If you are doing your GCSE, iGCSE, AS or A2 then this is going to be a very busy time for you. Exam season is now in full swing and you’ve probably got a calendar full of revision and exams. This month we’ll be focussing on exams and how to get through them, bringing you some top hints and tips from our tutors.
In this blog post we’ll talk about how to tackle exam questions on the day:
- On the morning of the exam don’t try and revise. You need to focus on relaxing rather than stressing yourself out with last minute cramming.
- Set off for school/college in plenty of time and before you leave the house do a final check to ensure you have pens and any other equipment you might need (pencils, calculator etc).
- When you get to where your exam is then listen carefully to the instructions you receive. If you can, sit where you feel most comfortable with some natural light, if you think you might be distracted by outside noise then choose a chair in the middle of the room.
- Be still for just a few minutes, take some deep breaths and focus on the exam paper in front of you. Try not to panic and before you start writing sit and read through the exam paper – this can be one of the most important things you do in an exam. Once you’ve read the paper take a few minutes to plan (this is especially important if you have 2 or 3 essays to write, you can allocate time to each and this will ensure you stay on track). If you can, write some bullet points that will give you a structure to an answer and if you run out of time the exam marker has some indication of what you were thinking.
- If you can’t answer a question then calmly move onto the next one and come back to the unanswered questions at the end.
- Stay positive – if you are in the exam and writing then you are in a better position than if you didn’t turn up. You’ve worked hard all year and if you’ve revised then the information you need is in your head, give it a chance to come out.
- If you’ve really struggled with a question in the exam (or found it impossible to answer) then it’s a good idea to talk to your teacher about it. It may be that it was a particularly hard question or that your attempt was better than you thought.
Everyone at 121 Home Tutors wishes every student out there the best of luck with their exams. If you need help with exam revision and you live in Manchester or Cheshire (we cover from the Heatons to Hale and beyond) then call 121 Home Tutors today.