Every little mark in the exam helps – a few little tips that could make all the difference

I was speaking with a few young people who are in Y11 and also in the sixth form this Saturday and it was good to see that they are still very optimistic and confident. I’m also pleased to see that these young people are not resting on their laurels as they continue to be as determined as ever in doing well in the remainder of the summer examinations. They are all very keen to seek every little bit of assistance they can master to help prepare them for the papers they will be taking after the half term break. We spoke briefly about how the papers they have already taken went and they felt relieved that the exams have now started and it is not as scary as some of them thought it would be.

I keep emphasising to young people that much can still be achieved at this stage of the examination calendar. There is still a very good chance of them picking up quite a few extra marks in the remaining papers.  Picking up marks is one way of gaining maximum grades in their exams.

A few procedures and practices to avoid losing marks

We have provided a lot of tips for young people taking examinations in the past – some of those were in the last three blogs that we published at the start of May. I am once again just reminding you as parents about a few things that you may want to speak to your son or daughter about as a way of crossing the ‘t’s and dotting the ‘i’s as they do the final preparation for the exams they have next week.  One of the major issues with the examinations is that anything that could potentially cause panic, should be avoided at all costs. Below are some of those little things that if observed, could prevent student’s from getting into a stressful situation and allowing panic to set in.

  1. Taking two calculators of the same type into the exam room – just in case one stops working, it is important that the backup one is a type that the student is familiar with …
  2. Taking a bottle of water helps to prevent dehydration
  3. Being aware of both the date and the exact time of the day for each exam  and taking this into consideration when planning and revising
  4. Moving on to the next question whenever one question appears to be difficult. They should however come back to that question at a later time
  5. Finishing the exam a few minutes before the scheduled time so there is the time to quickly go over the questions at the end. This can often prevent the loss of a few marks
  6. Eating and sleeping well during the exam period. Not too little and not too much of both food and sleep is very important
  7. Arriving at the exam centre well ahead of the time the exam is due to start

Below are links to some of the past articles in which we provided tips on preparing for examinations.

http://excelinkeysubjects.com/seven-super-tips-for-exam-success/

In case you have not read the last three blogs – which provided helpful information about helping young people to revise for examinations, please see the links  below. I would advise you to have a look at all the three blogs as they are related to each other.

http://excelinkeysubjects.com/exam-time-time-shine-good-pressure-bad-pressure/

http://excelinkeysubjects.com/achieving-high-exam-grades-desire-decision-action/

http://excelinkeysubjects.com/revising-achieving-high-exam-grades-practical-suggestions-advice/

It would be highly appreciated if you could please comment after you have read each of the blogs, We value your comments greatly – irrespective of the nature of it. We are interested in delivering value and hearing what you have