Interpreter of Maladies

Clash between two Cultures

Central themes of all of Lahiri’s work, “Interpreter of Maladies” included, are the difficulties that Indians have in relating to Americans and the ways in which Indian Americans are caught in the middle of two very different cultures. We learn quite a few details about where the Das family fits into this cultural divide. Mr. and Mrs. Das were both born and raised in America, although their retired parents have now moved to India to live. The Dases visit every few years, bringing the children with them. They are Indian but not of India, and their dress and manner are wholly American. Although Mr. Kapasi recognizes some common cultural heritage, the Dases are no more familiar with India than any other tourist. Mr. Das relies on a tourist guidebook to tell him about the country through which they are traveling, and Mrs. Das could not be more uninterested in her surroundings if she tried. Although India is their parents’ home, Mr. and Mrs. Das are foreigners. Mr. Das even seems to take pride in his status as a stranger, telling Mr. Kapasi about his American roots with an “air of sudden confidence.”

Though Mr. Kapasi and the Dases do share an Indian heritage, their marriages reveal the extent of how different their cultures really are. Mr. Kapasi believes that he can relate to Mrs. Das’s unhappy marriage because he himself is in an unhappy marriage. He seeks this common ground as a way to find friendship and connection. However, the connection fails because the marriages are so vastly different. Mr. Kapasi’s parents arranged his marriage, and he and Mrs. Kapasi nothing in common. By contrast, Mrs. Das fell in love with Mr. Das at a young age, and although their union was encouraged by their parents, her marriage was not arranged. Mrs. Das’s comments about her and Mr. Das’s sexual behaviors during their courtship shock Mr. Kapasi, who has never seen his wife naked. Furthermore, Mr. Kapasi is offended by the concept of infidelity in Mrs. Das’s marriage. This lack of understanding reflects a differing understanding of duty and family between the two cultures. The two marriages may both be unhappy, but the causes, remedies, mistakes, and results of that unhappiness have no overlap whatsoever. Mr. Kapasi’s fantasy of forging a friendship with Mrs. Das is shattered even before he sees his address slip away in the wind. The cultural divide between him and Mrs. Das is, from his view, simply too vast.

Interpreter of Maladies

Plot Overview

The Das family is in India on vacation, and Mr. Das has hired Mr. Kapasi to drive them to visit the Sun Temple. The family sits in the car, which is stopped near a tea stall. Mr. and Mrs. Das are arguing about who should take their daughter, Tina, to the bathroom, and Mrs. Das ultimately takes her. Ronny, their son, darts out of the car to look at a goat. Mr. Das, who closely resembles Ronny, reprimands him but does nothing to stop him, even when he says he wants to give the goat a piece of gum. Mr. Das tells Bobby, the younger of their two sons, to go look after Ronny. When Bobby refuses, Mr. Das does nothing to enforce his order.

Mr. Das tells Mr. Kapasi that both he and his wife were born and raised in the United States. Mr. Das also reveals that their parents now live in India and that the Das family visits them every few years. Tina comes back to the car, clutching a doll with shorn hair. Mr. Das asks Tina where her mother is, using Mrs. Das’s first name, Mina. Mr. Kapasi notices that Mr. Das uses his wife’s first name, and he thinks it is an unusual way to speak to a child. While Mrs. Das buys some puffed rice from a nearby vendor, Mr. Das tells Mr. Kapasi that he is a middle-school teacher in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Mr. Kapasi reveals that he has been a tour guide for five years.

The group sets off. Tina plays with the locks in the back of the car, and Mrs. Das does not stop her. Mrs. Das sits in the car silently and eats her snack without offering any to anyone else. Along the road, they see monkeys, which Mr. Kapasi says are common in the area. Mr. Das has him stop the car so he can take a picture of a starving peasant. Mr. and Mrs. Das quarrel because Mr. Das has not gotten them a tour guide whose car has air-conditioning. Mr. Kapasi observes that Mr. and Mrs. Das are more like siblings to their children than parents.

Mr. Kapasi tells the Dases about his other job as an interpreter in a doctor’s office. Mrs. Das remarks that his job is romantic and asks him to tell her about some of his patients. However, Mr. Kapasi views his job as a failure. At one time, he had been a scholar of many languages, and now he remains fluent only in English. He took the interpreting job as a way to pay the medical bills when his eldest son contracted typhoid and died at age seven. He kept the job because the pay was better than his previous teaching job, but it reminds his wife of their son’s death. Mr. Kapasi’s marriage was arranged by his parents, and he and his wife have nothing in common. Mr. Kapasi, seduced by Mrs. Das’s description of his job as “romantic,” begins fantasizing about Mrs. Das.

When they stop for lunch, Mrs. Das insists that Mr. Kapasi sit with them. He does, and Mr. Das takes their picture together. Mrs. Das gets Mr. Kapasi’s address so that she can send him a copy of the picture, and Mr. Kapasi begins to daydream about how they will have a great correspondence that will, in a way, finally fulfill his dreams of being a diplomat between countries. He imagines the witty things he will write to her and how she will reveal the unhappiness of her marriage.

At the temple, Mrs. Das talks with Mr. Kapasi as they stare at friezes of women in erotic poses. Mr. Kapasi admires her legs and continues to dream about their letters. Dreading taking the Dases back to their hotel, he suggests that they go see a nearby monastery, and they agree. When they arrive, the place is swarming with monkeys. Mr. Kapasi tells the children and Mr. Das that the monkeys are not dangerous as long as they are not fed.

Mrs. Das stays in the car because her legs are tired. She sits in the front seat next to Mr. Kapasi and confesses to him that her younger son, Bobby, is the product of an affair she had eight years ago. She slept with a friend of Mr. Das’s who came to visit while she was a lonely housewife, and she has never told anyone about it. She tells Mr. Kapasi because he is an interpreter of maladies and she believes he can help her. Mr. Kapasi’s crush on her begins to evaporate. Mrs. Das reveals that she no longer loves her husband, whom she has known since she was a young child, and that she has destructive impulses toward her children and life. She asks Mr. Kapasi to suggest some remedy for her pain. Mr. Kapasi, insulted, asks her whether it isn’t really just guilt she feels. Mrs. Das gets out of the car and joins her family. As she walks, she drops a trail of puffed rice.

Meanwhile, the children and Mr. Das have been playing with the monkeys. When Mrs. Das rejoins them, Bobby is missing. They find him surrounded by monkeys that have become crazed from Mrs. Das’s puffed rice and are hitting Bobby on the legs with a stick he had given them. Mr. Das accidentally takes a picture in his nervousness, and Mrs. Das screams for Mr. Kapasi to do something. Mr. Kapasi chases off the monkeys and carries Bobby back to his family. Mrs. Das puts a bandage on Bobby’s knee. Then she reaches into her handbag to get a hairbrush to straighten his hair, and the paper with Mr. Kapasi’s address on it flutters away.

Interpreter of Maladies

“Interpreter of Maladies” is told from third-person limited point of view—that is, the story is told by an objective narrator who reveals the perceptions of Mr. Kapasi’s perceptions but not those of the other characters. Events unfold primarily as Mr. Kapasi, not Mrs. Das, sees them. For example, when the characters leave the taxi at the temple, the narrator follows Mr. Kapasi, who walks ahead so as not to disturb Mrs. Das, and does not show us what Mrs. Das is doing until she again enters Mr. Kapasi’s view. Likewise, when Mrs. Das leaves the taxi to take Tina to the bathroom, the narrator stays in the car with Mr. Kapasi, who waits alone while the boys and Mr. Das get out of the car. Even the characters’ names reflect the focus on Mr. Kapasi. Instead of calling Mrs. Das by her first name, Mina, as both her husband and her children do, the narrator refers to her exclusively as Mrs. Das, which is how Mr. Kapasi sees her. Likewise, the narrator does not disclose information that Mr. Kapasi would not know. We do not, for example, ever learn the exact ages of Ronny and Tina. We do, however, hear about how Mr. Kapasi has only two suits, the better of the two is the one he wears in the story.

By using this point of view, Lahiri limits the scope of our knowledge about the Das family and emphasizes the disconnection between Mrs. Das and Mr. Kapasi. Although Mr. Kapasi interprets Mrs. Das’s comments as flattering and even flirtatious, Mrs. Das likely did not intend her comments to be construed this way. Mr. Kapasi wishes for an intimate connection with Mrs. Das, but when she finally does spill her secrets—her affair, her true feelings about her husband, the heated beginning of their relationship—Mr. Kapasi is overwhelmed and disgusted. She was unaware of how crass and inappropriate her revelations would seem to Mr. Kapasi, just as she is oblivious to how insulting it is for her to expect him to have a “cure” for her pain. Mr. Kapasi thinks he and Mrs. Das have a connection because he recognizes in her situation the distant spouse and troubled marriage from his own life. However, any connection between them is only in his mind.

Interpreter of Maladies

Character Development

To develop characters in “Interpreter of Maladies,” Lahiri layers small, specific details in her descriptions of each character, giving them depth and richness. From the first paragraph of the story, details such as the bickering about who will accompany Tina to the bathroom and the fact that Mrs. Das does not hold Tina’s hand tell us that Mr. and Mrs. Das are at odds, at least in some small way, and that Mrs. Das is a somewhat careless mother. These details are important because the narrator tells us few explicit facts about the Das family. Rather, we must infer information about them from the way they act. We learn about Mr. Das’s distance and willful ignorance from his picture taking and absorption in his guidebook, and we learn about the children’s insolence through small behaviors, such as Tina’s playing with the car locks and Ronny’s approaching the goat with gum. Mr. Kapasi infers what he knows about the Das family from the same set of details.

The small pieces of information that we have about Mrs. Das almost overwhelm her big confession toward the end of the story. What we know of her character is based less on the substantial knowledge that she has committed adultery with her husband’s friend and borne a child of the affair and more on the less significant fact that she does not share her puffed rice with her children or husband, does not care to be in the photographs they take at the monastery, and wears insensible shoes while she goes sightseeing. Mrs. Das is, with Mr. Kapasi, the most important character in the story, but what we know of her comes from the fact that she wears sunglasses, wears a shirt with a strawberry on it, shaves her legs, and carries a large, overstuffed purse. By providing so many small, specific details, Lahiri vividly portrays Mrs. Das but also allows for some ambiguity. Mr. Kapasi perceives the same details but misconstrues what they mean about Mrs. Das, mistakenly believing that she shares with him some problem or connection.

Interpreter of Maladies

Characterization

Mr. Kapasi - The Indian tour guide who accompanies the Das family on their trip. Mr. Kapasi was once fluent in many languages but now speaks only English. He once dreamed of being a diplomat but now works as a translator in a doctor’s office, a job he acquired when his young son died from typhoid. Mr. Kapasi lives in a loveless, arranged marriage and no longer sees himself as a potential object of interest for women. He entertains fantasies about Mrs. Das but is ultimately horrified by her confession of infidelity and self-absorption.

Mrs. Mina Das - The self-absorbed wife of Mr. Das whose infidelity has isolated her from her husband and children. Mrs. Das cares only about herself and her needs and has little true connection to the people around her. After having an affair eight years ago and conceiving Bobby, she never told Mr. Das or Bobby the truth. Her need to confess her past transgressions horrifies Mr. Kapasi.

Mr. Das - The middle-school science teacher who hires Mr. Kapasi to accompany the family on their trip. Mr. Das takes a voyeuristic interest in India and its people, not really connecting with his surroundings except through his camera and guide book. Mr. Das is a passive, ineffective parent, incapable or unwilling to reprimand his children for misbehaving. In a moment of crisis, when Bobby is surrounded by monkeys, he fails to do anything but accidentally take a picture of the scene.

Bobby Das - The younger Das son, who is not actually Mr. Das’s child. Bobby does not resemble Mr. Das physically or temperamentally. He is surly and treats Mr. Das disrespectfully.

Tina Das - The young Das daughter. Tina whines and misbehaves, seeking her mother’s attention and failing to get it.

Ronny Das - The eldest Das child. Ronny does not listen to his parents, preferring to do what he wants to do.

Rajarata University of Sri Lanka Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities Department of Languages The Road from Elephant Pass

THERE are moments in The Road from Elephant Pass when the reader might wonder if this story is about Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict or its birds. The answer is: both. The pied kingfishers, hawk eagles, eagle-owls, blue-faced malkohas, paradise flycatchers, hornbills, brown-headed barbets, hanging parrots, rose-ringed parakeets, lapwings that wing in and out of this edge-of-the-seat narrative are as important to the plot as the army officer and the woman cadre of the LTTE, forced to flee northern Sri Lanka together.

Naturally, Nihal de Silva has been a bird-watcher longer than he can remember. He took to writing only three years ago, bursting on the Sri Lankan scene with his debut novel about the relationship between Captain Wasantha Ratnayake and LTTE cadre Kamala Velaithan as together they trek across the bird-rich Wilpattu forest in northern Sri Lanka.

Remarkable launch

The book won the Gratiaen Prize — Sri Lanka's top literary award — in 2003 and the State Literary Award the same year, a remarkable launch for the 63-year-old de Silva who says he began writing only to stave off the boredom of retirement — he stepped aside from his water purification business to make way for his two sons in 2002.

Modest to the point of sounding embarrassed by the success of his first book, de Silva even asks if the birds were "a bit much" and, almost shyly, says they were his way of showing common ground between the Sinhalese and the Tamil.

"When we talk of the conflict, we always seem to focus on the differences between the Sinhalese and Tamils, which is mainly the language. But we also have a lot of things in common. In my case, I know birds, so I chose birds," he says.

The passionate bird man in de Silva surfaces at some of the most important points in the story, breaking the tension with a purple heron here, a stork-billed kingfisher there or just plain babblers. But the book, de Silva says, is really about "contact" between Sri Lanka's two main communities, without which there is little possibility of exploring even the commonalities.

De Silva grew up in pre-conflict Sri Lanka, when people still had friends across communities. The places in Northern Sri Lanka that he describes in the book are those that he explored with his buddies, Sinhalese and Tamil.

"Before the war, Mannar and Wilpattu [in northern Sri Lanka] were God's own country. We could go anywhere, sleep on the beach and gaze at the stars, do anything we wanted," he said.

He rues that his two sons grew up in virtual ethnic isolation right through school, without getting to know any Tamils, except his friends' children.

"I feel strongly that the road to settling our problem is for people to interact, and that their humanity has to do the rest," he says.

The novel came out of that conviction. He had never written anything before except reminders to customers that their bills were three months overdue. But the force of his beliefs combined with years of watching birds and observing the escalating conflict, plus a personal experience of the July 1983 anti-Tamil riots, obviously swept away the inexperience.

The feel of real life

The fast-paced plot, its contemporary setting, the twist at the end, and most crucially, the unselfconscious dialogue between the army captain and the woman LTTE cadre, which completely eliminates the need for any laboured explanations about the conflict, make this the work of a first-rate storyteller. In the simplicity of its style and the way in which it handles context, the book is in the same class as The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Alexander McCall Smith's series about a woman detective in Botswana.

The judges of the Gratiaen Prize commended it for its "constant feel of real life", "descriptive power", its "convincing demonstration that resolution of conflict and reconciliation of differences are feasible through mutual experience and regard".

Encouraged by the reception to the book — it has sold nearly 3,000 copies in Sri Lanka and publisher Vijitha Yapa has done two reprints — de Silva has written one more novel, The Far Spent Day. Once again set in contemporary Sri Lanka, this one is about political corruption, as current a theme as the country's conflict.

As in The Road from Elephant Pass, the action begins straightaway and yes, plenty of birds in this one too.

De Silva is now working on his third novel. He drops only the tiniest hint about it. "It's about the JVP... "

Exam Writing Tips: How to Answer Exam Questions Bhiksu University of Sri Lanka-2018 External Degree Program

This is what it all comes down to; you’re sitting in the exam hall, waiting to get your hands on that anticipated piece of paper. You’ve jammed a ton of information into your brain and your fingernails are non-existent – it’s time to get down to business!

Yes the exam environment may be different across disciplines. Computing students will sit some tests in front of a computer with their fingers poised to code. A practical element will contribute to science student’s final grade. It doesn’t matter if you’re studying English, Economics, Psychology or History, every exam can be approached in much the same way with these exam writing tips.

We’re here to give you some help answering and writing exam questions that will show your knowledge to the person who reads your paper.

How to Answer Exam Questions

Pay attention! These quick tips should be common sense but many students who are under exam stress fail to see their mistakes. We’re going to help you avoid a major exam disaster by pointing you in the right direction.

Here’s our top exam writing tips to help you understand how to answer exam questions:

1. Practice Past Papers

There really is no better way to get exam ready than by attempting past papers. Most exam bodies should have past papers available online but your teacher will get you started on these in class.

This process isn’t just about preparing an answer for a specific question; it’s about understanding how you approach a question in an exam, how to structure your answer, the timings you should assign and what information will get marks.

If you want to create an easy way to test yourself with past papers.

2. Read All Questions Carefully

The stress of the situation can cause you to misread a question, plan your answer out, start writing your response and then realize you made a mistake and wasted vital time. Even though you generally won’t be writing answers to every question on the paper, reading all questions thoroughly will ensure you make the right choices and can highlight how much you know about the topic.

Don’t forget to attempt all questions that you have selected. However, be careful of MCQ questions with negative marking. If you’re not sure of the answer you could cost yourself some valuable marks.

3. Manage Your Time

This is where you need to be strict on yourself. Once you have assigned a time limit for each question, you MUST move on once you hit it or you won’t be able to give the next question your full attention.

Remember to leave yourself some time at the end to go back over your answers and add in little notes or pieces of information about the topic. You never know, this could help bump you up a grade!

  4. Structure Your Answer

Don’t just jump into writing your answer. Take the first few minutes to plan the structure of your essay which will save you time when you are delving into meaty parts. Always stay on topic; if you’re discussing the role of women in society as portrayed by the author in Of Mice and Men, don’t digress and start outlining other themes in the book for example.

Most essays should have an introduction, three main points and a conclusion. A lot of students see a conclusion as a final sentence to finish the piece off. A strong conclusion give an A grade student the chance to shine by bringing everything together and fortifying their opinion.

5. Explore Both Sides of an Argument

Building your argument in the main body of your exam answer will give your overall opinion credibility. English language questions, for example, encourage you to explore both sides of an argument and then conclude with a critical analysis of your answer.

Many questions you approach will look as though they seek a straightforward answer but in reality they want you to fully outline a structured essay. Don’t fall into the trap of providing a one-sided view, get your hands dirty and open your mind to other possibilities.

6. Review Your Answers Thoroughly

Smart students can still make the mistake of handing their answer book in without checking through what they have written. Proofread your answers as much as you can to correct any spelling mistakes and add any extra comments you think are worth mentioning.

You will be surprised what you can spot in those last few minutes. This is your last chance to throw in that quotation, list other relevant points or even draw a quick diagram. Now is not the time to drop your game, show the examiner what you’re made of!

 Remember, the exams are not designed to trick you. Don’t panic on the day of your exam or this brain freeze could mean that you get a lower grade that you truly deserve. Convince yourself that you know how to answer exam questions and your almost there.

The best possible way to feel less anxious about exams is to be prepared. That means doing your revision, getting used to writing by hand, practising writing timed exam answers, and getting yourself informed about what to expect when you get to the exam room. The less you leave to the last minute, the more relaxed you'll feel, freeing yourself up to focus all your energy on getting the results your deserve. So thinking beforehand about the strategies you might use in the exam room to plan and write your answers will help you to feel calmer and more prepared.

• Writing exam answers (Study Guide)

You can also print off an abridged PDF version of this guide. This is designed to be printed double-sided on A4, then folded to make an A5 guide.

• Exam room strategies (video)

Watch this brief video tutorial for more on the topic.

• Exam room strategies (transcript)

Read along while watching the video tutorial.

The night before the exam

Check all your information – Make sure you know exactly where your exam will be – the venues may be different for each exam. Gather what you will need to take into the exam room (pens, water, allowed texts, calculator, campus card etc). The Exams Office have various guides for students that will tell you everything you need to know,.

Some tips to help you sleep... - Stop revising 90 minutes before preparing for bed and find a way to relax - perhaps with friends, music, book, TV etc - Avoid smartphone, tablet and laptop screens for an hour before you plan to go to bed. The type of light used to illuminate them can disrupt your sleep rhythms. - Have a warm bath or shower and try a relaxation exercise. - Lavender oil, herbal sleep tablets and camomile tea may be helpful but try them before to see how your body responds. - Avoid too much alcohol or caffeine, and sleep medications especially if they've been prescribed for someone else. - If your head's still buzzing with thoughts in the middle of the night, have a notebook by the side of the bed and write them down

Student Wellbeing, RUSU and the Chaplaincy all offer relaxation sessions around exam time.

Everything you need to know about arrangements for exams at the University of Reading.

In the exam room

Read the instructions carefully – Before looking at the actual questions, read the rubric (instructions). Are there compulsory questions? You can lose more marks by answering the wrong number or wrong combination of questions than by answering the right number of questions badly.

Work out the timing – Divide your time according to the number of questions to be answered. Split it proportionately if you have some questions (or parts of questions) which attract more marks than others. Allow some time for planning. An example might be: four essay questions each attracting 25% of the total marks in a three-hour exam = 45 minutes per question = 5 minutes planning, 35 minutes writing, 5 minutes checking through. Allow extra checking time for statistics or calculations.

Read the questions carefully. Read through the paper once before you choose your questions and then re-read each question. You might think a topic you've revised hasn't come up, when it is there but the wording is unusual. Alternatively you have revised the topic, but the question is obtuse and you do not fully understand it.

Choose your best questions - Mark any questions you might answer, and then check that you fully understand it. Do you have some relevant knowledge, ideas and evidence for the ones you choose to answer? If you do not understand a question, it's best to leave it.

Decide on question order. Some people like to start with the topic they know best to give them a good start. Others prefer to do their best question second, because with one question completed, they can relax and expand on their best ideas and gain extra marks.

• Exam room strategies (video)

Watch this brief video tutorial for more on the topic.

•  Exam room strategies (transcript)

Read along while watching the video tutorial.

•  Exercise: Using paraphrasing to help you understand the question

One of the most frequent complaints of markers is that the student did not answer the question. Paraphrasing it (re-writing it in your own words) can help you to make sure you have the right meaning. (There is no answer sheet for this exercise as there might be several ways of re-writing the question. Try swapping answers with a friend to see how they rewrite the same question.)

Maximising your marks

Think about what the question is actually asking. What are you expected to include in your answer? What material will be relevant? The most common complaint from markers is that the student didn't answer the question.

Structure your answer - Even though you're writing under time pressure, you should still think about the best structure to communicate your ideas. In your introduction show how you understand the question and outline how you will answer it. Make one point or argument per paragraph and summarize to show how it answers the question. Shortish paragraphs with one or two pieces of evidence are sufficient. In your conclusion summarize the arguments to answer the question.

Plan before you write – The stress of working under time constraints in the exam room can make all your good study intentions disappear. However, this is when it's more important than ever to get your ideas across clearly and concisely. Take a few minutes to think and make a mini-plan:

• Underline the key words in the question;
• Identify the main topic and discussion areas.
• Choose a few points/arguments about which you can write
• Make a mini-plan which puts them in order before you start writing. You can cross it through afterwards.

Referencing in exams – You should be able to refer by name (spelt correctly!) to the main theorists/researchers in your topic, giving the approximate year of their major works. You are not expected to give page numbers or lengthy quotes, except in open book exams, and you do not need a reference list.

What to do if your mind goes blank – most students fear this happening. If it does – put your pen down, take a deep breath, sit back and relax for a moment. If you're in the middle of an answer, read through what you have written so far as if it was a story – what happens next? If you have to remember formulae, you could try associating them with pictures or music while revising - then use the associations to bring them back in the exam. If you really can't progress with this answer, leave a gap. It will probably come back to you once you are less anxious.

If you are running out of time – don't panic. Look at the questions you have left to answer and divide up your remaining time to cover them all. Be very economical – make one point support it with evidence and then move on to the next point. If you really can't finish in time, briefly list the points you wanted to make – they could pick you up a few marks.

What not to write

Don't try to shoehorn in something interesting just because you have revised it. If it isn't relevant to the question it can lose you marks.

Don't repeat a memorized essay just because it seems to be on the right topic. The question may be asking for a different approach.

Don't use text speak or colloquialisms.

Don't say "I think" or "in my opinion". Instead have ideas that are supported or opposed by your evidence.

Above all, don't be tempted to write a note to the examiner explaining how you missed the lectures on this topic because your housemate stole your alarm clock….

After the exam

Beware the post-mortem – it's natural to want to discuss how it went with your friends, but keep it in perspective. Exams are dramatic events, and the temptation is to describe them dramatically – "The easiest/hardest/fastest exam I've ever done!" No two exam experiences will be the same – that doesn't mean you are wrong and they are right, or vice versa.

Between exams, you might find it helpful to practice writing exam answers using past papers. However, it may be more beneficial for some students to relax and rest between exams, than cramming in last minute revision for the next one.