Are you a student preparing for an exam, and you don’t know how to pass exams effectively? Well, I have been in your shoes, especially those courses you don’t have proper knowledge of, due to various constraints. However, you can ace that course or exam you are preparing.
Be it an external or internal examination conducted in your learning institution or sitting for a skill certificate, we teach various steps, principles, and ideas you can use, and you will be surprised by the hidden power of your brain and its intelligence in tackling hard and complex questions.
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How to Pass an Exam in 7 Unique Steps
How to pass exams requires continuous reading and practice. Suppose you are not medically or mentally. In that case, you will be shocked at how your body system will work against you in the exam hall, making you feel frustrated and making you answer incorrectly in the exam hall or not remember what you read at all. Let’s look at the tips on how to pass exams.
1. Understanding the Exam format
The first step on how to pass exams is for you to know the exam format. The exam can be multiple choice, essay, or practical. Knowing the exam format will tell you the best way to prepare for the exam ahead and pass with ease.
You can’t study the same way when preparing for a theoretical or mathematical course, and also prepare the same way for an objective or sub-objective exam. You have to prepare harder than the latter. For a theoretical or mathematics course, you have to spend extra hours, especially if you are not sound in mathematics. Identify the exam format, then prepare according to it.
2. Create a Study Plan
Once you know that your exam is months or even two weeks ahead, if the situation does not warrant you to start earlier, believe me, you can still ace that exam. What you do is to create a study plan according to the exam timetable draft, or you create a plan by starting with the easy course or subject to the complex or hard course or subject.
With that study plan, you can study effectively so you won’t get the subject or course mixed up by reading them interchangeably without a plan. For example, maybe you are a student of the economics department and you have 9 courses for an exam
It will be better for you to read the easier courses, like the theoretical ones, before you start dipping your hands into courses like advanced macroeconomics, advanced microeconomics, statistics, and others. This also applies to other courses or subjects.
3. Use Active Learning Technique
Using active learning techniques like mind mapping and teaching others to solidify understanding. Mind mapping is the technique used to organize and structure information. This involves using a particular idea or words that can make you remember a whole paragraph; this is how mind mapping works.
For example, if you are preparing for a history exam, you know how bulky the notes can be, making you read a particular topic all over and over again with no proper understanding. What I do is use a specific date for a specific historical event or story. That way, I can cover a lot of topics in no time,
This can be applied to various topics or courses you have for your exam, and to a course or subject that involves calculation. The most effective way to remember is for you to teach someone, that way it can quicken you faster as you prepare for your exam.
4. Practice under Exam Conditions
Set various exam questions by yourself through the course you read or you have prepared, and you can help yourself by solving past question papers. This way, you can know how the lecturer sets questions and the best way to prepare ahead of the exam.
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5. Manage Time and Stress
When preparing for an exam, it is not the time for you to start walking about gossiping with your friends, nether is it the time for you to go to a particular hangout with friends. This is the time you should give your book proper attention.
You can make use of time by using different timing techniques, but the most effective one you can use for studying is the Pomodoro technique, developed by Francesco Cirilo in the 1980s. This technique involves you to study for 25 minutes by setting a timer.
After the timer goes off, you will take a break of 2 or 3 minutes. By the time you do that five consecutive times in a day, you will have covered a lot of topics without burning yourself out. On the other hand, managing stress is also what you should consider when preparing for an exam.
This is not the time to involve your brain in some emotional trauma that can disrupt your learning. If you are battling with an emotional problem, try to manage this effectively, as this can slow down your learning.
6. Take Care of Your Health
Your body will determine the result of your examination. This is a sad truth: if you refuse to take care of your body during an examination, then your body will forsake you when you need it. Take care of your body by getting adequate sleep before the exam.
It is not the time for you to stay awake the night by watching movies or series, by giving excuses that you are trying to relieve your brain. Take a slip as it will help your brain to remember what you read, and lastly, have a good diet.
It is saddening that most Nigerian students are not adequately fed as a result of the high cost of feeding, especially for students studying in an industrialized environment like Lagos. However, you can still make use of the little amount you have by using that amount to get food items you can eat instead of eating junk food, which does not help your body.
Do well also to stay away from excessive intake of energy drinks during your preparation for your exam in a bid to stay awake throughout the night.
7. Exam Day Tips
On the day of the exam, do well to gather necessary materials the night before to avoid the problem of forgetting them the next day due to exam tension. Eat a healthy breakfast, it is not that day you will stuff yourself with a heavy breakfast, as this can make you drowsy and sleepy in the exam hall.
Avoid cramming on the day of the exam in order not to disrupt what you have already read. Don’t break exam rules either by talking with friend in the exam as the invigilator can penalize you for this by wasting your time or sending you outside of the exam hall and lastly make proper use of time during exam as most Nigerian institution does not keep with the time allocated on the exam so as give you adequate time to answer all the questions on the questions booklets.
Conclusion
On how to pass exams, there are other various tips you can still make use of in preparation for your exam. Keep your motivation high during the examination period, and believe you can tackle that question or exam. Take good care of your body, and lastly, know how your body system works. Wishing you success ahead of your examination.