Taking an examination

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Never stay up all night to study. Examinations demand a clear head rather than a thousand jumbled statements of fact.

Plan your studies so that it is not jammed in with other events. The strategy map plus a separate copy of the daily schedule are advised.

Rise early on the day of the exam. Eat a proper breakfast, because it will prevent hunger pains and a subconscious desire to leave the exam early. Breakfast will also assure your having adequate energy.

Review in a quiet leisurely manner. Spend time on the parts with which you had the most trouble. Repeat the exercise suggested for the paper. Trying to learn something new just before the exam is a bad gamble.

Proceed to the appointed place with time to spare. A last minute rush is upsetting.

While attempting objective questions:

Find out exactly how much time you have in minutes, calculate the time you should spend on each question. Take all the time you are entitled to.

Put off answering the difficult ones, but mark them in the margin. It is far better to go slowly and get the right answers, than to answer all the questions.

Where a paragraph is first given to be read, read it thoroughly. Don't try to jump down to the questions and back to the paragraph; this would mean reading the same paragraph too many times.

If there are five choices, read each one. Cross out every definitely wrong choice. This narrows the field.

The popular notion that one's first guess is the best is not true.

While attempting essay type questions:

Glance rapidly over all the questions. Adjust the timing so that you allow more time for longer answers. Borrow time from the easy ones.

There's no reason (unless required) to answer in the order asked. This is important for it is a good rule to answer the easy ones first.If you puzzle too long over the difficult ones, you penalise yourself because you do not do justice to the easy ones.

Each essay answer will usually be graded for the maximum inclusion of major points first. Minor points get less credit. Extremely minor details get almost nothing by comparison. Jot down the major ideas as they occur to you, and build the answer around them.

Too often the students feel compelled to write at once, without thinking about the structure of the answer. Sit for a minute and organise the answer.

Some examiners will give you credit for mentioning a major heading, even if you do not write much about it.

No examiner is ``fooled'' by a student who shifts the topic a little to coincide with one known much better. Bluffing wastes time.

Check off each question as answered, to avoid omitting one.

Last but not least, your answers should be organised, concise, to the point and with only those details needed to fill out a full picture -- not the whole book.

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