Ace Your Exams

Part-2

PREPARE YOUR TOOLS: Many of us tend to neglect some of the very basic tools when going into an exam room. Things we forget are pencils, eraser, pencil sharpener, watch and a bottle of pure mineral water. You may be thinking why the h…l I am mentioning these basic things. Let me explain you why. Pencils: they are better than pens
because it is faster to write with them and if you make any mistake you can easily erase it still keeping your paper neat and clean. Pencil sharpener: it is very good because once your pencils get dull you can quickly sharpen them. Just make sure you do it regularly to make your writing look clearer and easier to understand. Watch: it is your close friend that will help you know how fast or slow you are dealing with your exam questions. If you have a watch it will be easier for you to track your time and your mind will be at peace. You will exactly now how much time you have until time limit gets over. Bottle of water: regular small sips from a bottle of water will keep you cool and calms down your thirst. Water is also good for your brain to work better and faster. Don’t get dried up and look forward to going out and drinking. This will ruin everything.

LISTEN: Once you are on your desk, listen to instructions by the examiner very attentively. Make 100 % sure that you understand all the instructions he/she gives. Listen to what is being explained to you and expected of you. In case you could not understand or could not really catch anything, avoid making blind ‘’I-think-it-is-like-that” assumptions. Take courage to stand up and ask. It is better to look like a fool and idiot for 5 minutes than misunderstanding instructions and falling through your exam. Neglect the people around you. Will you ever see them tomorrow? The God knows!

TACKLING THE QUESTIONS: Once you start dealing with the questions on paper, first tackle those you feel more comfortable and/or knowledgeable about. If, however, you notice that some of the questions are too easy, these are the questions you must be extremely careful and accurate with. Remember that in our 21st century nothing is too easy to achieve and nothing is given away to anyone so freely. Open your eyes! There must be some kind of trick involved.

COME BACK: There are also questions that will surely challenge you driving any one in the exam room mad and crazy. These questions sometimes may drive you so crazy that they make you change your mind and make you believe you are a complete stupid and idiot. Not at all! Even so-called genius students may find these sorts of questions and feel themselves like a last idiot. But here the point is not to find out who is cleverer - you or people who worked behind this question? The point is how prepared and tactful you are. If one particular question is challenging you so much, just take it easy. Don’t spend all your life on that during the exam. Just leave it. Move to the next questions and then come back. There is something called ‘a human factor’. May be you will remember something that will tell you the answer. If not, again, take it easy and write whatever you think is logically correct and best. Remember that you will not be punished for guessing and who in the world will find out that your answer was based on your guess.

TAKE YOUR TIME: Always prepare yourself to finish all your exam tasks 5-10 minutes before the time limit. This will allow you to look through your answers you wrote or essay you composed then find and correct your own mistakes before they will be found by the examiner later on. Also you may want to enrich some parts or bits of your essay slightly or change the words.

What if you finish early without any difficulties and ready to leave the room earlier than the others? Wait! Don’t rush! I know you must have been deadly stressed already or bored and want to go out to boast your friends how easily you managed the exam questions. Hold your horses, remember you spent so many candle-lit nights getting prepared for this day; you kissed goodbye to your social life and fully focused on your exam preparation. Respect yourself and don’t jump out of the room. Look through all your answers one more time and make sure you have answered all the questions. Please do it for the God’s sake!

Thank you!

Good Luck!

By Akmal Akbarov