Exam time is a stressful time for many students. How does it make you feel?
If you tend to be anxious and nervous about exams, chances are you are making some of these mistakes. Check out 8 exam pitfalls to avoid here!
1. Being Unprepared
Preparing for a maths exam involves more than just regular study sessions before the exam. It also means completely ready on exam day.
The night before, take a few minutes to gather the materials you’ll need. This will ensure you have everything you need and you won’t get behind looking for that calculator you misplaced.
2. Late Night Study Session
It might seem like staying up late, or even all night, before an exam is a great way to cram your brain full of information. After all, everything will be fresh, right?
Everything except your brain, that is.
You will do far better on your exam with a good night’s sleep the night before. Take a few minutes in the evening to review your notes and then go to bed.
3. Procrastination
Everyone stops in at the procrastination station every now and again. Just don’t let it be a regular habit or you’ll end up sorely unprepared for your exam.
When the exam seems a long way off, it’s easy to find other things to do rather than study. Unfortunately, the exam day will come faster than you expect and there won’t be time to catch up.
4. Panic
With deadlines looming, it can be easy to enter panic mode. Maybe you feel unprepared even if you’ve done your homework as you should.
Panic can make you freeze and perform poorly. Feeling a little nervous is okay and normal, just don’t let this feeling overwhelm you.
5. Skipping Breakfast
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, especially on exam day. Your brain needs fuel to perform its best.
Pro tip: skip the doughnuts and sugary cereals and go for something with lots of protein, like oatmeal or even a handful of nuts.
6. Ignoring Confusing Questions
Don’t ignore confusing questions while you’re studying. Rest assured they will appear on the exam and you will be unprepared to answer them. Seek help from your teacher or a study group so you’re ready to tackle anything that the exam can throw at you!
7. Ignoring the Time
If you do run into a confusing question on the exam, don’t get hung up on it. If you spend too long trying to figure out one question, you may not have enough time to look at the other questions. Blank questions will pull down your score.
8. Not Attempting Every Question
That being said, do your best not to leave any blank questions. If one is confusing you, skip it and finish the others. Once you’re done, come back and use any remaining time to work on the one that is tripping you up.
Put something down even if you think you don’t know the right answer. You may at least get partial credit and you might even get it right.
Now, get out there and crush your next exam!
