5 exam preparation tips every student must know
1.When to start preparations
Examinations are so stressful to most students. This anxiety forces the majority of students to pull all-nighters. All-nighters are a waste of time and
energy. Lack of a shut-eye will affect your memory and make it difficult for
you to concentrate and make decisions during the exam. Instead you should always
start studying early to avoid cramming the last second. Start revision at least
a month before end of semester exams.
2. Know what you don’t know.
Knowing what we don’t know is a problem which affects us all. We fail to
know what we don’t know because what we think that what we don’t know doesn’t
exists. This problem doesn’t spare the academic side. Sometimes you may feel
that you have fully equipped yourself academically when entering the exam room
only to be disappointed by the number of blank spaces you leave by the time you
submit your answer sheet.
Attempt past exam papers and see
the areas where you need to improve. These papers will also help you to know
the format the exam is going to take. Will there be multiple choice questions?
Will there be essay questions? Etc.
Take the mock test as a real exam. Try to complete it within the time
indicated on the paper and see if you need an improvement in your exam taking
speed. If you find outstanding questions, don’t hesitate go see the professor
or the tutor.
Note: ask the professor at least five
days before the exam. Most professors won’t allow you to ask them questions when
the exam a day or two to go.
At the back of most academic books, there are so many questions. These
questions are meant for you to test yourself if you have understood the
concepts explained in different chapters of that book. Answer these questions
without referring to your notes. You can also ask your friend to form a quiz
for each other.
Exam-day
3 Come equipped
Remember to wear a watch when going to the examination room. This will
be your backup in case you will be in a room where there is no wall clock. This
helps because in in a situation like the one mentioned, you will be surprised to
hear the invigilator announcing that only thirty minutes are remaining and you
have a lot of questions unanswered. You should also remember to bring spare
pens, pencils calculator batteries etc.
4 Manage exam stress
the exam stress management part needs special attention. Leaving this
part unattended may compromise all the hard work you have invested in the whole
semester. We have seen people forgetting to write their examination numbers,
failing to follow simple instructions and remembering an important concept when
they have already submitted their answer sheet. All these silly mistakes happen
because of stress.
While techniques such as meditation, physical exercise and eating
healthily will help you a lot in managing exam stress, I would like to
concentrate much on the mindset. Having the right mindset will reduce much of
this stress and enable you to write the exam in your top form.
Most students view the exam day as
a judgement day where they will be charged with Fs, Ds and luckily Cs. You
should view the exam day in the same way Cristiano Ronaldo views the game day. How will
people know you as a top performing student if there wasn’t a day like this? An
examination day is a day to show yourself to the people that you have mastered
the concepts in a particular course. They say “what the mind conceives it can
achieve”. Believe you will make it and you surely will.
4 arrive at the exam venue early
Arrive at the at the exam venue at least thirty minutes before the starting time. If you travel a longer distance you should include some emergency time in case there will be a traffic jam, a flat tire etc. arriving early will enable you to relax and visit the bathroom in advance if you need to.
Arrive at the at the exam venue at least thirty minutes before the starting time. If you travel a longer distance you should include some emergency time in case there will be a traffic jam, a flat tire etc. arriving early will enable you to relax and visit the bathroom in advance if you need to.
Comments
Post a Comment