Exams are hurdles in your education journey, and it is very important that you master the things that you can and cannot do while taking an exam.

There are thousands of ways to help you prepare for a major exam, but here’s how you can make sure that your exam takes place smoothly, allowing you to exit the exam hall with an A+ confidence.

Dos

Look at the marking scheme

There’s no use writing long paragraphs for every single question, but rather, check how many marks were allocated to that particular question. Then, draft your answer accordingly. do questions that you are confident Start of with questions that you are most confident with. How would you know which? Before the exam begins, the invigilator would have asked you to check the paper. Scan through the paper. If it’s a major exam, you would have been familiar with the exam format. Use that to your advantage.

Make sure you finish all the questions

More often than not, students tend to hand in their papers incomplete -- simply because they give up on the questions that they don’t know how to solve. However, papers are always marked positively and not negatively. Just write whatever you can, even if it’s just a guess! Getting 1 extra mark is better than 0!

Lay out your necessary tools

Don’t keep your stationery in the bag. Put your pens, correction tape, pencils, ruler and so on nicely arranged on the table so you can grab them quickly when you need it. It’s important to also put your student ID at the top corner of the table so you don’t have to fumble for it, just in case the invigilator asks for it in the middle of the exam.

Get your timing right

Always wear a watch to the exam hall. It doesn’t have to be your fancy Apple watches or smart watches, but a watch that shows the correct time. Apportion the time you have for the exam and keep yourself updated with time, so you don’t get overly engrossed in the questions.

Dont’s

Don’t leave exam early

Never leave the exam early. If you have extra time after completing the questions, check your answers. Make sure you finish all parts of the questions, and do recalculations if possible. You might find out certain parts that you have miscalculated the answer.

Don’t look around the exam hall

Focus, focus, focus. Don’t look left, right, or up. Your answers won’t be anywhere there. Everything you should focus on is the paper in front of you. There is no time for daydreaming once you step into the exam hall. Also, the invigilator might think that you’re cheating if you turn your head too often.

Don’t run out of time

Some exam papers come in several sections. Mark the amount of time you have used up for each section so you know how much time you have left for the exam. It’s a good habit, so you don’t stress yourself out right at the end of the exam.

Don’t dwell

This is the one bad habit all students need to kick away! After every exam, you will see a group of students huddling in a corner, flipping reference books and sighing. Don’t do that. You’ve already handed in your papers, there’s no use crying over spilled milk. Your focus should be the paper tomorrow.

All these habits come with practice, so do that even if you’re revising or attempting past year questions at home!

Share this with your friends whom you think does the Dont’s during exams!

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