Exams are often equated with extreme pressure, making you feel as if your entire effort on preparations has been leading up to this chance to prove yourself. We have seen that even after days of intense preparations and revisions, certain silly mistakes resulting from the pressure and stress of examinations, end up costing the students significantly. We, at the Banyan Tree School, understand that the nervousness and anxiety that the children face during the exam time often leads them to make even such mistakes that they would not have done otherwise.
So, when it comes to the mistakes to avoid during exams, one of the crucial advice that we want to offer our children is that they should not lose their calm during the examinations, as it will serve them no good and only end up affecting their performance. Adopting good exam techniques can bring in the world of difference to your performance and help you bring in significant improvements to your marks. TO help you score well in your examinations, we have listed below a few of the crucial things that you need to avoid so as to get rid of the common mistakes during exams.
Not reading the question paper properly
Failing to read and understand the questions properly might make your brain to trick you into thinking that the given question is asking something that it is actually not. Besides, you will end up missing out on the subtle differences in the questions. For instance, a question that says ‘mention’ wants a completely different answer to one that says ‘elaborate.’
Not choosing the questions carefully
There may be several choices of questions from which you will have to select and answer. We have seen many of the students making the mistake of choosing the wrong question to answer while writing in a hurry. Mark the questions beforehand in which you feel you are the strongest, and then, start writing the paper.
Not looking at the allotted marks
The allotted marks is an indication of how much the examiner expects to see in your answers, and failing to fit the bill will cost you heavily. Just as you should not write one line for a five marks answer, it should also not be the other way round. Check the marks allotted for each question, and ensure that your answer fits it accordingly.
Starting to panic at difficult questions
We understand that panic would be the first reaction when you receive the question paper and see that you are unable to answer the first couple of questions. Take a deep breath and calm down. There will surely be other questions that you know the answer to, and you can begin with them. Chances are that the other answers will also come to your mind once you calm down.
Getting distracted
So, your friend sitting next to you has already taken three extra sheets, and you don’t feel you need even one extra sheet. Do not let things like these distract you as taking too many extra papers or scribbling away furiously at the answer sheet does not mean they are doing better than you. Keep your focus completely on your work.
Poor time management skills
When it comes to an examination hall, time is of prime important, and it is essential for you to spend only the right amount of time on each question. Do not spend too much time on answering one question or pondering over it. Keep in mind that you divide the time among all the questions sensibly and also keep at least five minutes with you to quickly check the answer sheet at last.
Submitting the paper without checking it
We know you must have heard this advice too many times from your parents and even us, but it is still crucial enough for us to repeat this. Regardless of how easy the paper was or how sure you are about your answers, it is crucial for you to just check the paper once after completion. Make sure that the question numberings are correct, all the questions are answered, and there are no spelling or grammatical mistakes in the answers.
We, at Banyan Tree School, one among the top ranked CBSE schools in Chandigarh, believe that if you take adequate preparation beforehand and keep the given points in mind, your chances of making unnecessary mistake in the examination hall will come down considerably. Make sure you solve enough previous years’ question papers and give mock tests by setting a time limit to help you overcome those mistakes to a significant extent.
