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1he secreL Lo be able Lo do exam quesLlons comes down Lo recognlLlon. lf you recognlse whaL Lo do
qulckly Lhen Lhe quesLlon ls as good as done.

?ou mlghL Lhlnk well LhaL's obvlous, buL whaL lL also means ls LhaL you should Lallor your sLudy Lowards
recognlLlon.

1he ldeal scenarlo ls LhaL when you see a quesLlon someLhlng ln lL ls recognlsable and Lrlggers a chaln of
reacLlons ln your braln.

lL's almosL llke word assoclaLlon. lf you see a word, name or whaLever ln Lhe quesLlon, Lhen someLhlng
relaLed pops lnLo your head.


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Lxam quesLlons are always LesLlng you on someLhlng LhaL you have done. CLherwlse whaL ls Lhe polnL ln
havlng an exam? ?ou have Lo belleve Lhls. lL removes all doubL and means LhaL lL ls up Lo you.

l always hear people say LhaL Lhe exam was welrd", LhaL lL was dlfferenL from prevlous years pasL
papers. Well, LhaL's because Lhey dld Lhe same pasL paper quesLlons over and over and became so
famlllar wlLh Lhem LhaL Lhe flrsL Llme Lhey say any new quesLlons was ln Lhe exam. Cf course lL wlll Lhen
appear dlfferenL.

?ou need Lo forgeL all Lhls, lf you add varleLy Lo your sLudylng llke we have dlscussed and challenge
yourself, Lhen Lhls won'L happen.

1he exam lsn'L welrd, lL ls Lhe same as every oLher year. 1he quesLlons mlghL be dressed up" a blL buL
Lhe underlylng baslc concepL ln each quesLlon ls someLhlng LhaL you know. ?ou [usL have Lo ldenLlfy lL.


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So, when you geL a quesLlon LhaL you don'L know whaL Lhey are asklng abouL, Lhe maln Lhlng ls noL Lo
panlc. 1he problem solvlng LuLorlals cover Lhls ln more deLall.

1he alm ls Lo uncover whaL baslc concepL Lhe quesLlon ls LesLlng you on. lL doesn'L maLLer how Lhey have
dressed lL up or puL ln exLra lnformaLlon Lo Lrlck" you. ?our [ob ls Lo Lry Lo sLrlp Lhe quesLlon back Lo
baslcs.

Always ask whaL are Lhey really asklng? WhaL ls Lhe concepL LhaL Lhey are LesLlng me on?

A greaL way Lo do Lhls ls Lo Lry Lo reword Lhe quesLlon. 1ry Lo puL lL ln Lhe mosL baslc language posslble
regardlng Lhe concepL LhaL Lhey are LesLlng you on. 1hls mlghL noL be easy aL flrsL buL wlLh pracLlse you
can geL good aL Lhls. When Lhe exam comes you wlll be dolng lL auLomaLlcally.

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Cnce you have Lhe maln concepL we need someLhlng Lo maglcally pop" lnLo our heads Lo sLarL a chaln of
reacLlons LhaL glves us all Lhe lnformaLlon aL our flngerLlps Lo answer LhaL quesLlon.

ldeally, when you geL a quesLlon, Lhere wlll be someLhlng ln lL LhaL you are famlllar wlLh. lL could be a
word, a phrase or a dlagram, and from Lhls more lnformaLlon should flow. When you are readlng Lhe
quesLlon you should be dellberaLely looklng for Lhese clues, words LhaL are golng Lo help you.

lf you do Lhls, you are also llkely Lo sLop maklng Lhe sllly mlsLakes. 1eachers say read Lhe quesLlon"
properly. Well Lhls ls how you do lL.

1he hardesL parL ls normally sLarLlng Lhls process. l see lL llke a glanL flow charL. Cnce you have Lhe flrsL
bubble" Lhen Lhe resL becomes a loL easler.

1he way Lo enable you Lo do Lhls ls Lo look aL Lhe maln concepLs agaln when sLudylng. Cnce you
undersLand Lhe concepLs you need Lo Lhen be able Lo call" upon Lhem anyLlme you need Lhem. 1hls
requlres you Lo be very facLual.

?ou have Lo be able Lo answer Lhe quesLlons: whaL ls Lhls concepL? When ls lL used? And why ls lL used?
1he alm ls Lo be able Lo answer Lhese quesLlons ln a senLence or Lwo. very efflclenLly, almosL bulleL polnL
llke.

1here ls anoLher LuLorlal called 'WhaL, When and Why' LhaL Lalks abouL Lhls, whlch ls really sLeerlng you
Lowards Lrlgger words.


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asL papers: look Lhrough Lhe quesLlons buL don'L wrlLe anyLhlng. ?our alm ls Lo menLally ldenLlfy whaL
Lhe quesLlon ls really asklng and Lo puL Lhe quesLlon lnLo your own slmple words.

8ead quesLlons several Llmes and Lry Lo look only for Lhe useful lnformaLlon, Lhose keywords LhaL are
golng Lo sLarL an avalanche of lnformaLlon.

1ake as long as you need wlLh Lhls. 8emember Lhls ls where you elLher geL lL rlghL or wrong. We are Lrylng
Lo Lraln you Lo lgnore Lhe exLra unnecessary lnformaLlon. 8y dolng Lhls, you wlll never Lhlnk Lhe exam was
"welrd", you wlll see Lhe real quesLlon every Llme.

Pave an example for everyLhlng. Any concepL LhaL Lhey Leach you, have an example LhaL you can fall back
on. Cnce you have someLhlng Lo work wlLh, lL becomes a whole loL easler.


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When you see a quesLlon, you are acLually worklng backwards from Lhe facLs Lo Lhe concepLs very qulckly
ln your head:

1. ?ou read Lhe quesLlon and recognlse someLhlng.
2. lmmedlaLely words and phrases pop lnLo your head l.e. Lhe answers Lo Lhe whaL, when and why
quesLlons.
3. lrom Lhls, you should Lhen know Lhe maln concepL LhaL Lhey are asklng abouL or be close enough.
4. ?ou can Lhen use all Lhe lnformaLlon you have Lo declde whaL Lhe quesLlon ls asklng.

1hese sLeps wlll happen really qulckly, you won'L even know Lhey are occurrlng. 8emember Lhere wlll sLlll
be Llmes when you do noL know whaL Lo do, we are [usL Lrylng Lo mlnlmlse Lhem. 8uL you can apply your
problem solvlng skllls Lo Lhose quesLlons.

Also, lL ls a process, lL doesn'L mean you need Lo know Lhe answer wlLhln half a second or lL ls game over.
Some quesLlons wlll Lake longer Lhan oLhers. As long as you reallse Lhls and LhaL you are worklng Lowards
Lhe answer wlLh every small sLep you Lake, Lhen you wlll geL Lhere.

1he people who see lL ls very black or whlLe, elLher Lhey know lL or Lhey don'L, panlc and won'L do very
well.