What factors contribute to good examination marks?

This study reports on the part played by lecture notes and other source materials in examination essays. One hundred and thirty-seven examination scripts were analysed in terms of their likely sources (student's lecture notes, lecture-handout, specified reading, extra reading, and untraceable). The results indicated that the more sources the students used, the higher the examination mark they obtained. Further analyses showed that students made choices between the various sources (with women using their notes more than men) and that some choices led to higher examination marks than others. The highest marks were obtained by those students who wrote long answers and who used those sources which most clearly reflected the views of the lecturer - the person who also marked the examination papers.