The Gobbet Paper

So, my first exam is called a gobbet paper, so it isn’t the traditional ‘answer two questions in two hours’ paper that I’ve been used to!

A gobbet paper is an exam where you are presented with extracts from primary sources that you have looked at throughout your module. You have to write an analytical commentary about four of the sources that you are presented with to demonstrate the knowledge the module has provided you with – both about the particular sources and their origins, but also about the general themes of the topic.

Given that the gobbet paper is part of a year long special subject module that all third year history students have to undertake, a lot of source material has ben dealt with in the process. It has been quite a difficult exam to prepare for due to the sheer volume of content that we have looked at, but also because of its non-conventional style.

While I have given a lot of attention to the information that we have discussed in the module, I have focused more upon the exam technique, as it is new to me. I have done a number of mock exams under timed conditions, to make sure that I am able to plan and write four commentaries in 2 hours.

I really enjoy working with primary source material, so I’m actually quite looking forward to the exam (weirdly) – but the timings definitely make me nervous.

My exam is tomorrow, so I’ll keep going with my revision and let you know how it went soon!