Few things can send a shiver down a student’s spine like the thought of not finishing an exam paper on time. Most of the time, issues like these arise on the back of factors such as poor time management and lack of practice on the part of the student and can be resolved quite easily.
The guidelines discussed in this article have historically yielded positive results for examinees and can help you finish on time.
- Practice similar tests beforehand
- Get enough rest before the exam
- Make sure you have everything you need
- Do easy questions first
- Budget your time well
- Keep calm during the examination
Practice Similar Tests Beforehand
Solving papers beforehand and regular practice can help students get a better understanding of what to expect on the actual test and prepare accordingly. Tackling test-related questions can serve as trial attempts that candidates can use to employ different strategies and see which ones work best.
Students should also try and get as much information about the test as possible beforehand like the format and the exam time limit.
Get Enough Rest Before The Exam
It is imperative to get enough sleep and make sure you are well rested before appearing for an examination. This helps the brain perform at peak capacity and increases examinees’ chances of getting a higher score on the paper. The positive effects of good sleep include higher concentration and productivity, which can give students a massive advantage while carrying out time-constrained tasks, such as writing exam papers.
Make Sure You Have Everything You Need
While a relatively infrequent occurrence, some students lose out on precious time because their pen runs out of ink, or the calculator is depleted of charge, or if they run out of writing paper.
Students can reduce downtime by creating a checklist that includes everything they need for the examination and checking it before each exam to verify that they have the required items.
Do Easy Questions First
This is a tried and true approach that ensures that students get the highest possible marks on the paper. By attempting the easiest questions, or rather, the questions on topics that they are most familiar with, students can guarantee themselves full points for the material that they do know.
Candidates will be able to finish these questions relatively quickly as they will be familiar with the topics, leaving them with ample amounts of time to attempt the tougher, trickier problems. Employing this strategy ensures that students don’t miss out on points because they were too engrossed trying to solve the tougher questions, effectively missing the forest for the trees.
Budget Your Time Well
Effective time management during exams is of paramount importance and gives test takers the best shot at completing within the allotted exam time. Most students struggle with budgeting appropriate amounts of time when it comes to essay-style questions.
Allocating a certain amount of time and formulating a plan for each essay question at the start of the exam can help students be more efficient with the time available. It is also common practice to allocate some time to go through the entire paper and review your answers for potential errors and/or oversights.
Keep Calm During The Examination
This is the most important piece of advice in this entire blog. Stress and anxiety are probably the greatest impediments to productivity. If students find themselves feeling nervous during the exams, they should try to calm themselves down by focusing on their breathing, which will restore their heart rate to normal levels.
In summary, following these pointers can help improve efficiency and allow students to finish their exams within a reasonable amount of time. These were some time management tips you must keep in mind a few days before exams, but if you are wondering on how you can positively change your routine and master learning techniques, read this detailed article.
Keep learning and stay prepared!
Also published on Medium.