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Throughout my experience at University, I have become the most paranoid exam writer. I have such an elaborate routine that I must follow before and during every exam. But the good news is that even though I am borderline crazy, I have gotten so much better at writing exams and my marks are there to prove it! So here are some of my beloved tips that I hope will help you as much as they have helped me!
1) Sit in the very front row at a corner desk – When walking into an exam, I always book it to the front. i love the corner desk in the front because there are no distractions ahead of you or to one side of you. I get distracted so easily so I love having just a wall to stare at!
2) Wear earplugs – This also helps immensely with distractions. I put my earplugs in and suddenly I am in my own little world and I am able to hear myself think and concentrate fully at the test in front of me.
3) Have water, tissues, lip balm, and gum nearby – I always like to be fully prepared so I like to have my essentials with me incase something goes wrong during the test. Water helps me relax, tissues are there in case I have to blow my nose, lip balm is for my chapped lips which can always distract me, and gum is there to chew on during the exam which is supposed to help memory retention!
4) Arrive 30 minutes early, but don’t study – I like to eliminate all possible causes of stress before an exam. And if one thing stresses me out, it’s being late. So, to overcome that, I always make sure I have ample time before an exam but I make sure not to cram. I might read over my notes once but I take that time mostly to relax and chill out.
5) If you get stuck on a question, simply put it away and go to the next one – If I don’t know a question, I tend to panic so I try to stay as calm as I can until I have finished all of the questions I definitely know. Then, I go back and tackle the harder ones when I’m more relaxed and know I am almost finished the test.
6) Bring multiples of pencils, pens, calculators, highlighters, erasers – It’s the worst thing in the world running out of ink during a test. Actually, I wouldn’t know because I never have. That’s because I always bring multiples of everything so I feel very prepared.
7) Wear lots of layers, scarves and cardigans are the best – I am very sensitive to temperatures during my exams so I always make sure to wear layers that I can either put on or take off if I get too hot or cold. I need to be at my perfect temperature in order to concentrate.
8) Dress as cute as you can – I never understood the people who wears sweatpants and hoodies to exams. My motto is look good, feel good. I always dress cute so even if I fail an exam, I’m still looking hella bomb. My priorities are straight as you can see.
9) Un-staple exam pages (if you’re allowed) – This tip is especially helpful for more mathematical or written exams. I always feel more calm if I can un-staple the pages and work on just one page at a time instead of flipping through the pages. I don’t know why this tip helps me so much, but it does.
10) Take your time and wear a watch – Always know how much time you have to complete the exam and write your test accordingly. Don’t go too fast, don’t go too slow. Always be sure to leave yourself lots of time at the end to focus on any questions that you don’t know. And always wear a watch incase you can’t see the clock. That way, you don’t have to keep constantly looking up either.
So there are all of my tips! I hope these help you and let me know if you have any tips to add! I know that a lot of these tips might seem silly and I definitely agree, but they have changed my exam-writing skills so much, so I am very thankful for them!
For more school help, check out my University Advice post from first year, as well as my Second Year Tips and Third Year Tips, and my What I Wish I Told My Freshman Self post. For those still in high school, take a look at my High School edition post and my Differences between High School and University. For even more advice, you can wander over to my Study Tips post, myHow to Study like a Pro post and my How to Save Money at Uni post.