Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Preparing For An Exam

By Hedrick Lepsch


Tests can be unpleasant, nerve-wracking, and sometimes downright frightening. For this reason, most people experience some level of nervousness or anxiety while taking a test. However, sometimes the level of anxiety becomes so high that it infers with your ability to think and answer the questions during the exam. To help get a handle on cases of crippling test taking anxiety, follow these steps:

First off, take good notes, preferably by hand. Studies have shown you are more likely to remember something if you have written it down-not typed it out. While you are writing your notes, it is a good idea to write any question or personal conclusions you gain in the margins. These personal connections that you make with the lecture will make it even easier to remember otherwise obscure facts. Better yet talk to the teacher or your fellow classmates after class about your questions and observations. These informal conversations help you remember the facts and themes of the day's lecture even more clearly.

Anxiety is an emotion that comes into play when we face challenges we do not know how to handle. If you begin to take a test you have not adequately prepared for, the anxiety you feel will most likely be severe (and warranted). So make sure you plan ahead.

When the exam in looming around the corner, you should review your notes over a period of a few days. Better yet, review your notes with classmates. That way you can help answer one another's questions and relieve anxiety over the coming exam.

A good way to test yourself is to explain the concepts to a friend and see if there are any aspects you don't know how to clarify. After you have studied the material, make sure you are well rested and alert when you go to take the test. A late night cram session will do you more harm than good.

When you walk into the test, if you have prepared as outlined above, you can do so with confidence. Use what motivational thoughts and tricks that you need to keep yourself confident about what you know. Make sure that you have gathered and arrived with all the necessary materials you need for the test and if needed, create a checklist. Arrive early enough that you have more than enough time to complete the test without feeling rushed.

While there are a great many tests, like those involved in achieving an accounting or business administration degree, that might be important to your career, differentiate between your test score and your worth as a person. It can be easy to almost unconsciously assume that this test will determine your self-worth, but this is not true and will only add to your anxiety. Take the time to understand that as important as this test may seem, it is still just a test.

Exams will always be stressful, but with the proper preparation that computer science or business exam will seem less monstrous and more of an inconvenience. On the off chance that you prepare well for the exam but after taking the test you fear you did not pass, there is always a possibility the exam will be graded on a curve.




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