Top 20 Mistakes Students Commit When Attempting A

Test Or Exam Paper, And How To Overcome Them

How many times have you walked away from a test or exam paper thinking or
saying aloud:

I wish I had more time!

Oh, now I know the correct answer! Why didnt I think of it just now?

I shouldnt have spent so much time on that question!

How could I have missed the last page of the paper?

Why didnt the questions that I prepared so hard for appear in the
paper?

If the above sounds familiar to you, then you are not alone.
Top 20 Mistakes
Here, we describe the top 20 mistakes that most students make when
attempting a test or exam paper, and how to overcome them.
1. Spotting Questions
2. Cramming Too Much Information Into Memory
3. Panicking Before Or During A Paper
4. Arriving Late For A Paper
5. Failing To Scan Through The Questions Once
6. Failing To Allocate Time For Each Question
7. Starting With The Most Difficult Question
8. Jumping Straight Into Answering A Question Without Proper Planning
9. Misinterpreting A Question
10.

Producing An Incoherent Answer

11.

Poor Writing Style

12.

Not Sure How To Start Or End An Essay

13.

Writing Too Much Or Too Little

14.
Failing To Answer All The Unanswered Questions In The Last
Few Minutes
15.

Writing Illegibly

16.

Reading And Writing Too Slowly

17.

Forgetting To Answer Unanswered Questions

18.

Failing To Check Your Answers

19.

Failing To Bring Along Required Stationery Or Items

20.
Forgetting To Write Down Your Names And Other Personal
Particulars
1. Spotting Questions
Spotting questions is by far one of the most common mistakes many students
make when preparing for a test or exam paper. It is also the worst mistake
you can commit before sitting for a paper.
For subjects that require much memory work, such as History, Geography,
Biology and Economics, many students try to take the easy way out by trying
to spot what questions would appear in the paper. Such students believe that
they can read their teachers or examiners minds. Are you trained in telepathy
or fortune-telling? We dont think so.
Spotting questions is a problem that is at times made worse when the
teachers themselves actively encourage their students to spot questions. As
students who had sat through GCE "O" Level and GCE "A" Level papers
ourselves, we can attest to that.
Some teachers are also known to deliberately drop hints to their students
before a test or exam paper about what types of questions to expect. That
happens quite often in the local polytechnics and universities too. We know
because we, our friends and our siblings have studied at the local universities

and polytechnics. Sometimes, the questions actually came out in the test or
exam papers. Sometimes, they never did!
Instead of spotting questions, you should spot topics if you must. For
example, instead of trying to prepare for a History question that reads, "Why
did Singapore break away from Malaya?", you should prepare for the History
topic "The breaking away of Singapore from Malaya".
That means you should know the why, when, how, who and consequences of
the breaking away of Singapore from Malaya. This would ensure that, should
you be asked about "What were the consequences for Malaya after Singapore
broke away?", you would still be able to answer it.
2. Cramming Too Much Information Into Memory
You have memorised every word in all the chapters from your textbook that
you would be tested upon. You see a question in the paper that begs an
answer you know is found on page Oh, no! You cant recall the page! And
so, the answer escapes you!
As you try fervently to recollect that page, you realise it becomes harder!
Meanwhile, the minutes pass away and you lose valuable time!
If you are one of those students who try very hard to memorise everything in
your textbooks, stop! Unfortunately for most of us, our brains can often only
retain 10% to 20% of the information that we read. More unfortunately, we
cannot control what will be that 10% or 20% of information that we will
remember!
So, instead of trying to recite every word from page 1 of your textbook to its
last page, you should concentrate on understanding what is written in those
pages. If you can understand what each topic in your textbook is about, why
would you even need to memorise all those pages? You should be able to
explain them in your own words!
You can improve your understanding of any topic, reinforce what you have
previously read and increase the amount of information that you can
remember by:
1. Taking part actively in classroom discussions and activities about the
topic.

2. Discussing the topic with your friends.

3. Reading alternative books or chapters about the topic.
4. Watching video tapes and video compact discs about the topic.
5. Listening to audio tapes about the topic.
This is because our brains can remember what we have said and seen more
vividly than what we have read.
3. Panicking Before Or During A Paper
Do you worry that you would not have enough time to complete a paper, even
before it starts? Are you very afraid that you would not be able to answer most
of the questions in the paper, even before it starts? Does your heartbeat
increase when you enter the exam hall and your hands sweat when you
receive the exam paper? Are you at a loss of what to do for the rest of the
paper, when you realise that there is one question that you cannot answer?
If you experience any of the above, or other symptoms of anxiety and panic,
you need to check yourself. One of the worst things that you can do before
and during a test or exam paper is to panic. Once you panic, your mind is in a
frenzy and you cannot think properly. How can you attempt the paper calmly
when you cannot even think properly?
Always tell yourself not to worry too much before a test or exam. Below are
some good ways to reduce or eliminate your anxiety and worry:
1. Clarify all your doubts at the end of each lesson, so that they will not
snowball into a big bag of questions before your test or exam.
2. Always prepare for a test or exam well in advance.
3. Dont study every minute while you are awake. Busy yourself with some
mundane household chores to take your mind off the upcoming test or
exam.
4. Have a good nights sleep before the date of the test or exam.
5. Keep reassuring yourself that you can do it. Once you stop doubting
yourself, you will stop panicking.

If all else fails, comfort yourself that it is only a paper. Its not the end of the
world even if you dont do well for just one paper.
4. Arriving Late For A Paper
Most of us are punctual, especially for important occasions. However, some of
us may have a habit of being late. Even if you are a punctual person, there
may be times when things just suddenly crop up and you end up late for an
appointment.
Late comers are the norm rather than the exception for many major
examinations. Just ask any examiner. If you are the unfortunate latecomer,
you may sometimes be barred from sitting for that particular paper. Even if
you do get to sit for the paper, much precious time would have been lost. On
top of that, your mind would still be reeling from the rush. You would not be
calm enough to attempt the paper before you.
What can you do to avoid being late for a paper? Be there early! Give yourself
enough time to travel to the venue of the test or exam. Spare yourself at least
half an hour at the venue. Use this time to familiarise yourself with the place
and setting, so that you know what to expect when the paper starts.
For example, if you could know in advance that the air-conditioning is very
strong, then you would be mentally prepared for the cold. If you have brought
along a sweater, you could then wear it and be able to sit through the paper
comfortably.
5. Failing To Scan Through The Questions Once
You receive the paper. The teacher says, "You may begin now!" Do you
immediately turn to the first page and answer the first question straight away?
If yes, stop! You are making another common mistake most students make!
Always scan through a paper before you begin writing. Give yourself about 2
to 5 minutes to read through all the questions. Put a tick against the easy
questions and a cross against the difficult ones. Check every page of the
paper to make sure that you do not miss any question.
Then, proceed to answer the easy questions first! Always leave the difficult
questions to the last. This ensures that you would have answered most of the
questions in the paper should you run out of time. It also gives you more time

for the difficult questions, as you would need relatively less time for the easy
ones.
6. Failing To Allocate Time For Each Question
"All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." So
wrote George Orwell in "Animal Farm". The same holds true for test and exam
questions. Some questions deserve more time than others. Some questions
require less time than others. And some questions dont even need to be
considered if you have a choice! This happens when you can choose your
questions, say 3 out of 5.
Always allocate your time to each question based on the number of marks it is
worth. For example, if a question is worth 2 marks out of 100, while another
question is worth 10 marks, you should allocate more time to the latter
question.
In addition, if a question requires much drawing or graph plotting, and if you
are slow at it, then you should leave it to one of the last questions that you
would attempt.
And remember to bring along a watch or clock to time yourself. But make sure
your clock does not tick loudly or ring its alarm suddenly!
7. Starting With The Most Difficult Question
Some students attempt their test and exam papers in a less efficient way.
They start with the most difficult questions.
"What is wrong with that?" you may ask.
For one thing, attempting a tough question is a bad start to a paper. Your
mind gets stumbled at the very beginning of the paper. You rack your brains
trying to come out with the answers for that agonising question. You begin to
feel exasperated. You mind loses its calm. You cannot think properly. And you
lose precious time while you are stuck with the tough question.
Before you know it, you only have half of the time left. Now, you rush to
answer the other questions. But your mind has got so entangled with that
tough question that it cannot think properly. You have forgotten the answers to
the easy questions! You cant believe it! And we cant believe why you even
began with that tough question!

Always start with the easy questions. First, it makes you feel good about the
paper and boosts your confidence. Second, you are assured that you will get
the marks allotted to these questions. Third, if you manage the easy questions
properly, you will be able to answer them quickly and allow yourself more time
for the difficult questions. Last but not least, you may be able to attain the
answers to the difficult questions after you have solved the easy ones. It has
happened to many people many times!
8. Jumping Straight Into Answering A Question Without Proper Planning
You read a question and you know the answer. Do you immediately raise your
pen or pencil and start writing away? If yes, how many times have you
encountered the following scenarios?

You are halfway through your answer and then you realise that your
answer is wrong!

You are penning a new paragraph when you realise that it should have
come before a previous paragraph!

You are halfway through a point you are trying to make before you
realise that you have already written it in a previous paragraph!

You are writing about a new idea and then you realise that it should
have been discussed together with another idea that you have already
written!

You realise you have left out an important point in a previous paragraph
but there is no space for you to insert it! Therefore, you are forced to
write this point in the margin of the paper or somewhere away from the
paragraph. Then you draw a long line to connect this sentence to the
paragraph.

You have finished the answer but realise that the paragraphs need to be
rearranged! Therefore, you resort to numbering the first paragraph as
(1), the second paragraph as (5), the third paragraph as (2), and so on
so forth.

If you have encountered any of the above scenarios, and are still running into
such situations, would you want to avoid them in future?

The solution to the above problems is proper planning. Proper planning

ensures that you have considered all the major aspects of the question before
you start to write your answer. It would save you much time later when you
write the answer. A carefully planned answer would also get more marks than
an unplanned or poorly planned answer.
Below are the suggested steps in planning an answer to a question:
1. Always spend a minute or two thinking through a question.
2. Underline the key words in the question and ask yourself what kind of
answer the question demands.
3. Make quick notes in point form as you brainstorm for all the relevant
points and ideas that come to your mind.
4. Group all the related points and ideas together into main ideas.
5. Ask yourself whether you have enough main ideas. A long question
typically requires at least three main ideas in its answer.
6. Ask yourself whether you have too many or too few points for a
particular main idea.
7. If more than half of your answer is about one main idea only, while the
other main ideas make up the rest of your answer, you are most likely
paying unequal attention to each main idea and your answer will be
lopsided.
8. Finally, plan how you wish to approach the question and structure your
answer accordingly.
9. Misinterpreting A Question
"What are the consequences of a poor diet?"
Imagine you are answering the above question. A quick definition of what
make a good diet and a poor diet in your first paragraph would make a good
start in your answer. You should then dive into the specific results of a poor
diet.

Had you written more about the examples of what make a good diet and a
poor diet, including the calories count and nutritional values of various foods,
you would be writing something that is uncalled for.
Had you proceeded to talk about the importance of having a good diet, the
disadvantages of a poor diet, the reasons why widespread poor diets exist in
some countries, or the circumstances leading to a poor diet, you would be
writing out of point.
All that could happen because you have not understood the question, or you
have misinterpreted it. Misinterpreting a question can cost you dearly in a test
or exam. This is especially if the question is worth 10 or 20 marks out of 100.
You would be spending precious time producing an incorrect answer at the
possible expense of other questions.
The only way to avoid misinterpreting a question is to read through the
question at least twice. Underline the key words in the question. Make sure
you understand what those keywords mean. Some examples of keywords
which some students have problems with are:

Describe

Outline

State

List

Explain

Evaluate

Discuss

Where a question contains a few parts, and your answer to two of the parts
are similar, you must immediately realise that you have misinterpreted at least
one of the partial questions. Proceed to correct your answers.
In case of doubts, you may try to ask the teacher or examiner what the
question is asking for. Although teachers and examiners are often not allowed
to explain the questions in a test or exam to students, some teachers and
examiners are very kind and may help you.
10. Producing An Incoherent Answer

One of the worst things you can do to put off the teacher or examiner marking
your paper is to write incoherently. That is, your thoughts and ideas are badly
expressed and very difficult for the marker to understand. In short, your writing
does not make sense.
Imagine that you are the person who has to mark hundreds of test or exam
papers. You could be very tired by the time you reach for another paper to
mark. Then to your horror, you realise that this particular students answers
are incoherent. You have to read and re-read each of his or her answers
before you understand what he or she is trying to say. Worst of all, you may
not even understand what he or she is trying to say!
In situations like this, how would you grade the students answers? Would you
want to spend more time on his or her other similarly incoherent answers?
Probably not.
The thing about incoherent writing is that students who write like that do not
realise that only they themselves understand what they are writing about!
The only way to make sure that you do not write incoherently in a test or exam
paper is to write more often. Below are the suggested measures:
1. Write an essay on any topic you want.
2. Check through your essay at least twice to make sure that you yourself
understand what you are writing.
3. Ask somebody who has a better command of English than you (e.g.,
your friends, classmates, teachers or family members) to proofread your
essays for you. The more persons you can get to proofread your
essays, the better.
4. Find out which parts of your essay they have understood and which
parts they have difficulty understanding.
5. Ask them how you could have rewritten those parts that they do not
understand.
6. Ask yourself whether their suggested rewriting of those parts is easier to
understand than what you have written.
7. Discover where you have gone wrong in your initial write-up and try not
to repeat such mistakes again in future.

8. Proceed to step 1 above and repeat the process.

11. Poor Writing Style
What is your writing style in a typical test or exam paper?
"What writing style? I dont even have enough time writing!" you may say.
Well, think again. The reason why you may experience insufficient time for
your test and exam papers could be because you have a poor writing style. Or
because you have no writing style at all.
That could also explain why a classmate got a higher score than you did for
the same question when both of you had similar answers. Its a matter of
style.
An easy-to-read writing style makes good reading.
A complicated manner of writing, made up of many long paragraphs each
containing long convoluted sentences such as this sentence you are reading,
with each sentence consisting of more than one idea and replete with
unnecessary bombastic words (and sometimes with long sentences in
brackets as well), full of commas, semicolons while the full-stop is far away,
often also containing at least two conjunction words such as "and", "but" and
"so", makes reading very tough for the reader.
A simple writing style suitable for use in a test or exam paper may consist of:
1. A short introduction of not more than 50 words in one paragraph. You
could use this paragraph to
o

define the keywords in the question,

grab the markers attention,

state your stand on the topic in question, or

briefly summarise what you will be writing about in the rest of your
essay.

2. A main body consisting of two or more paragraphs. Each of these

paragraphs should be about a main idea that you are trying to convey.

3. A conclusion of not more than 50 words in one paragraph. You could

use this to
o

summarise your essay,

affirm your stand on the topic in question, or

pose related questions to the reader as food for thought.

12. Not Sure How To Start Or End An Essay

This sounds good, "What is a poor diet?"
No, thats too common. How about, "How many people really bother about
their diets?"
Nah, Im sure I can come up with a better introduction than these!
How much more time are you going to waste trying to figure out a superb start
to your answer? Just get to the point! Remember this is a test (or exam)
paper! You are not taking part in a story writing competition. Time is precious!
While having a good writing style is important, the emphasis here is about the
flow of your ideas. As long as your paragraphs are coherent, they connect to
one another smoothly, and they are easy to read and absorb, it would suffice.
"But in the end, how am I going to end the essay?" you may wonder.
Again, the marker is not going to judge your essay squarely on how well you
have written your last paragraph. As long as your last paragraph ends your
essay nicely, it would not be a problem. Simply put, if your entire essay is out
of point, incoherent or lacking, how much difference could your essay ending
make?
13. Writing Too Much Or Too Little
A certain question was worth 1 mark out of 100, and a student wrote about 80
words in his answer. Was that too much?
Another question was worth 25 marks out of 100, and a student wrote about
80 words in his answer. Was that too little?
Depending on the subject and the nature of the test or exam paper,

a question worth 1 mark out of 100 may require only a 10-word answer.

a question worth 25 marks out of 100 may require at least a 1-page

answer.

Some students write too much for questions that do not require long answers.
As a result, they do not have enough time left for the other questions. Some
students write too little for questions that require long answers. Consequently,
they may have missed important points or not devoted more effort to expound
on an idea. Invariably, these students lose valuable marks.
Unfortunately, nobody can give a definitive guide to how many words is
enough for a question worth 1 mark or 25 marks. Instead of looking at the
number of words, you should look at the number of main points included in
your answers.
A short answer encompassing all the important main points would be worth
much more than a long answer deliberating on just one main point only. This
is because examiners who set the questions for any test or exam paper,
usually set aside a certain number of marks for the list of main points that they
are looking for in students answers. Beyond the predetermined number of
marks for any given main point, you would not be awarded extra marks even
you write non-stop about that point. So, be concise in your answers as far as
possible.
14. Failing To Answer All The Unanswered Questions In The Last Few
Minutes
"You have 5 minutes left. Please check through your answers and "
"What!" you exclaim in sheer horror. "5 minutes left! Oh my, how am I going to
answer all the remaining questions?"
This is quite a common situation many students have come across at least
once in their schooling experience. If you have 5 minutes left, and another 10
non-multiple-choice questions worth 30 marks altogether to go, what would
you do? Should you pick the question that is worth the most number of marks,
and start penning the first paragraph? Or should you attempt the other short
questions, even though you do not know their correct answers?
In such an event, this is what you should do:

Pick the easiest questions that require the shortest answers, and
answer them quickly.

Then, proceed to the remaining questions that require longer answers

and answer quickly.

Forget about writing style and proper paragraphing. You have no time
for that.

Write your answers in point form if possible.

If you have previously jotted down some notes to a question on a

separate piece of paper, submit it together with your main paper.

Although the above is not the ideal way to answering questions in a test or
exam paper, it would at least gain you some precious marks should you run
out of time.
15. Writing Illegibly
Illegible handwriting is a common cause of low test and exam scores for many
students. Terrible handwriting makes reading more difficult and sometimes
causes misunderstanding.
In the broader sense, illegible handwriting comprises:

Very small handwriting that typically resembles an army of ants.

Too little spacing between words.

Very big handwriting such that the height of each word spans two lines
or more.

Single line spacing, which makes reading tougher when the student
tries to insert additional lines of text in between the already congested
lines.

Too many words being inserted in between and above other words on
the same line.

Too many arrows and lines pointing to other sentences that should
belong to the current paragraph, but that are written far away on the
page or on another page.

Writing in light-coloured ink, such as light blue, light black, light green,
pink or yellow.

Writing in red, which confuses the marker since the marker is also using
red ink to mark the paper.

In the narrower sense, illegible handwriting comprises examples such as:

An "a" looks like a "u", so that "tack" becomes "tuck" (vocabulary error).

A "v" looks like a "u", so that "van" becomes "uan" (spelling error).

A small letter "c" looks like a capital letter "C" (punctuation error).

All of the above make reading extremely tough and slow for the marker. It can
even put off the marker. Some markers give up beyond a certain point and
skip parts of the writing. This means that your answers may not be completely
read and graded accordingly. You lose precious marks.
Good handwriting should avoid all the above-mentioned instances of bad
handwriting. In particular, you should:

Plan your answers, so that you do not have to resort to inserting lines of
text and arrows.

Leave a blank line after each line of text, so that you may insert
additional words where necessary.

Write in black ink or dark blue ink.

16. Reading And Writing Too Slowly

Suppose you are given a 1-page comprehension passage to read. Can you
read it faster than most other students? If not, then you may have to increase
your reading speed.
Do you know that being able to read fast can save you valuable time in a test
or exam? If the average student takes 3 minutes to read a 1-page passage,
while you take 10 minutes, you are already spending 7 more minutes than
other students. Imagine how many questions you could have answered within
those 7 minutes!

So how can you improve your reading speed? Well, you can try to read more
often and time yourself each time you read. With constant practice, you
should be able to read faster.
Now, suppose that you are given a 1-page passage to copy. Can you copy it
faster than most other students? If not, then you may have to work hard on
writing faster.
The ability to write fast, just like the ability to read fast, can save you precious
time in a test or exam. If the average student takes 5 minutes to write a 200word essay, while you take 15 minutes, then the average student would have
written 600 words worth of essay in those 15 minutes while you struggle with
your 200 words!
One way to improve your writing speed is to write more often and time
yourself each time you write. Another way is to experiment with your writing
technique. Try using big handwriting and small handwriting. Which way works
faster for you?
A third way is to experiment with different types of pens or pencils. Some pens
are smoother to write with, and therefore, would help to increase your writing
speed.
17. Forgetting To Answer Unanswered Questions
"Forget to answer unanswered questions? This problem wont happen to me!"
you may think. Yet, this is a recurring problem in tests and exams. If
everybody thinks it is a problem that wont happen to him, then why does the
problem still persist? It all boils down to carelessness.
Some students leave the difficult questions to the last, but they forget to return
to a few of them later. Some students get stuck at a tough question and
decide to skip it for the moment. Then they forget to skip back to the question.
Some students flip through a paper and one way or another, miss an entire
page of questions. And, of course, there are rare cases of missing printed
pages in a copy of a test or exam paper. And it so happens that the students
who receive such papers never realise that, and so they never get the chance
to answer the questions on the missing printed pages.
To avoid getting caught with the problem of forgetting to answer unanswered
questions:

1. Always check the number of questions in a test or exam paper the

moment you receive it. Make sure their total marks add up to the
maximum for that paper, e.g. 100 marks.
2. Circle or highlight those questions that you cannot answer or choose to
answer later. Remember to return to these circled or highlighted
questions later.
3. Always check the total marks of all the questions that you have
answered add up to the maximum for that paper, e.g. 100 marks.
18. Failing To Check Your Answers
So you have finished a paper 30 minutes ahead of time. Do you
1. look around you and sneer at those students who are still struggling with
their papers,
2. sit back and relax,
3. ask the teacher or examiner whether you can leave early,
4. wish fervently that time will pass quickly so that you can leave soon, or
5. check your answers?
If you always check your answers once you have finished a paper ahead of
time, good for you! Otherwise, you should start doing so!
What some students never realise is that, in their rush to finish a paper ahead
of time, they may have inadvertently
1. answered a question incorrectly or incompletely,
2. left a question unanswered, or
3. forgotten to fill in the blanks that resulted from their use of correcting
fluids.
Always strive to complete a paper at least 10 to 15 minutes ahead of time.
Then make use of this spare time to check through your paper at least twice.
You may be pleasantly surprised that you can spot an error or two in your
answers, and that you have the time needed to make the corrections.

19. Failing To Bring Along Required Stationery Or Items

You are sitting for a paper that requires the use of a calculator, compass and
protractor, but you have forgotten to bring all of them! If you realise it in the
midst of a paper, you will be stuck because you are not allowed to talk to the
other candidates, and hence, you cannot borrow these items from them. If you
realise it before a paper, you may not have better luck because your
classmates will also need these items, and they are very unlikely to have
spare ones. So what should you do?
First of all, list down the stationery and items that you will need for all your
papers. On the day of a paper, look through this list and get the required
stationery and items ready before you leave your house. Where possible,
bring along at least two of each item and stationery you need, in case the first
one malfunctions suddenly. This could mean bringing along two pens, two
pencils, two erasers, two rulers, two protractors, two calculators and so on so
forth.
In the event that you still forget to bring along a required item or stationery,
seek help from your classmates, any teacher in your schools Teachers Room
or any staff in your schools Principals Office if the paper is not due to
commence yet.
If the paper has already commenced, don't just sit there and sigh, or try to get
by without the use of the required stationery. Raise your hands and seek help
from your teacher or the examiner immediately. They will try their best to help
you.
20. Forgetting To Write Down Your Names And Other Personal
Particulars
You have submitted your paper and your teacher has packed all the papers
neatly. Suddenly, you realise that you havent written down your name, class
and index number on your paper!
Fortunately, your teacher is the examiner in this case, and he or she can
identify you and your handwriting. If you immediately inform him or her, he or
she would be able to retrieve your paper for you, and you can quickly add in
your name and other details on the spot.
But what if the examiner is not your teacher but a teacher from another
school, and you inform him or her only after all the candidates have

dispersed? In major examinations, such as PSLE, GCE "O" and "A" levels,
and university exams, the examiners are usually not from your school. How
would the examiner be able to verify if you are indeed one of the candidates
who has sat for the paper?
Worst of all, what if the examiners have already left the school? The prospect
of you getting zero mark for the paper is not unreal.
The only way you can prevent this problem from happening to you is to make
sure that you write down your name and other personal particulars on every
piece of your test or exam paper, and check that everything is in order before
you submit your paper.
You should write down your name and other personal particulars on the inside
pages of a paper as well, because sometimes a whole stack of papers may
fall apart during transit.
With your name and other personal particulars on each piece of the test or
exam paper, including the inside pages, you can feel safer and more secure.