by Simon Wright

Created on: May 26, 2007

Passing tests is not just about intellectual prowess, although that can help. The key though to passing exams is to prepare well and have a process that you follow. This will help to minimise the stress that you feel and stress is the thing that causes perfectly capable students to fail exams.

Here are my top 5 dos and 5 don'ts tips:

Dos

1. Do revise thoroughly in the days and weeks before your exams. For most of us there is no shortcut to success in exams - success requires some hard work.

2. Do take time to read the test paper questions and formulate skeletal answer plans before you start to write the answers. This will enable you to make sure that you have picked the best questions to answer, and that you have read the questions correctly, and that your answer will have some sort of cohesive structure. Remember that a lot of times when people fail, it's because they have answered the question that they would have liked to be asked rather than the question that was asked.

3. Do get your time management right. If you have 2 hours and you have to answer 4 questions that are each worth 25% of the marks, then you should only spend half an hour on each question. You might answer that first question perfectly but it's only ever going to be worth 25% of the marks.

4. Do make sure, in advance, that you know where the exam is taking place and how long it will take you to get there. Again, this is all about reducing your stress. You should make sure that you get to the exam room in time, but not too early.

5. Do keep things in perspective. Sure, it may be important that you pass the exam but it won't be the end of the world if you fail. You can probably re-sit the exam, and there are plenty of people who excel without having been academically successful.

Dont's

1. Don't swot on the morning of the exam. The knowledge needs to be already there, and you need to use the time just before the exam to calm your nerves.

2. Don't go to your textbook immediately after the exam to try to work out whether you answered the questions correctly. This is pointless as you can't change your answer. It is also a waste of energy when you may have other exams to prepare for. And if you find that you answered the question incorrectly, it will just make you stressed and miserable.

3. Don't leave the exam room early. Often you'll get people who finish writing their answers with half an hour or sometimes even more to spare. They then put up their hand and ask to be allowed to leave. Instead of doing this, spend the time going back over your answers. Have you missed anything out? Is there anything that you can tweak. Remember that every mark that you pick up may be crucial.

4. Don't turn up without the right equipment. If you're allowed a dictionary or a calculator, then make sure you bring them. And don't turn up with just 1 pen; what happens if it doesn't work!

5. Don't cheat. You're likely to get caught out, in which case you will not only fail, you will probably also get chucked out of college. You will also probably feel bad about yourself, even if you do get away with it.

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