exam tips

If it is the case of making a point, argument or giving proof of why you think something, then think an answer out loud to a friend to improve your recall and train of thought. At this stage, its a simple way of testing how much you know and to see if you can string a logical answer together. It doesnt matter how bluntly you put it.
Let your friends or fellow students prompt you if you get stuck and prompt them on theirs, if they get stuck. Try not to use the textbooks unless the exam says to use them. If you both get stuck on the same part, then you will have identified a particular area where you both need to be stronger in and you can help each other revise.

Gain more confidence. No, its not a stubborn confidence you want here. Each time you get something right, you should feel good about yourself and more sure about the individual answer. Your confidence should reinforce this and make the task more enjoyable. If you have pitted yourself against possible exam questions, fellow students and revised your best, then you should look forward to the day when everything you have worked so hard for should come to fruition.

Go to your exams early. Usually, teachers or exam officers advise you to be there ten or fifteen minutes before. Arrive with the right essentials. Your teacher or lecturer should tell you whats necessary beforehand.
Dont chat to every person you know who is also taking the exam. Exam nerves can be catching and you can feel more nervous beside someone else who is feeling anxious. If you are waiting before going into the exam room, take out a good book to read for a few minutes and just ease the stress away.
You could try a few of your flash cards, but dont get yourself flustered. Nerves can make it more difficult to recall. Try a few gentle breathing techniques if you find your breathing starts to get out of control.
Dont be distracted by anyone else inside the exam room. This is your exam and at the end of the day its going to be your results that matter to you. Put your hand up and inform an officer if anyone is being particularly distracting. Relax and answer as many questions as you can. If you have time left at the end, go over them and check spelling or punctuation.

What does getting good grades boil down to? a. Being the smartest kid in the class? b. Going to the best school? c. Studying 20 hours a week? d. None of these. Of course, the answer is d. Getting good grades really boils down to being strategic.

You would not want to head into battle without a well thought out strategy, and you sure as heck dont want your teen to head into study time without one either. A CRUCIAL part of a straight A exam strategy is knowing what youre going to ace without too much trouble, and what part of the curriculum usually pulls your GPA down the gurgler. I mean, knowing your strengths and weaknesses.

Because these are the bits they should be spending most of their time studying. For the stuff they find easier of course your teen should spend a bit of time polishing what they know to make for an A+++ answer, but it shouldnt be the main focus of their attention.
Your teen will come out with much better results overall if they identify what they struggle with and spent some quality time sorting it out.

As with most things, starting is the hardest part.
It doesnt matter whether its losing weight, starting a new project, starting a new job, or in your teens case, starting to give a damn about school.
Old habits are hard to break. Its not easy getting into a new routine. If your teen has been fairly useless before now about doing homework and studying for exams, then installing good study habits isnt going to happen overnight.
It will happen, but were going to have to start out smaller and work our way towards straight A nerd status.

As youre probably all too aware, nagging is not an effective long term solution for motivating your teen.
If you want your teen to do well at school, theyre going to have to get on board with the idea.
Try and have a chat with your teen about adding regular homework/study time to their weekly routine. Talk about the future and the importance of doing well at school. The key will be to keep the conversation on an even playing field. This should NOT be a lecture. Their input should be just as if not more important than yours. Your teens grades will benefit the most from them being self motivated.

This means sitting down with your teen and deciding not telling them when theyre going to do their homework each day, and how much study its reasonable for them to be doing.
In my view, homework is a critical part of academic success. It keeps the brain engaged throughout the year and not just when exams are approaching. It forces teens to go over what theyve learnt at school that day, which is crucial for consolidating information.
How much study your teen should be doing really depends on them and at what stage of the year theyre at. I was always good about doing homework at school, but honestly, I didnt start studying until the second half of each term.

Being stuck is a really crap feeling. If your teen feels stuck about their school subjects, you can guarantee the motivation to study will be pretty much zilch. You cant expect to teen to slave away over the books if they dont get whats going on.
If theyre finding the subject difficult, its probably a good idea to get them some help.
Depending on the subject and year level, you may be able to help them. If theyre a senior doing calculus, you may have to look at getting a tutor.
If youre not so keen to be forking out money every week for a tutor, you may not have to. One or two lessons may be all that your teen needs to get them on the right track.
One word of warning though. It can sometimes be tricky to differentiate between confusion and laziness.