Golden rules for exam day

Check the exam information details

Check that you have the right day, the right time, the right room, the right course.
Finding that you are all ready for the exam which took place yesterday can cause
a major crisis. Equally devastating is finding you have prepared for the wrong
course, and not being able to find the correct room is also hard on your nerves.
Record these details on your long-term planner.

Get to bed at a reasonable time

Don’t stay up late revising the night before. You may find it hard to recall
information the next day because you won’t have a clear head. In an exam you
will need to think fast and clearly, and a tired brain won’t let you do that.

Read your exam paper thoroughly

In the test or exam room, read carefully through what you have to do, especially
how many questions you need to answer. You may find some are compulsory, while
others are not. Leaving out a compulsory question could cost you marks.

Plan your answers

Take a few minutes to analyse the questions so you understand precisely
what they require. Then plan which questions you’ll answer and in what
order, and calculate how long you can spend on each. For longer questions,
especially essays, jot down ideas as they occur to you. Then, when you are
ready to answer the question, you can include these ideas in your outline.

Keep to your time limits

Keep to the time limits you have set yourself for each question and
don’t be tempted to spend longer than you planned on one answer.
You are likely to lose more marks on the next question when you
have to do it in a rush.