before,during and after exams.

Before the exam: Time study well: plan backwards from the date of the exam, allowing yourself plenty of time to study so you’re prepared on the day. Practise exam questions: use past papers to practise answering real exam questions. Time yourself: when you practise answering make sure you time yourself and stay within the confines of the exam. Use marking schemes: access the marking schemes of the past exams papers online and correct your answers. You’ll learn lots this way. Rework the mock: redo some of the answers from the mock paper that you could improve upon. Answer blind: try answering without any textbooks or notes to see what you really know. Follow examples: check out sample answers in revision books to see what the examiner looks for. Revise lots: keep revising your notes.

During the exam: Arrive early: you don’t need to be rushing and stressed. Read everything: read through the entire paper once. Reread and choose: reread the questions and choose which ones you’ll answer. Begin well: start with your best questions first and work your way down to the ones you might be less confident about. Read the question carefully: you can’t be too careful about reading the question and make sure you understand what they are looking for. Stick to the question asked: drifting away from the question is the single greatest way to lose marks. So stick to exactly what you are asked. Plan answers: be clear about what you want to say by planning answers. Watch the time: know how much time you have to answer and stick to it. If you’re not finished, move on and come back to it later. Don’t waste time: no need to do things like write out the questions. That’s time wasting. Do what you’re there to do: answer. Answer all questions: attempt all required questions, even the ones you don’t think you know. You might get a few marks for something you write but you can get no marks for a blank page. Don’t give up: stick with it even if you feel you’re not answering well. You may be doing better than you think. Read over paper: read carefully over all your answers. Proof them for errors and add any extra information you now remember. Check against instructions: do one last check that you have all required questions answered.

After the exam: Avoid the post-mortem: going over the paper is a fruitless exercise. Leave it alone. Focus on the positive: think about what you did well. Move on: you can’t change anything now so leave it behind and move on. Concentrate on the next exam.

before the exams

during exams

after exams..