Exam preparation

Preparing for exams can be daunting. If you have already had success with exams and tests, remember your past strategies and keep using them!

Accept that at those times, you will feel a higher level of anxiety than usual. If you have not already developed successful strategies for these occasions, you may appreciate the following guidelines that have helped many students in the past:

Stay positive

Success (and everything that comes with it) is a very positive and motivating experience - remember what it feels like to be successful.
Some levels of stress and anxiety are normal and to be expected when it comes to sitting exams and tests. However, if these feelings become excessive, there are ways that you can deal with them.

Keep yourself healthy and fit

Set yourself good eating, exercise and sleeping routines and stick to them - they will do wonders for the performance of your brain.
Don't forget to take time out for leisure and pleasure - it's healthy to play.

Start early with your revision

Make yourself a revision plan but make it flexible to allow for the unexpected. Include time to relax and enjoy yourself.
Plan what you will do with each of your revision periods, and make sure you take regular breaks to avoid brain overload.
Work out the way you remember best - do you remember best when you see, hear or do? Revising doesn't have to be re-reading pages and pages of notes - creating diagrams, flash cards, mindmaps and flow charts, recording your notes to listen to, rewriting key notes, quizzing with a partner or practising scenarios can be more helpful.
Try to stick to the timeframes that you've set. If there is too much work to in the time you have available, then prioritise. Which topics are most important? Which subjects do you find more difficult? Which require more work from you?
Sometimes it helps to revise with fellow students. Perhaps arrange to meet a few friends and test one another's memories, or just talk things over.

Find out as much as you can about your exam/test

Read your course outline carefully for details about what the exam or any tests will cover.
Write down what you know you need to know!
Will you have to answer multiple choice questions? Short answer questions? Essay questions? Find out, and revise accordingly.
Try to find copies of previous exams or tests. They make excellent revision practice.
Do you know anyone who has already done the course or unit? Have a chat to them about what you can expect.

On the day

Don't try to learn new material on the day of the exam. At the most, look over a few key points.
Nerves can be contagious, so don't arrive too early at the exam venue (but don't be late either!).
Make sure your pens, pencils, calculators and other equipment are working before you go into the exam room.

In the exam

Read the paper carefully. It's easy to skip a word and misread the meaning of the question.
Look to see if some questions are worth more points than others and divide your time appropriately.
Jot down any mnemonics or facts that you are trying to remember quickly first - two hours into the exam you may forget these.
Underline the key words like 'Contrast' or 'Describe'. These words tell you what the examiner wants you to do.
If all questions are worth the same amount of points then answer the questions you're are confident about first and go back to those you're less confident about.
Always leave time to proofread your answers at the end.
Check the back of the final page to ensure you haven't missed any questions.
Don't waste time worrying about what other people are writing or doing.

If you would like some assistance to plan out your revision, to start a revision study group for your unit or to manage the anxiety of exam preparation, please contact the Learning Support Unit.

Phone 02 6055 6606 | Email ls@wodongatafe.edu.au