Revise!!!
Now this may seem like a cliché piece of advice but it is super important! I'm not going to sugar coat it and say revision is great cause it's really not and it seems like a waste of time when you do it but the results of it will be so worth it. The best way to revise is to revise in small chunks, so rather than doing 3 solid hours of a subject do the 3 hours but split it into 30 minute periods. Another good revision tip is to reward yourself with something. So lets say you're revising science- when you have learnt a certain equation and tested yourself on it and get it correct, reward yourself with something you enjoy. For example, a chocolate bar, exercise, reading a blog ;) or whatever you like. I used this technique when learning dates for history and it really helped to motivate me. Keep reminding yourself that this is just for a short while and will be so worth it in the end! Another tip is revision strategies, now this will be different for everyone. Some people like doing mind maps, others prefer flash cards and some people like watching videos. Personally the techniques that worked best for me were making big posters with all the information on, flashcards (for dates and definitions) and BBC bitesize. If you haven't used Bitesize before I would definitely recommend it- http://www.bbc.co.uk/education (it is a UK bases site).
Be positive!!!
Staying positive is one of the keys to success in my eyes. What is more likely to get you through it- moaning and being stressed and panicking or trying to stay calm and do your best? I understand that staying positive is hard but it helps not just you but those around you too! I don't fell there is any specific way to do this because everyone is different. But for me I just kept thinking about the end result, that all the work would pay off, things I had to look forward to like prom, summer, going on holiday. I also would say to myself before I went into the exam hall "stay calm you can do it". Another way to stay positive is to smile, this also helps put you in a better mood for your exam. If you walk into the exam hall smiling it makes yo feel positive and really freaks out the other candidates which is always funny. In my opinion the main thing to stay positive is to realise that even if you don't do as well as you hoped that it isn't the end of the road and there is always a light at the end of the tunnel.
Don't converse and worry after!!!
For some people conversing with friend after the exam helps them to be positive but in my experience this is on of the worst things to do. After and exam when everyone is out and talking about answers etc,I would try and leave that area as soon as possible because I feel the worst thing you can do is talk about what you put. This is no help and creates doubt and worry- what you put is what you put and no amount of worrying and talking about it after can change your answer. You should feel confident in your answers and not care about what others put. After an exam is done, it;s done. No amount of worrying is going to change what you put or give you extra marks- so have confidence in your answer!
Exam Technique-
One thing that defiantly helped me to relax more with exams was developing a better exam technique. This allowed me to know, after the exam, that I had done everything I could which reduced my worry.
The first thing I would say, and I know it sounds silly, but read the question...twice! I had to learn this the hard way. In November 2013 I sat my an early entry for English language...I answered all the questions and finished with about 2 minutes to check my answers over. When I re-read one of the questions it asked me to only look at a certain few lines of the text not all of it...so I had done the whole question wrong and had about 1 minute to write a whole new answer! I ended up getting a C in this exam overall which wasn't too bad but I really wanted a B (which I did get in the suer of 2014). After this experience I read all the questions twice before answering and re read my answers at the end.
The next exam tip I would give is keep an eye on the time. This may not work for everyone but it certainly helped me- just every now and then keep checking the time. As most papers have the questions with the most marks at the end, you defiantly want to leave enough time for them. However, this does not mean rush through the paper, just pace yourself and go at your own pace.
The next tip I would give is if you get to a question you are stuck on, leave it and come back to it- I often found that I would know what to write later on-so don;t stress out if you get stuck!
The final tip I would give is read the front of the exam paper (if you have time) at the end of the exam. This is just to ensure you have answered the correct questions, and done everything correctly.
So, there's my tips on how to deal with exam stress- I hope they have managed to help you in some way! Please remember- I am not telling you to do these things and they may not work for everyone, but they are what helped me with exams.
For any of you taking exams soon/ this year- GOOD LUCK AND STAY CALM!
Hannah x
No comments:
Post a Comment