Chapter 8

semester or year planner: has important dates (overview of what events should happen during the year)

weekly planner: plan activities for the week

weekly planner for exam preparations: should have a schedule of when to study what subjects for exams (50 minute sessions)

Stress during exams can cause you to forget information and to over think questions.

Stress is one person's reaction to a problem. Stress can be managed by finding a solution to the problem that is causing stress. If stress and anxiety is not managed it can lead to depression, small amounts of stress is good to keep you motivated to study.

Signs and symptoms of stress: 1. physical - headaches, change in sleeping and eating habits, etc...; 2. mental - forgetfulness; 3. emotional - anger and hatred towards studying

Prevention of stress and anxiety

planning ahead of event: use planners, go over work on a daily basis,

get enough sleep and eat well

avoid stressful situations avoid drugs and alcohol)

relax (find a way to de-stress)

set goals

Before the exam

listen to clues from lecturer or teacher

identify what notes are important for the exam

make sure you have sorted out any information that you think is unclear

work on previous tests, exams etc...

Getting the best out of revision

revise during term (don't leave revision until last minute)

plan well

make sure that summaries are effect and correct (write short notes and spider-diagrams)

answer past exam questions

Be prepared

check date, time, venue of exam

get stationary required for examination

make sure that you are familiar with the venue and have transport to the venue

The morning before the exam

eat breakfast (limit coffee intake)

make sure that you get to venue early

During the exam

avoid stressed class mates before exam

complete information required on cover page

read through entire exam before you start

read all instructions before you start

look at mark allocation for each question

complete questions which you think are easy first

read through question at least two or three times

don't waste time

write neatly and leave blank spaces between questions. Don't leave exam venue early

if you are running out of time ensure that you write in short words so that you can finish the paper

After the exam

don't review the whole paper, learn from mistakes such as not studying hard enough, how was your time management etc...

Days before the exam: 1. eat, sleep and do relaxing activities; 2. get rid of negative thoughts; 3. get into a positive state of mind; 4. avoid people who could stress you out before the examination

During examinations: 1. breathing exercises; 2. fought stopping techniques; 3. use an object that you can associate with being calm while writing exams; 4. self-motivated

Essay exams

get to the point

use first paragraph to give an overview of essay and rest of essay to into detail about information on the topic

use accurate information to substantiate your argument

answer your essay with clarity

Multiple-choice essay

read and reread questions

hide options for the answer to come up with your correct answer

read through all possible answer and select the correct answer

pay careful attention to question that use words such as "never" and "always"

watch your time carefully

Open book exam

keep up-to-date with class assignments

summarise important ideas from the book

organise referencing material

Mathematics, statistics and accounting exams

be well prepared

make sense of question carefully

write answer correctly and show all working out

if you are unable to answer a question come back to it later