Exam Tips

[-kadz-]

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Try chilling out. We all have stressful moments. If you get stressed out, go out for walks etc etc.

[maxleng]

Originally Posted by Odette1990

Same here, im just so tired lately ...

ive actually fallen asleep on my chair a few times with pen in hand lol

hmm i dont know how good it is but lately ive been taking no-doz (caffine tablets for people who dont know) to help me stay awake and study.

it may be half plecebo but ive taken them before a couple of sacs and they helped me stay alert the whole way through it (did it for a physics sac and got 96% lol)

im seriously contemplating taking them before exams, english in particular. When we had our trial exam by the third hour i was lacking energy and especialy the last half hour felt so draining.

they just contain caffine so it would be like having a really strong cup of cofee, pros? cons?

[Redwan]

Originally Posted by maxleng

cons?

Increased heart rate whilst during an exam, causes more nerves?

[Talitha31]

Originally Posted by Cara.Mel

I don't know if any of this will help, but:
Ages ago I tried to find on the internet how to sleep better but none of them worked. Things like if you're not asleep after 20mins get up and do something then try again later etc. Then not long ago I realised that I take an hour minimum to get to sleep because bed has become the only place I stop and think about things (mainly little stuff like what I did today, the study I *should* be doing etc). And that if I set aside time during the day to do that and didn't think of anything at all when trying to get to sleep it took about 15 mins.
Most of the time I don't have the self control to actually do that though xD I probably will when exams get closer and sleep becomes more important.

So maybe if you try to look at what exactly is making you not able to sleep (I know it sounds incredibly basic and stupid, sorry) it will help it a little bit at least


When I try making myself exhausted to sleep, it makes the next day crap so I gave up on that

Baths were/are a key part of my wind-down routine. Eco-unfriendly maybe, but without, I'd have probably been unable to get to sleep for ages, cue downward spiral ad infinitum

[coblin]

I have to say that if you think an exam is too important, you will also perform badly. Don't place negative pressure on yourself by reminding yourself that you must prove yourself in this exam, that it's your only shot, etc.

You have to think positive. Also, if you are getting to the stage of overvaluing the importance of the exam, you must correct that. Reconsider your valuation of the exam, and take it by the throat and finish it normally.

[khangfu]

Thanks everyone for replying. Haha Colbin once again pinpointed my problem. O well lets just hope everything works out on the exam day. Don't want to take a nap like what i did for my chem midyears ( the exam after Physics, i slaved for days without sleep T.T )

[tehsky]

BREATHE GOD DAMMIT!!! BREAAAAAATHEEEEEE!!!!!!

as for me, ill be pissing my pants come Oct. 19 =[

[coblin]

In a way, practicing to the extent that you can enter an exam on auto-pilot is a great strategy. However, you must be wary, and ready to respond to a question that seems foreign!

If you have done 80 past papers for a particular subject, and you see a question you have never ever seen before, the first feeling might be panic, and then followed by anger and other irrelevant, irrational and distracting emotions.

However, you must be rational. Never let nerves, or fear, cloud your mind. Auto-pilot as much as you can, and for the difficult questions, sit down, and analyse the problem. Break it down, realise what it's asking, ask yourself what the examiner is trying to examine.

The above paragraph is commonsense, and is often executed automatically, but it is easy to be thrown off this ability to solve problems if:
(i) you have no confidence in yourself
(ii) you only expect to run into questions that you have seen before

I can safely say that for Chemistry, Physics, Methods and Specialist, that there is only a small requirement for rote-learning. If you are solving problems by remembering certain (special handcooked) formulas that are not on the provided formula sheet, you are probably remembering too much (except Physics, where you can bring a formula sheet in).

[brows]

Coblin that was excellent advice about being rational.

[AppleXY]

Originally Posted by coblin

I have to say that if you think an exam is too important, you will also perform badly. Don't place negative pressure on yourself by reminding yourself that you must prove yourself in this exam, that it's your only shot, etc.

Just cannot agree with you more on that point. Exactly what happened in acc which led to a f***in A

[krepa014]

Originally Posted by coblin

If there is one key pattern in my study, it would definitely NOT be rote-learning. I got through my exams largely on improvisation and application of ideas from extremely central ideas/themes/concepts.

um was just wondering how this is done. How do u study to be able to apply concepts and ideas? Im guessing its not as simple as just memorising notes. Did p.e 3/4 last year and my main form of study was just memorising the notes i had made throughout the year. This was very helpful with all the SACS as i was able to recall alot of information, however, wasnt as helpful in the exam where i faced question that i really hadnt seen before. But yeh, how do i go about learning concepts/ideas/themes and being able to apply them to questions i havent seen before

[gab101]

Probably my biggest exam tip would be to use practice exams to find your weaknesses and repeated errors that you tend to make. Doing allot of practice exams doesn't do this, use the answers to thoroughly asses ways to improve answers etc.

I did about 80 practice exams for methods and got 40 raw, whereas i only did 10 for health and human development and got 49. yeah health is allot easier, but the fact that i used my ten practice exams to a greater effectiveness i think helped.

[willitblend007]

well said

[cute.asa.button]

I would also say that doing practice exams isn't enough if you don't do any to time.
The key thing with practice exams i think is to practice doing them to time (ie. give yourself the 15 minutes reading time and then 2 hours writing (or whatever it is) and make sure you are in a place where no one will disturb you for that whole time. This really allows you to practice how you will approach the exam, and if you are a particularly nervous person or anything, you can also practice how you will use your reading time to perhaps do some quiet breathing exercises etc or something (trust me, it can work and our lifework counsellor at school suggested this - closing your eyes, focusing on breathing and clearing your mind - as a really good way to spend a few minutes of reading time if you normally get really nervous or stressed in exams), and help you to learn how to time your responses/break up of time in the exam so you can finish it. So often people get into an exam and the atmosphere is soo different because when they were revising they went to get something to eat or got up for a stretch halfway through a practice exam, that they can't concentrate properly for the entire exam and perform badly simply because the conditions are unfamiliar.

Also, doing this at the time of the exam is really necessary! Ie. If your exam is 3.15-5.30 or whatever, practice doing exams at that time. This will get your body into a routine so that it will re-align it's peak concentration times to the times when you are telling it it needs to concentrate. For example, 3.30pm is generally, in some people, a tired time because for 13 years it has been 'end of school' (read 'end of need to concentrate') time. So practicing exams at this time if you have one will be really important.

Also practice routines you will need for exam days - ie. if you have an exam at 9am, practice getting up at the time you will need to and eating breakfast when you will need to for a few days before the exam, otherwise you may upset your routine on that day and be tired or hungry during the exam - both very distracting.

All i can think of for now except USE YOUR SEPTEMBER HOLIDAYS WISELY!!! Study, though make sure you take a week or half a week of break, though i found it good to break this up so you have a few days of study, then one off and so on.
AND DON'T FLUNK THE PRACTICE EXAMS: if your school runs practice exams, use them as revision, don't just not try, but really try to do as well as you can and see how it goes - you can learn from that!

[Celestial Kitty]

Originally Posted by Capricious

^^ I agree I literally have to work myself to the ground to be able to sleep, but then I'm exhausted the next day and my study is inferior. It's a vicious cycle gah.

T.T if its bad enough for you "normal people" try having chronic fatigue.....