Exam blues take a chill pill, have you ever experienced that sometimes even when we are so well prepared for an exam we end up getting disappointing scores.
So today I will tell you about the six biggest and costliest mistakes the students tend to make in exams these are the most common mistakes during exams. So by the end of this article, you will save yourself plenty of marks.
Here we’re talking about the 6 Mistakes To Avoid In Exams-
#1. Where to Begin?
The big question is should I start with the biggest and most difficult problem first or just go in serial order or should I tackle the easy peasy questions first.
Now research has shown that the best way for you to solve your paper is to first give all the questions a quick read and if there are some really easy quick wins that you spot then go for them next move on to the difficult questions.
But the problem is when we encounter these long and difficult problems our entire time management goes for a toss.
So try this to solve a few challenging questions and when you reach a point where you can’t make out the head or tail of the question switch to the easier questions and you’ll glide through them.
And when you come back to the difficult problem your brain would have already figured it out.
In her book a mind for numbers, Barbara Oakley calls this the hard start jump to easy technique which means start with the hard and when stuck jump to the easy questions.
Our brain is very powerful it keeps working in the background but to make sure that we are always on track, one important thing to do is plan out the time per question in pencil while the papers are being handed out.
This will be the magic wand that will help you save up on time for revision.
#2. The naughty problem
One common mistake is rushing through the paper the moment we spot a few familiar keywords in the question we start writing.
Read pause and read the question a second time at times we might miss out the not in the question and end up losing marks.
For example, Atul covers distance by a bike driving at 70 kmph and returns to the starting point riding on a scooter at 55 kmph. Which of the following is ‘not’ his average speed?
(a) 50.120
(b) 50.60
(a) 51 59
(d) 51.42
The effect of the second reading is not twice that of a single reading it is much greater.
In fact, research has found the effect to be ten times greater if after a first reading you remember an observed seven percent.
Did you know that after a second reading, you will observe seventy percent.
Also carefully read the command words are they asking you to list compare and contrast give advantages of or describe.
Pay special attention to the answer to any three types of words which will save you a ton of time.
Also, underline all the data given in the question the most annoying words are copied wrong i used to get that all the time.
#3. Word vomit
Most of us just read and start writing so big mistake number three is called the word vomit.
Did you know that the structure of the answer has almost as many marks as the content itself?
So plan like iron man write an intro line in science and social studies papers write in points and do not write in points in your English paper. Explore both sides of an argument and then make sure you write a conclusion line stating clearly the summary of the arguments.
If you’re writing an essay jot down your key points on the side before you decide the order they say that fixing problems with your overall structure will fix 80 percent of the problems with your essay.
The number of lines are also that you write per answer should be proportional to the number of marks. For example in a three mark question write one longish paragraph and for a one to two mark question write just a couple of lines.
#4. The unit conundrum
One common mistake is to forget to write the units especially in a math paper like centimeters rupees or cubic meters. Also, I recommend drawing a neat box around your answer write the units correctly and leave a line after each question.
Teachers are exhausted after reading hundreds of papers make their job easier.
#5. Giving up early
There have been so many times when I’ve come out of the exam hall early just to realize that the question that I left was actually quite simple.
So make sure you attempt every question write a few lines I’m saying this in bold letters do not skip questions and especially if there is no negative marking please attempt all the multiple choice questions as well.
And if you want more detailed tricks on how to guess MCQs intelligently then read our previous article.
Talking about skipping questions if you do skip questions and go to the next one make sure you circle the skipped question so you remember to go back to it.
#6. Social distancing
This is about keeping some distance from your friends before and after an exam three big mistakes in this category
- One comparing your paper with friends.
- Two discussing the chapters till the last minute even while walking into the exam hall
- Three comparing answers after the paper.
These are the three devils minus the red face and the horns of course avoid all these things.
Conclusion:
now for the bonus tip smile and breathe no matter what tell yourself you will do well you have to let go of negativity and remember when you smile at the exam paper it’ll smile back at you and just deep breathe trust me it works and it’s a good idea to go simply to dress for your exam.
Some people even recommend that you wear the same or similar attire to the one that you have in your admit card.
And one last but very important thing remember that it’s just one exam you will always get a second chance if things don’t go your way so chill smile stay confident. I do hope this helps you stay calm and do well in your exams so wish you the very best and happy learning.