face covering worn at all times.
- Library opening hoursFor details of opening hours at all library sites
- Study SpacesFind out more about study spaces in libraries and other University buildings and how to book a space.
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Acknowledgements
Much of the content in this guide is taken from or inspired by the University of Newcastle's Exams LibGuide and the University of Reading's e-books guide.
Image credits
Woman biting pencil while sitting on chair in front of computer during daytime by jeshoots.com on Unsplash under CC0 license
Permission for reuse
This Guide to Learning Resources for MicroMasters by Lauren Smith at the University of Edinburgh is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.