The Formative & The

Summatives
From a Students POV

Steve Tran (Year 3)

ICSMSU Academic Officer (Years 1, 2 & GE)
icsm.ao12GE@imperial.ac.uk

Content Updated 16/12/11

1.
2.
3.
4.

Why have this?

Exam Dates
Results + Resits
Type of Questions + Examples
1.
2.
3.

5.
6.
7.
8.

SBA Single Best Answers

EMQ Extended Matching Questions
SAQ Short Answer Questions

Year 1 Formative
Graduate Entry Formative
The Exams
Tips

Why have this?

Students (Year 1 & GE1) have
approached me concerned about the
format of your exams
All the information here is taken
from the Intranet (
http://education.med.ic.ac.uk) on
the 16th December so may not be
the most recent.
All the other information is from my

Year 1 2012
Mon 9 Jan, 2-4pm: Formative

Results: Fri 3 Feb

Tues 20 Mar: PBL in-course

assessment deadline
Mon 30 Apr, 10am - 12.15pm: MCD
Summative
Mon 11 Jun, 10am - 11.40am: LSS 1
Summative
Tues 12 Jun, 10am - 11.30am: LSS 2
Summative

Year Graduate Entry 1 2012

Mon 31 Jan, 2pm - 5pm: Formative
Tues 17 Apr, 2pm 4.30pm: CMS
Summative
Fri 27 Apr, 9.15 10.15am:
Epidemiology + S&H
Thurs 21 Jun, 10am - 11.40am:
Anatomy Summative
Wed 27 Jun, 10am 12pm: RS
Summative
Fri 29 Jun, 2.30pm 4.30pm: SS

Results

On the results day, you will be emailed by the

FEO.
They ask you to log into the Imperial eservice: http://
www.imperial.ac.uk/studenteservice
Look for them under the Academic Record
tab.
Prior to the release of results, the FEO release
the pass-marks on the intranet under the
exam links.

Resits
DO NOT WORRY ABOUT THESE UNTIL AFTER
YOUR RESULTS, OR IF YOU DEFINITELY THINK THE
PAPERS WENT DISASTROUSLY BAD.

If you do end up not getting the pass marks, you

will be automatically entered into the Summer
Resits.
The dates will be released closer to the time of the
summative exams, but they normally take place
over the 2nd week of August.
The percentage of those who resit is relatively
normal compared to other medical schools.

Type of Questions
SBA Single Best Answer
EMQ Extended Matching
Questions
SAQ Short Answer
Questions

EMQs and SBAs are the type of questions

you will come across your years at
medical school.
However multiple choice doesnt

SBA Single Best Answer

Multiple choice questions that ask you
for the BEST answer out of 5.

If theyre mean, they can put two answers that

are very similar to each other.

Best Method: Process of Elimination

Go through each option and figure out if you

think its true or false or a ?.
Youll most likely end up with having to
choose between 2.

INTELLEGENTLY GUESS IF YOU

SBA example
Where in the cell does the TCA cycle
occur?*
1. The Cytoplasm
2. The Mitochondrial Matrix
3. In the Inter-mitochondrial-membrane
space
4. On Rough ER
5. In the Nucleus

EMQ Extended Matching

Questions

Similar to Mix-And-Match Questions.

Normally involves definitions.
5 Questions per list of 10 options.
Options can be used:
ONCE, MORE THAN ONE, OR NOT
AT ALL.

A lot of options you can eliminate just

because
1. they are from a different topic or
2. you know that it definitely isnt the

EMQ Example
T Cell
B Cell
Natural Killer Cell
Neutrophil
Macrophage
Langerhans Cell
Follicular Cell
Basophil
Eosinophil
Pancreatic Beta

Questions
1. Associated with
CD4+ or CD8+
2. Contains MultiSegmented
Nucleus
3. Widely Spread
throughout the
skin
4. Secretes Insulin

SAQ Short Answer

Questions
These rely on you understand the topic
than just remembering facts for SBA
and EMQs
More writing!
Can be compared to A level Biology
You get an initial 1 or 2 marker
question then more expanded
questions which require longer
answers i.e. a paragraph of writing

SAQ - Example
1. Name the process that makes glucose
from other substrates (1 mark)
2. List 3 different substrates that could be
used (3 marks)
3. Explain how Adrenaline and Insulin
influence the blood sugar levels (6
marks)
4. What other major hormone is involved
in the homeostasis of blood sugar
levels? (1 mark)

Year 1 Formative
Monday 9 January 2012, 2pm 4pm
For MCD: (Advised 80 minutes)
32 SBA Advised 40 minutes
2 EMQ Advised 10 minutes
2 SAQ Advised 30 minutes

For FCP: 40 minutes of SAQ & SBAs.

Topics:
MCD Everything including practicals &
tutorials
FCP Clinical Communications, Society &
Health, parts of First Clinical

GE1 Formative
Tuesday 31 January 2012, 2pm 5pm
Exam arrangements will be sent to you by
17th Jan.
Society & Health: 6 items
Regulatory Systems: 21 items
Support Systems: 31 items
Cellular and Molecular Sciences: 38 items
Anatomy: 44 items
Hopefully a SAQ consists of 10 items, EMQ (5
questions with one list of options) = 5 items
and a SBA = 1 item

The Exams
SBA & EMQs are marked by machine by
something similar to the maths
challenge or the BMAT.
Put your NAME & Candidate Number
down.
Make sure youre using the right side for
SBA and EMQs (EMQ are the longer ones)

Tips 1
Other than a good night sleep etc

Make sure you have spare pens and HB

pencils!
Bring some water or some snack that isnt
noisy to eat!
Wear comfortable clothes
Comfort Breaks BEFORE the exam No
need to waste time during the exam unless
youre bursting.

Tips 2
Make sure you know how much time
you want to spend on SAQ, EMQ or
SBA.
Choose which ever you want to do first
but I would advise GLANCE over what
topics the SAQs are on, so that
whilst doing the EMQ/SBAs your brain
is subconsciously working out stuff for
the SAQs, plus you can also figure out
if you need to allocate more time for
them.

Tips 3
READ THE QUESTION, then read it again.

Ive made this mistake so many times.

For SBA/EMQ Mark on the question

sheet your answer, then transfer the
answers to the answer sheet.
If you skip a question, give yourself a note to
remind you of it later and make sure to skip
it on the answer sheet too!

I put a massive highlighted circle around the SBAs I

skipped.
I know someone who lost 50% of their SBA
answers because they realised 5 minutes before the

Need more information?

If you have any more questions, please
feel free to email me on:
icsm.ao12GE@imperial.ac.uk
Anything with regards to mitigating
circumstances, please contact Neeraj,
our welfare officer at
icsm.welfare@imperial.ac.uk