My son and his friends are today heading into their first set of important high school exams, their “mock GCSEs”. They call them mock, but the results they achieve at this stage will determine where they go after they do their GCSEs proper, i.e. their 16+ options. So as a loving dad who has done more exams than I can remember and still has nightmares about turning up to finals in pyjamas without a pen and having done no revision. Here are my lucky 13 tips for those taking exams, finals, SATs, and other academic tests, whether you’re in middle school, high school, college, or at university and beyond.
- (a) Revision (b) preparation – do lots of it and don’t leave it till the last minute
- Cramming – do it only if you didn’t fulfil #1
- (a) Water (b) sleep – get plenty in the run up to the exams, but not right before
- Equipment – make sure you have all the equipment you need and are allowed
- Toilet break – take one in plenty of time before, not during, the exam
- Instructions – follow all instructions on the paper precisely, don’t assume
- Questions – ask the invigilator any you have before the exam begins
- Exam paper – read it through before you put pen to paper
- Answers – use them to demonstrate your depth of knowledge and understanding
- (a) Expletives (b) slang – avoid totally
- (a) Panic (b) frustration (c) anger – unneccessary if 1(a) completed adequately
- Cheating – don’t do it, you will end up mopping floors for Ronald McDonald
- Best – just do yours
Good luck!