Have you spent endless hours preparing for exams? Have you revised the materials multiple times and memorized each formula by heart? Then why do we not perform to the best of our potential during the exam?
If you feel that you aren’t able to reach the best of your capabilities while taking exams, you are not alone. Exam taking is also a skill. Let us see how we can make full use of what we have learnt.
- Get Enough Sleep
Students tend to disrupt their sleep schedule during exam season. With the vast amount of syllabus to cover or simply the habit of procrastination, students drastically tend to reduce their sleep time. Many even choose to pull all-nighters before important exams, which is counter-effective in the long run.
With 7–8 hours of sleep for adults each day, a good sleep pattern is a basic necessity for optimum brain functioning. Therefore, jeopardizing your sleep over academics would reduce your productivity.
2. Adjust Your Mindset
Your approach towards an exam defines everything. A negative and underconfident approach can ruin your exam even if you have prepared well for it. Try to adopt a positive approach and fill your mind with such thoughts. You will find that you will be more focused and confident during the exam. Take the test as a challenge to prove your knowledge rather than taking it as a compulsory obstacle in your life.
Do you think you are facing burnout while studying? Read more on Ways to recover from a study burnout
3. Read Every Question Thoroughly
Often in our zeal and hurry, we don’t read the question properly or miss certain sub-points that the question was asking. It is essential that we fully comprehend what the question demands from us. Only then can we frame an answer which is satisfying.
4. Plan the Order
It is essential that you quickly map out the order of questions you will attempt. This is up to your discretion according to what topics you feel most comfortable in. Tackle the easy questions first to build up your confidence but leave enough time to deal with the difficult questions later on. Although there is no hard and fast rule about dealing with the trickiest questions, in the end, it is mentally more reassuring when you have the base level marks after doing the easy questions.
5. Monitor the Time
Sometimes in exams, especially in descriptive subjects, we tend to lose track of time. We spend too much time thinking about the answer or writing more than what is required for the question. This results in due panic in the end when you still have questions left to answer. Panic causes you to produce low-quality answers.
It is not advisable to write incomplete answers, but it is better to pay attention to the marks allocated to each question and answer accordingly. If you have time left after finishing the paper, don’t leave the exam hall very early. Utilise the extra time to revise your answers or to check whether you have attempted each question.
6. Answer Exactly What is Asked
Since we consume a considerable amount of information for the exam, we get tempted to write all that we have studied. However, examiners only award marks for information that is asked for in the question. It is not bad to write extra if you have the knowledge, but writing specific answers is important.
Read more to learn why smart work is more effective than hard work: Smart work is the new hard work
7. Be Confident
Lastly, an exam does not define you. Do not get too nervous and fearful of exams. It is only one way of gauging your knowledge. In no way do they show what you are capable of. Use your positive results as motivation to keep going and your negative results as a challenge to do better next time.
How you take an exam has a direct effect on the outcome. If you feel that you are not performing well in the exam hall, try these tips, and they might help you!
-Anushka Das, content writer
