Truth be told, this has been the most relaxing lap yet. Since sitting for my first attempt at the MW exam I have taken most of the summer OFF from wine studies. After the exam questions and wines were publicly released, I was quite confident that I did not pass the Practical section of the exam. Still holding out hope for Theory. Official exam results come out in less than one week.
If students Pass a section, that is all the information we’ll receive – “Congratulations, you Passed!” If we Fail a section, we are given individual grades (A through F) for each Paper (5 in Theory, 3 in Practical) to give us a better idea of our weaker spots. However, these letter grades are the only feedback – no specifics on whether our essays were well written, sufficient length, contained enough examples, etc. Which means self-awareness (and a fair amount of guessing) will need to kick in to help us ascertain where we went wrong.
Thankfully, during exam week, after every section I rushed back to my hotel room and furtively typed out a summary of my answers – including examples I used, approximate word count and a few honest sentences about how I felt I did. For the record, my personal assessments ranged from “feel pretty good about this one. Good analysis and structure” to “don’t feel great. Very short and lacked depth.” I have no clue if these will balance each other out and result in a Theory Pass for me.
Tip to future MW students: DO THIS! I am so thankful I did a post-exam brain dump because just three months later, there is no way I could recall what I wrote for my answers. After receiving the results, I’ll use my exam recaps to (hopefully) give me a better understanding of where I need to focus my study energy this coming year.
Even if I need to retake both sections, I am proud of myself for sitting the exam. And I have no doubt that having one MW exam sitting under my belt, I’ll be in a better position to succeed next year. It took more stamina than I thought I had in me, but adrenaline kicked in and got me through. Granted, the first couple of weeks post exam I was pretty zoned out and beat up. Another tip to future MW students: plan to use as little brain activity as possible after the exam . . . you will need more recovery time than you think!
I’m also proud of myself for not obsessing about the exam all summer. After it was finished and I’d compared notes with a trusted few other students, I put it behind me. There was nothing I could do to change my answers, it was now out of my control. What I could control, however, was how I spent my summer. Which meant putting the books on the shelf and spending time with family and friends who had been on the back burner during my studies. Taking these past several weeks to read non-wine related books, catch up on Netflix, slow down and enjoy the view has been invaluable. I’ve also had time to work with OTHER stressed out students through Elevage Wine Coaching, which has been a wonderful and welcome change of pace. 😊
Recovery time is crucial when training for a marathon. And having taken the time to rest, I am ready for whatever news comes at me later this week.
Outwines 
Cool
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