Things to Avoid when Preparing for Exams
Exams can stress you out a bit. That’s totally normal. After all, even if you are ready to ace all the questions, there is always nervousness that can stand in the way.
Yet, there are two things that can really boost your chances of getting high grades for the exams. First, you should prepare. Preparation indeed makes you feel confident. It also helps in learning how to answer different types of questions even when those come unexpectedly.
Second, practice makes perfect. Your first exams will definitely pressure you a bit. However, the more of them you have, the less you’ll feel the stress burden.
So, whether you are a fresher anticipating your first exams or a pro who’s been through it several times already, we have listed below things to avoid when preparing for exams. Let’s go!
1. Not Setting the Goal
Before you start your preparation, you need to make sure you know why you are doing this. Set a defined goal for yourself so that you could really envision achieving it. Be realistic, but don’t underestimate yourself. You know what you are capable of, and you should aim for it.
However, you need to take other factors into consideration as well. For example, if your attendance was poor throughout the semester, you can’t hope that this exam will be a success. Your goal, then, should be to get a pass. If you, however, were diligent and active, you should set a course for a good score.
2. Not Asking for Help
Some people are too afraid to ask for help. This is, however, an absolutely wrong strategy if you want to ace your exam. If you are shy to approach your teachers or friends with questions, go online. There are lots of forums to ask for an opinion and lots of resources to get into the matter of the problem.
3. Relying on Teachers
Unfortunately, people tend to mark achievements as their own but blame others for failures. It works in the academic field as well. Many students falsely believe that classes are enough to prepare them for exams and that it’s teachers’ job to make them get a good grade on a test. But it’s not.
Teachers are your guides through the process of learning. They are the first people to get to if you have some questions. However, they are not personally responsible for your success.
The things that really matter are:
- your dedication;
- hard work;
- desire to study.
The same applies to tutors. Even if you pay them extra, they can’t do magic and embed the knowledge in your memory. They can only help you along the way.
4. Not Prioritizing
Students are typically pretty pressed for time and have a few exams to get ready for. Therefore, the choice of your strategy really impacts the outcome. For example, if you decide not to prioritize and start learning history from the very beginning, you may never reach the part about the recent times. Let alone, you won’t be able to catch up with other disciplines.
This is why it’s essential to evaluate your weaknesses and strengths and prioritize in the best way you can. Start learning things that you know little about. Leave those subjects which you feel more confident about for a later time.
5. Giving in to Procrastination
Some exams are so stressful that the brain fails to put itself together and get to studies. It happens to everyone, so you should have no worries. However, you need to fight it if you want to succeed.
Set defined timeframes for studies. During these periods, minimize all distractions. All you need to do is to study for a while and then get a short break. This algorithm should be repeated several times before you can have a longer break. If you feel lazy as soon as you touch a book and let yourself turn on a series, the only thing left to rely on will be luck.
[Related article: 10 tips for efficient exam preparation]
6. Not Testing Yourself
Practicing for tests or doing mock exams is essential if you want to get a higher grade. People often neglect it believing that it’s better to have more time to study. Why waste precious minutes on tests?
This strategy may work for exams where you have to present your answer verbally. However, how many such exams are you going to have? Most of them are converted to a test format now. They not only evaluate your knowledge but also measure your time management skills.
If you want to be on time with all assignment parts, practice taking tests at home. Try to arrange similar conditions for yourself so that it really feels as if you are taking exams.
[Related article: Top Ten Exam Revision Tips]
7. Memorizing and Cramming
The worst service you can do to yourself is trying to memorize it all within one or two days before the exam. Following this strategy, you can get a score if you are lucky, but you’ll never use the information and knowledge you get this way.
The reason is that you only train yourself to answer those questions. These memories stay only for a short period of time. As soon as the exam is over, the information will simply fade. If you really hope to get substantial knowledge that you can use in the future, you’d better never cram.
Now, after reading this article, which of these mistakes do you tend to make as a student?
You might also be interested to take a look at our recent blogs for more learning tips and guides.
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