17 Exam & Test Taking Tips

By True Schools Staff

Pre-Exam Preparation

1. Make sure you have extra pencils, pens and other equipment with you.
2. Do not bring any luggage or notes along unless you can leave them somewhere before the exam.
3. Remember: being practical is always the best decision to make.
4. Know exactly where the exam will be taken. Go to the room beforehand to make sure.
5. Leave earlier than usual - just in case. If you are late for whatever reason, examiners usually will not let you take the exam, so make sure you plan ahead for any potential transportation delays.
6. Be optimistic. Revising and remembering things will be much easier if you are optimistic. On that note, steer clear of people who tend to make you nervous about exams, in general.
7. Drink some water.
8. Get an adequate amount of sleep the night before the exam.

Exam Tips

1. Always check the back of each paper. A lot of people don't do this and end up missing out on a lot of questions because of it.
2. Take note of when you have to move on, so you have enough time to look at all of the questions. Your chances of passing will be much higher if you get a lot of answers right instead of writing a couple of decent answers. Make sure you leave a few minutes for essay revisions after the exam, as well.
3. If you get a mind blank, brainstorm ideas and words on a piece of paper to stimulate your brain for a bit. Leave whatever it is for now and try doing the next exercise instead. The information might come back later on; but even if it doesn't, stay calm anyway and don't forget to breathe.
4. Include text references whenever you can. There is no need to list various references or to mention work titles all the time, though, since your teachers will probably know what you're talking about most of the time.
5. Number every question and leave spaces in-between, just in case you decide to add more points later.
6. Read each question slowly and highlight the most important points. Make sure you take every question in, too. A lot of students tend to misread questions during exams.
7. Structure all of your answers the way you would structure them for coursework. Make sure your essays have clear lines of reasoning, well-structured arguments, as well as a proper introduction and conclusion.
8. Avoid repeating the answers that you gave in your coursework. Besides, your answers won't count if they don't answer the actual question.
9. Check your answers again when you're done. You might come across certain parts that make more sense now or you might want to add some missing points or keywords. Add these into your text as neatly as possible.