Tips and Tricks for test prep that work like magic

Do you get stressed every time an exam comes up, even if you have taken hundreds of exams before? You are not alone fighting this battle. Don’t panic- I have got your back.

Exams are an integral part of our academic curriculum, and to prove our understanding of knowledge, we all sit for exams. I have gathered all the strategies you need to follow to ace your upcoming exams, and once you implement them, you can confidently wave goodbye to your exam anxiety.

Losing track of time is quite common when we start using smartphones. A single Facebook notification can distract our minds and mess up our attention span.

While watching reels, your time may slip away without you even noticing. So, when preparing for an exam, you can hand your phone over to your parents or keep it in a secure place. The best decision is to keep them out of sight to avoid distractions.

Losing track of time is quite common when we start using smartphones. A single Facebook notification can distract our minds and mess up our attention span.

While watching reels, your time may slip away without you even noticing. So, when preparing for an exam, you can hand your phone over to your parents or keep it in a secure place. The best decision is to keep them out of sight to avoid distractions.

Have you ever felt frantic trying to find your class notes the day before an exam? The scenario is quite familiar if you are not an organized person. To avoid this kind of stress, you can keep separate notes for each subject. Otherwise, things can get chaotic, and you may end up wasting your valuable revision time as you sort through the clutter.

When delivering class lectures, teachers often emphasize important topics that later appear in the exam. You can take cues and highlight those parts so that you can revise them right before the exam. Engrave it in your brain that studying smart is far more important than studying hard.

Everyone has their unique learning methods. Use your preferred technique to retain information. Try out different study techniques, including mind mapping, spaced repetition, flashcards, or any other approaches, and choose one that seems more effective to you and embed it into your study routine.

Being familiar with question patterns beforehand may help you tailor your preparation accordingly, as question formats vary from exam to exam.

For instance, if you are planning on taking an IELTS exam, you have to prepare differently. Every nanosecond counts in the exam hall. Why bother wasting time trying to figure out the format when the question paper is in front of you? Take your time to explore question patterns, which will not only reduce your exam anxiety but also boost your confidence.

Sometimes we have this tendency to learn new topics before an exam, which can overwhelm our brains and lead to poor exam performance.  While keeping a fresh mind is the key, you should avoid jamming your brain before the exam day.

If you have planned a day-long or short trip with your friends, cancel it right away and reschedule it for some other time. You should take proper rest to minimize your brain function, and this is not possible if you tire yourself by twinning around with your close ones or friends.

And let’s be real, if anything goes wrong during the trip, it may disrupt your mental peace and reflect on your exam performance.

Our brain is capable of performing magic by retaining a huge amount of information like a supercomputer. But hey, why exhaust it without taking breaks?  It may slow down your brain function.

You can be smart and take short breaks – grab a cup of coffee and enjoy the view from your balcony while sipping on it, or do whatever rejuvenating thing you can.

However, avoid using devices such as mobile phones because they can turn your 5-minute break into a 1-hour scrolling session.

If you have enough time on your hands, you can sit for mock tests. It will give you a heads up regarding the question pattern, help you identify your weak areas, and train you to answer all the questions in the allotted time.

If your teacher is arranging review sessions before the exam, make sure to join them. Identify topics that you are struggling with, write them down or highlight those parts, and discuss them with your teacher for clarification.

Whilst revising, you might find it difficult to find external help because your mentors may be out of reach, or your peers could be busy preparing for their tests. In such moments, you can turn to reliable online sources and clear your confusion.

To prevent unnecessary stress on the day of exams, keep your essentials ready in advance. Some exams may require carrying an admit card or other identity documents, so be sure to follow the instructions thoroughly.

Make a list of the things you are allowed to bring into the exam halls and keep them ready on your bedside table if necessary. Just imagine forgetting a calculator in an important math exam.

All those sleepless nights solving math problems will go down the drain. It’s better to be prepared than to regret later. Don’t you think?

And for your benefit, feel free to carry an exam venue map.

There is a quote, “If you believe in God and you are wrong, you have nothing to lose.” Relax, I am not a priest!

If you are a person of faith, you can turn to your creator to soothe your nerves. It works every time. You might be astonished by how much of a difference it can make.

If you are a non-believer or agnostic, no worries – just meditate, and you will gain a sense of control and calm that you need right before the exam.

If you are craving a burger just before the exam day, hold that thought. Being heavy in fats, fast food can make you feel drowsy and nauseated. Why risk dozing off in the exam hall? There is a gut-brain connection, and to optimize your brain functionality, you need to look carefully at your dietary habits. You don’t have to eat more, JUST EAT WISE.

Your exam performance mostly depends on how well you can rest your brain. Sleeping is the best way to do that. Our brain processes information and forms memories when we are asleep. So, I hope you can understand the significance of sleeping. Plus, you don’t want to walk into the exam hall looking like a zombie.

You may have heard about over-the-counter medications that enhance study performance. Think twice before taking those medications. Shortcuts rarely bring good outcomes. Studies have shown that it has long-lasting harmful effects on our brains. Instead, you can intake proper foods that will supply you with all the crucial nutrients to boost your cognitive functions.

Instead of trying to revise the whole syllabus in one day, break your tasks into small parts and set realistic and achievable goals.

Each time you hit that milestone, reward yourself. It will motivate you to keep going. For example, you could eat a slice of pizza or re-watch an episode or two of your favourite sitcom. Just don’t end up binge-watching it! Trust me, you deserve it. This will work as a positive reinforcement and drive you to finish your syllabus before you even realize it.

It is humanly impossible to stay focused 24/7 while preparing for the exam. You will lose focus at one point. Keep yourself motivated. If you are preparing yourself for a university entrance test, remind yourself of all the like-minded people you are going to meet. Keep your vision clear!

Set your alarm clock very early in the morning. You don’t want to be late on the day of your exam and miss your exam, right?

Waking up early has some extra benefits. Some of the advantages are:

–          Getting a few extra hours to refresh your mind

–          Preparing yourself mentally

–          Reaching the venue on time

–          Having enough time on hand to gather missing materials or documents

Hopefully, you don’t want to be late on the day of the exam. Arriving early has extra benefits, including getting a decent amount of time to be familiar with the surroundings. Give your brain a decent amount of time to settle in. Arriving in a rush can lead to silly mistakes and wreck your concentration.

Most importantly, invigilators provide important instructions before the exam begins. Being late could mean missing out on them.

If your sitting area is not comfortable, it can lead to physical distractions and disrupt your attention during the test. Picture yourself in a chair that constantly makes sounds – how would that affect you? It could become quite annoying and even painful.

It is natural to tune everything out and entirely focus on the exam. But sometimes, invigilators provide important verbal instructions on what is expected of you. They may also point out errors in the question papers and provide corrections before the exam starts. So make sure to stay vigilant.

Instructions can also be in written form. So, don’t skip over the front page of the question paper- read every word carefully.

Having confusion during the exam is quite normal. Invigilators are there to assist you. Simply raise your hand or stand up. The invigilators will come to you and provide you with the necessary assistance. Keep your queries precise so that other students don’t get bothered.

Have you ever felt like you are forgetting everything you have studied so far? Don’t worry- you are not the first person to have this meltdown.

Just take a deep breath and trust your brain. Walk into the exam hall with confidence, and let your brain perform its magic. You are probably just underestimating how amazing your brain is. Our brain is capable of doing incredible things if trained properly.

Once you have gone through all the instructions, skim through the exam questions. If you are allowed to mark on your question paper, highlight all the questions you know by heart and start answering those first. It will give you a confidence boost and set you up to handle the more difficult questions later on.

After answering easy questions, you will have enough time to go through the harder ones. Once you gain the momentum by answering easy questions, it will be a lot easier to approach the tougher ones with a clear mind. If you risk overwhelming your brain by attempting to answer harder ones first, it will reduce the effectiveness of your brain and even make you forget the simpler questions.

Your exam success partially depends on your ability to stay focused throughout the exam. It is certainly difficult, but possible. At some point, you might get distracted and find yourself staring at the exam hall wall. Remind yourself that you are there serving a purpose. Stay focused!

Another thing to keep in mind is to be concise when answering questions. Be mindful of the time limits. Beating around the bush will take you nowhere, it could leave you with insufficient time to complete the other questions.

Flip through the pages and review both sides of the question paper to confirm you’ve covered everything. If you leave any questions unanswered by mistake, this gives you a chance to figure those out.

You can do everything right, but still get your marks deducted for careless errors. Skipping questions or making spelling mistakes is quite normal, as you are in a rush. It is NATURAL.

The best tip is to go over your scripts and revise everything you have written so far. I will save you from a great deal of regret.

If there is no penalty for incorrect answers in the questions, don’t leave them blank. Because who knows? You might get lucky and earn some partial credit.

For multiple-choice questions, you can use the process of elimination and figure out the correct answer in a logical approach. In some cases, if you make an effort to answer the question, the examiner might appreciate it and award you some points.

Leave your generous side at the exam door. No matter how much your friend is pinching you to help him in the exam hall, try to avoid it as it could get both of you into trouble. Additionally, it may distract you, which can harm your performance.

Comparing answers with your peers and friends will only lead to disappointment. Think logically, why stress over something that is already over? There is no undo button.

If you tend to overthink, try diverting your mind by doing something fun. Overthinking will do nothing but snatch your goodnight sleep. Remember, no one has ever achieved anything by dwelling on their thoughts.

Are you excited that your exam is over? GREAT!

Remember that the exam is over. There is nothing you can do about it – unless you invent a time machine and go back in time to change your answer. But let’s be real, what are the odds of that?

Once you are done resting, go through the question papers at home. If you sat for a mid-term, some of these questions may reappear in your final exam. So if you think you are facing trouble in certain areas, ask for assistance from your subject teacher or watch the related tutorials on YouTube.

However, you can identify your weak spots and invest more time in tackling those. For example, if you had to leave questions unanswered because the invigilators said Pencils Down! It certainly indicates that you have to improve your exam strategy and work particularly on your time management tactics.

Then give yourself a treat for completing the exam. You have burned the midnight oil to prepare for this exam, and you deserve it.

• Analyzing Mistakes for Future Improvement
• Celebrating Successes and Building Confidence
• Adapting Strategies for Future Tests

Eat the frog

I am not telling you to catch actual frogs and eat them. This is a study technique you can incorporate into your study routine to realize the magic. It is a technique that suggests starting with the least enjoyable tasks and then tackling comparatively easier ones to distribute your energy and time effectively.

We all have one or two subjects we dislike the most; the thought of those subjects makes us doze off, and we often tend to procrastinate studying them at any cost. But what you can do is study those topics or subjects in the morning when your brain’s productivity level is at its peak. After that, you can move on to your favourite subject and make it manageable.

Eat a frog first thing in the morning, and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day – Mark Twain.