Exams – tips, tricks and help

So GCSEs exams are drawing nearer and nearer, and maybe other people are taking other exams too, so I figured I would do some tips and tricks to help anyone going through upcoming Exams.

1. Relax

I figured I would mention the hardest first. It probably feels like ages away until exams finish, but they will finish sooner than you think. Getting yourself stressed out is not going to help and you can only do the best you can do.

2. Sleep

Sleep is very important when it comes to exams. If you’re tired the next day, it’s going to make remembering things even harder. Try and get an early night before an exam as the more rest you get the better.

3. The first is always the hardest

In my opinion, at least. While the exam itself may be one of the easier exams you have, the whole walking into the exam room is hard for the first exam. You have a long list of exams you have to complete, but after doing your first exam, that’s one down. If you haven’t had mock exams, it makes the whole business seem a lot scarier. And if it’s your first time doing proper exams, they’re not that bad. Now, this doesn’t make them fun, but they are a lot less daunting once you’ve sat in the exam hall for the first time.

4. Take water with you

Whether you’re the kind of person who gets thirsty easily or not, I recommend taking a bottle of water with you. One reason being that if you are thirsty in an exam, you have water there and my second reason being that if you are getting overwhelmed by a question, you can take a very short break by having a sip of water. It may sound silly, but just refreshing yourself can really help in my opinion.

5.  Dress nicely but comfortably

When I took my exams, we were allowed to wear non-uniform. If you’re allowed to do this, then take this to your advantage. While you could dress nice and smartly, you also want to be comfortable, and while you want to be comfortable, you don’t want to be wearing the sort of stuff you’d go to bed in because you don’t want it to have the psychological effect that you are about to got to sleep.  Try to find somewhere in between.

If you still have to wear uniform, try to make yourself as comfortable as possible. Make sure you’re not going to be too hot or too cold, take a jumper with you if you have to wear a blazer and find them uncomfortable. Just do what you can.

6. Eat beforehand

I know breakfast isn’t most people’s favourite meal of the day, but before exams it is important. It can give your brain that extra boost that’s needed and give you energy that you might not have if you don’t eat. If you’re feeling tired and have a lack of energy, it’s going to be harder to remember all of that stuff!

7.  Revising straight before the exam

Revising straight before an exam is a no in my books. However, I do think it’s comforting to bring your revision guide with you. If before the exam, you do suddenly have a huge blank and can’t remember something important, then you do have it there as back up. I just don’t think revising full on half an hour before exam is exactly going to help your stress levels.

8. Revise the harder material

When revising for an upcoming exam, you should focus on the material you find the hardest first. If you find something hard, it may be harder to remember so it’s important to go over that rather than the easy stuff.

9.  Come back to questions you don’t know

It’s important not to spend half an hour of your exam fretting over a question you are unsure about. Instead, skip it and come back to it after you’ve answered all the questions you do know the answer too.

10. Don’t worry about knowing the answer to every question

Just because you don’t know the answer for sure for a few questions doesn’t mean you’re automatically going to fail. Just write down something, it doesn’t have to be correct, but at least you have something there. You may have written down a keyword which might make you get a mark. All you can do is the best you can do.

11. Don’t focus on other people

It’s easy to get lost seeing the person in front of you sat there, pen on table, clearly finished already. Or that you’re sat there the first one to be finished while everyone else is writing. Just remember that everyone works and thinks at a different pace.

12. Relax after your exam

Even if you’ve got another exam coming up, you should rest after you’ve just completed an exam. Exams are pretty draining and it’s okay for you to rest up and relax after one. If you’re feeling tired, it’s going to be harder to revise meaning less will successfully go in anyway.

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That’s my tips for dealing with all them exams! Feel free to share your own tips in the comments!

Lucy 🙂 x