The usual shape: exams on a first database course are most often 2 to 3 hours long. A very common structure is one compulsory question (often 20–30 marks, built around a design scenario or a set of tables) followed by any three or four of five or six other questions, each worth 10–20 marks and split into two or three parts. Some departments add a short objective section. Many papers are roughly half theory (define, explain, distinguish) and half practical (draw, write, normalise, compute).

What keeps coming back: data versus information and the characteristics of information; file-based versus database approach; components of a database environment and functions of a DBMS; the ANSI/SPARC architecture and data independence; data models, including semi-structured data; ER diagrams from a business scenario and their mapping to relations; keys and the entity and referential integrity rules; relational algebra expressions on given tables; SQL queries (joins, GROUP BY with HAVING, subqueries) and CREATE TABLE with constraints; views; query processing and optimisation; functional dependencies, update anomalies and normalisation to 3NF or BCNF; security threats and countermeasures; transactions, ACID, concurrency problems, two-phase locking, deadlock and recovery.

How the practical questions are marked: for ER diagrams, marks usually go to correct entities with keys, relationships with cardinality and participation, and sensible attributes, with a stated assumption for anything the scenario leaves open. For normalisation, examiners look for each normal form shown as a separate, named stage with the dependency being removed stated. For SQL and relational algebra, each correct clause or operation tends to earn its share, so a nearly right query still scores well if it is laid out clearly.

A calm strategy: read the whole paper first and choose your optional questions by how much of each part you can answer, not by topic alone. Do the design question (ER or normalisation) while you are fresh, since it carries the most marks and benefits from a clear head. Split time by marks: on a 3-hour, 70-mark paper that is about 2½ minutes per mark. Draw diagrams in pencil with a ruler, label everything, and leave ten minutes at the end to recheck keys, foreign keys and the row counts of any results you were asked to show.