The battle ground of exam-part 1

Before the exams

Stick to your notes: This is no time for experiments. Read only that which you have already learnt. Don`t try to learn anything new. If you have not studied something during the last one year, this is not the time to study. What you couldn`t cover in the past 3 months, you can never do in a matter for few hours. So don`t panic. Study only that with which you are familiar and be in a confident frame of mind. Review and rehearse. Tell yourself, “If I have not found this important enough to study, how will the examiner, find it important enough to set it in the question paper!” Brush through your notes and recap the key formulae and terms.

Be Positive: Don`t underestimate the idea of self-fulfilling prophecies. For instance, while driving if you keep telling yourself, “this bus coming to my right or this lorry coming to the left will hit me,” may be the bus or lorry will not hit you, but the car coming from behind will surely hit you. So banish negative thoughts. If you keep telling yourself often “I will fail, I will fail,” you will. Use positive visualization and self talk. Think of what would happen when you pass. Think of how you would hold your head high.

Venue: Be certain of the time and place of the exam. If it is scheduled in a place with which you are not familiar, visit it well in advance.

Temples: Visit them if your particular, but don`t make fetish of it. God does not like bribes, he welcomes thanks-giving.

Prepare your tool-kit: Your pens, pencils (two or three of them), eraser, calculator, battery, hall ticket etc make up your kit. Buy extra pens, pencils and batteries. Keep an inventory. By collecting all this mess in one place, you are unlikely to forget any. Pack them all, the night before and have it ready.

Keep off from friends: Watch out for those friends who call you the night before the exam with “I just found that we have to read section 88 Income Tax Act.” For all that you know, section 89 appears after section 87! If they pop in, say, “Hi, see you tomorrow! Put up a, “do not disturb” board.

Sleep well: Sleep at least 7 hours. Be fresh when you chat with your examiner with your pen and paper. After the exam take siesta. It will refresh you. Then get into the study mode for the nest day`s exam.

Relax: Do not study too hard and do not study all the time; if you do that you will walk into the exam with a roasted brain. You need a three-hour break before the exam. so if the exams are @ 12.30pm close shutters at 9.30am (follow relaxation techniques).

Food: Do not eat just before going for the exam. There must be at least a three-hour gap between food intake and the exam. Science has it that digestion of food takes place in the stomach, as a result of which blood supply to the brain gets reduced resulting in temporary fall of brain-power. If you are hungry, have fruits. This is not digested in stomach; it is converted to small nutrients in 10 minutes flat.

Don`t be late: If you are taking bus, double check the time. Don`t be late. It`s okay to be late to a party, but not to the exams. Walk in at least 30 minutes ahead of time, well before the crowd comes in. start early to reach surely. Get into the exam hall quickly. Avoid your friends; this is not the time for bon homie. Be kind to yourself; don`t let these guys torture you.

Wear comfortable clothes: Wear pant and shirt that you love. It will boost your confidence.

Exercise: Perform minor exercises at your desk to make you feel refreshed. Don`t make it obvious; you don`t want the invigilator to think that you are making faces at him. First, tense up your feet- press them hard; now relax and again press. Ditto for calves, shoulders, hips and abdomen.

Botching: If you have botched an exam do not allow the hangover to spill into the next exam; for all you know, you may have actually done the exam well.

Magnificent 12