Tips for your exam

Preparing for an exam can be stressful at times when we have a lot to study but restricted period of time. Listed below are some study tips that will help you in preparing for examination:

1. Read entirely and make brief notes: Making brief notes while studying increases the recall capacity for our brain to remember what we have already studied.

2. Review and Practice Old Exam Papers: Reviewing and practicing old exam papers is one of the most effective ways to learn how to prepare for exam. It helps you to familiarize yourself with the format and structure of the question paper.

3. Make use of diagrams and flowcharts: Visual aids can be especially helpful when revising study material. At the start of topic, write down everything you already know about a particular topic. Closer to the exam, transform your revision notes in a diagram.  Having your thoughts recorded in this format will enable you to easily remember everything you need to know while giving the exam.

4. Start your revision early: You need to give yourself enough time to review everything that you have studied, and make sure that you understand it. Last minute cramming is much less productive.

5. Organize study groups with friends: Study groups can help you get the answer you need and finish tasks faster. Just make sure the group is focused on the subject and they are not easily distracted.

 

 

Tips for during your exam:

 

1. Before the exam starts, and during the exam, make sure you read the instructions and questions carefully, and re-read them so that you are clear on what you need to do and what you are being asked.

 

2. Right before the exam begins, go over the hardest topics on the exam and the formulas you just can’t seem to remember. As soon as you get your exam paper, write those things first before looking at anything else. Doing this allows you to have a ‘cheat-sheet’ throughout the exam that isn’t actually cheating! 

 

3. When you start your exam, do the questions you are confident that you know first. This strategy ensures that you get most of your test done without wasting time on the questions you aren’t sure about. When you’ve done all the questions you knew right away, you can spend the rest of your time trying to figure out the questions you don’t. 

 

4. If you get stuck on a question move on before you get stressed. Note down how much time you have spent on the question, leave a gap in your answer book and return to it later. This will help ease your stress about the question and ensure you don’t use up valuable time.

 

5. Write something for every question: Try to write down everything you are thinking, no matter how irrelevant it is. In the end, you can always improve your answers at the end of the exam, if you have leftover time. 

 

6. Planning and managing your time when you're sitting an exam is very important.

-       Most exams are three hours long (180 minutes).

-       If the exam is worth, say, 60 marks, you have just over 3 minutes per mark. So, for example, a 10-mark question should take about 30 minutes.

If you run out of time or return to a question that you are still unsure of, jot down your main ideas and key words so that the examiner knows where you were going with the answer. You may get a few additional marks in this way.

We hope these tips help you during exam. Knowing how to write exams efficiently is helpful, but studying is important too.