Writing exams: tips for success
It’s that time of year again. Time to flex those writing muscles and crack open the energy drinks, as well as the books. We have a few tips and pointers to get you in the right head space to conquer your studies…
Every donkey needs a carrot: motivation time! Before you do anything, set goals for yourself. What grades do you want to earn? Think of a motivation or reward – maybe ask your parents for incentives, or share your goals with them to hold yourself accountable.
Draw up a study timetable
The first step is to draw up a study timetable and assign different subjects to different days. Estimate how much time you will need per subject, depending on your personal strengths and weaknesses. Theory subjects are about retaining facts and knowledge, whereas application subjects like mathematics and science require practice.
Keep this in mind when assigning different subjects to different days – the application subjects may require more time to take in. It’s a good idea to do some calculations for the application subjects every every few days.
Once you know how much time each subject needs, grab a calendar and divide the hours over the weeks before your exams. Write in both the subject, the sections you aim to cover, and the amount of time you should spend on it that day.
Past papers
Peruse past assignments you’ve already done and dusted on the subject. See where you went wrong, what was suggested by your teacher, and what your strengths and weaknesses are.
Don’t keep making the same mistakes – learn, progress and move on.
Grab some past papers and practice on those. Do ‘pretend’ exams where you time yourself and then mark it yourself. Find out before the exam what you do know, and what you still need to work on.
Keep at it
When it comes to exam time, stick to the study calendar you set. Just remember that motivating ‘carrot’ that you’ve set yourself.
Get enough rest – when you sleep, your brain converts and processes what you’ve learnt that day from short-term memory to long-term memory.
Remember, everything in moderation…you must take care of you during exams! Eat healthy, exercise to get the blood pumping, relax, and do one thing a day that makes you happy. Reducing your stress will help you focus on the exams.
Be prepared
Make sure you’re fully-armed with all the stationery you need to write the exam – the last thing you want is to be tackling mathematics without a calculator! Also make sure you know the venue, date and time of your exam. Set alarms on your phone and get your parents to remind you as well. Put your exam schedule on your fridge if it helps.
On the actual day, arrive early and be ready. Avoid talking to hysterical people – rather watch them from far and keep away from their contagious nerves. Stay calm, get comfortable, and sit up straight.
When you receive your paper, spend time reading it, understanding it, making notes, and just try to understand exactly what they want from you before you put pen to paper.
Dive in
Be strategic – plan your time around the mark allocation and difficulty of questions. Don’t dwell too long on something that doesn’t count for many marks.
If you’re faced with a question where the answer evades you, move on. Answer what you can and come back to what’s missing at the end.
When it comes to multiple choice, eliminate the obviously incorrect answers and go from there. And always, always, check that you’ve answered every single page of the exam! Turn over to check that there’s nothing on the back page to avoid that post-exam ‘face palm’ moment when your friends are talking about page three’s essay question and you have no idea what they’re talking about…
For more handy study tips, check out Study Guides and Strategies.
