Abhors making notes before exams (7)
I believe the answer is:
detests
'abhors' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'notes before exams' is the wordplay.
'notes' becomes 'de' (**).
'before' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'exams' becomes 'tests' ('test' can be a synonym of 'exam').
'de'+'tests'='DETESTS'
'making' is the link.
(Other definitions for detests that I've seen before include "Abominates" , "Abhors" , "Hates" , "Loathes" , "Cordially loathe" .)