Article: How To Prepare For An Exam

Exams. They strike fear into the heart of even the most educated person. Testing, whether it be in the form of writing essays, short answer questions or multiple choice questions, is a necessary evil in the learning process. Every degree requires written examinations. Some exams require a good memory, others allow you to bring all kinds of texts, notes, etc. into the exam leaving very little to remember. Either way, your success at writing exams depends on how well you are prepared for the subject and how well you understand the subject matter. The whole process can be broken down into four areas:

1. Test Preparation: this not only includes studying the subject matter, but your physical and mental preparation. The best preparation is an early one leaving you lots of time before the exam. Having the entire exam material on a "cheat sheet" is a good idea for referring to in those quiet moments when relaxing or just before the exam to test your memory. Staying up late the night before is never a good idea, although we have all done it at some time or another. Try to get several good solid nights of sleep so that you are mentally as well as physically, fresh. Eat properly and continue your exercises to ensure that your body feels good on the day of the exam.
   
   
2. Know the Text: getting as much information about the nature of the exam is crucial. Make sure you know if the test is predominantly essay oriented or concentrates more on multiple choice questions. If you are made aware of the format of the test, practice working on writing quick short essays or learn how to deal with multiple choice questions. Once you get in the exam, make yourself quickly aware of the format, i.e., whether there any essays, how many multiple choice or short answer questions there are. Once you know the test you are ready to start.
   
   
3. The Day of the Exam: we all have our own unique approaches to writing an exam. Whether we approach it confidently or with a degree of calm and control, the biggest threat to success is the pressure we place on ourselves. Whether you are well prepared or not, the pressure that you place on yourself, i.e., expectations, can hamper your performance if it gets out of control. Those of us who come in well prepared and confident will mostly likely not feel the pressure that we are not well prepared or confident about our chances of success. One thing that adds a lot of unnecessary pressure is the idea that failure is not an option. Realistically, there is always a certain percentage of the class that will not do well on the test. If you think, however, that this is just one possible step that you are taking in what might or might not be the overall destination in life, failure might not be as catastrophic as you think. Placing all your eggs in one basket is never a good decision and yet we all are tempted to place that kind of pressure on ourselves in an exam situation. This can cause panic, or freezing in an exam - a reaction that is self-defeating and will probably cause you to fail when you could have done just fine had you not placed that kind of pressure on yourself in the first place. It is a much better strategy to come well prepared, to do the best you can and leave it at that. This will not only guarantee that you do your best in the exam, but that you don't defeat yourself.
   
   
4. Taking the Exam: Aside from this general relaxed approach to an exam, there are some simple rules that everyone should follow once they sit down and start reading the exam. First of all, read all the instructions from beginning to end. There is nothing worse than an exam that has been completed incorrectly. Once you understand the directions, review the entire exam and make notes on things such as the number of multiple choice questions and the number of essays. Once you have a rough idea of how much time should be allotted to each part of the exam, start with the easiest questions first. Make sure that you read each question twice before answering it. If you are penalized for incorrect answers, try to avoid guessing unless your guess is based on something substantial that you could defend later on. Although there is going to be a time restraint to deal with, try to write legibly so that there is no doubt as to what you are trying to say. Finally, if there is any chance at all, try to leave enough time at the end for a quick review of the test just to make sure that you haven't made any serious blunders. When you're done, try to leave confident that you gave it your best shot and that the rest is up to someone else.