Tips for Passing your Exam

It is normal to be a little bit nervous as you sit for the exam. The key is to control that energy, so it can help you with your exam. Here are a few techniques:

• Breathing technique. Breathe in slowly for a count of 4 seconds, then breathe out slowly for a count of four. Repeat. Imagine that there is a balloon in your stomach and you are trying to fill it. As you breathe in, watch your stomach rise and as you breathe out, watch it deflate. This will help reduce any last-minute stress as you sit for your exam.
• Single-Muscle Relaxation. If you find that you carry your tension in your muscles (clenching your jaw, tensing your shoulders), purposefully tense and then relax that group. Repeat every few minutes, and the rest of your muscles will automatically relax, too.
• Prayer. For many people, prayer is exactly what is needed to mentally prepare for the stress of an upcoming exam. They find that prayer provides comfort when it is needed the most, and some studies have shown a correlation between prayer and stress relief.

• Read. Make sure you fully and carefully read and understand each word of the question. What are they really looking for in the question?
• Review Answers. Read all the answers before selecting the first one that looks correct.
• Circle important words. Remember that one word can change the entire meaning, so underline or circle any key words that stand out.
• Move on if confused. If you find that a question is difficult, skip it and come back to it later if this is possible in your test format.
• If you are stuck on a question, you will likely spend more time dwelling on it, and then worry about completing on time, setting off a chain reaction.
• Make sure you mark the questions you are coming back to, so you don’t miss them.
• Guessing. When you don’t know the answer, eliminate those answers that are completely wrong through the process of elimination. Never leave a question unanswered – not answering a question is guaranteed to be wrong, but your best guess could be correct.

• Review. Before completing your exam go through all questions to make sure that you have understood and answered correctly and filled in all blanks.
• Bubble sheets. In written exams, make sure if using a bubble sheet that you fully and completely fill in the circle for your answer.
• Second guessing. Be careful when changing answers. Your first answer is best in most cases, and if you aren’t certain, stick with that choice. On written exams, be sure to completely erase to change your answers if necessary and erase any stray pencil marks from the answer sheet.

• Pass 1: Answer the questions that you know and can answer within 30 seconds, with or without your reference book. If it takes longer than 30 seconds, go on to the next. Chances are, you’ll come across the answer while finding another one.
• Pass 2: Go back to the beginning of the exam, and do the same as before, but allow more time for each question. A good timeframe is double the amount of the first pass, so allow 60 seconds this time through.
• Pass 3: Spend your remaining time on each question equally. If you still haven’t answered, make an educated guess, you don’t want to leave questions unanswered on your exam, by eliminating several options you increase your chance of getting it right even if you don’t know the exact answer.
• Pass 4: Use the last 30 minutes of the exam for review. Reread each question and ensure that they are answered correctly (or with your educated guess). Make sure your answers were transferred correctly for paper exams, and make sure all answers are saved (if applicable) for computer exams. With any remaining time, see if you can find an answer for those that you guessed on. Remember though that your first answer is usually the correct one.

You should always round your answers to the same number of places as the exam’s answers.

• Example: If an exam has multiple choice options of: (a) 2.10 (b) 2.20 (c) 2.30 (d) none of these, and your calculation comes out to 2.16; don’t choose the answer (d) none of these. The correct answer is (b) 2.20, because the answers in this case are rounded off to the nearest tenth.
• Example: It can be rounded to tens, such as: (a) 50 (b) 60 (c) 70 (d) none of these. For this group, an answer such as 67 will be (c) 70, while an answer of 63 will be (b) 60. The general rule is to check the question’s choice of answers and then round off your answer to match it.