9 Tips to Consider When Doing Your Science and Engineering Exam
Getting good grades in an exam is the dream of every student. Getting those top grades in an exam takes more than just revising for the exam. You should be relaxed and ready to answer as many questions as possible in an exam room. Many prepared students fail their exams because of panic and anxiety. To help you know how to handle yourself in an exam room, we have highlighted the top 9 tips to consider when doing your science and engineering exam.
Read over the entire exam.
After you receive the question sheet for your engineering exam, read over all the questions. Reading all the questions gives you an overview of what is expected of you in the exam. Do not rush to write your paper before going through it entirely. Ensure that you read the questions at least twice. If the questions are divided into
different sections, check what is expected in each question and the number of questions you should answer in that section. Then mark the questions that you understand in that section.
Do the easier questions first.
After going through the entire question paper, choose the easiest questions to start with. The easier questions help you manage time. This way, you will have more time to think about the tougher questions. If time runs out on you, you will have answered all the questions that can give you maximum points. Starting with easier questions is also encouraging. Note that if you run out on time has not answered some of the easy questions, you lose marks you should not have lost while doing tough questions you are not sure of getting maximum points on.
Stay in motion
Never stop working on your questions because time is not on your end. Therefore, work on a question until you get stuck. Once you think you have written all you had in mind about that question, drop it and go to the next one. Do not spend all the time thinking about one question that carries only a few points when you can collect more points from other questions. Note that your examiner will mark the process you used in working on your question; therefore, even if you don’t arrive at the final answer, you will likely get some points. Therefore, do not spend all your time there. Try as many problems as possible within the allocated time.
Manage your mindset
It is normal for students to feel anxious during exams. However, with the right strategies, you can manage your emotions. If you feel anxious during your exam, relax and channel the nervous energy to positive channels. Do not allow anxiousness to take over your thoughts. During such anxious moments, reviewing your question paper and noting key points in every question is best. This way, you will successfully overcome the fear and anxiousness.
Avoid the obvious mistakes.
Many students lose marks because of many silly and avoidable errors. Many students forget to check whether questions are on both sides of the paper and answer half of the questions. Others fail to read the instructions and, therefore, end up answering too many or too few questions. Many students also tend to incorrectly number their answers, meaning that the question does not match the answer. In such a case, some professors would note that and be lenient, but most will not even bother about that, and therefore you end up losing many points. This tip is very important. Note the little mistakes that can make a change in your exam and correct them on time. That is why we have insisted above that you should always take time before handing over your answer sheet to go through your paper.
Write short sentences
Another important tip you should consider when doing your exams is keeping your sentences short. Short sentences are clearer and more focused on what you are explaining. They also make it easier to check your exam and correct the work easily. When you write short sentences, the examiner will also have an easy time marking your work, which is an easy way to earn extra points. If some of the answers you are writing are in the form of an essay, ensure that you paragraph the work. Don’t have too long paragraphs. Short paragraphs make your work look tidy and easy to read.
Think like an examiner when answering the questions
Note that your examiner is expected to mark many papers within a short period, so they will not have time to start thinking about what you could have meant. Therefore, to ensure that your professor has an easy time marking your exam, ensure that you provide clear answers. Additionally, ensure that your work is easy to read. When your work is easy to understand, they will have an easy time awarding marks on the same. However, when the work is hard to read and not clear, you are likely to get lower marks because they do not have all the time to interpret your exam.
Make all the allocated time count.
Once you have identified all the questions you plan to answer in the exam, ensure that you play wisely with time. Time plays a key role in your exam, so you should plan on the time you wish to spend on each question. The most important thing is to stick to your time plan. If you have to spend more time on a question, ensure that it is a question that carries more marks. As stated above, the easiest way to manage your time is by starting with the easiest questions and then completing the exam with the tougher ones. The goal is always to fetch as many marks as possible, which can only happen when you answer many questions.
Final checks
Check carefully to ensure that you have answered the maximum number of questions required to answer each question. If you have enough time, go through each question and the solution you have crafted. Proofreading your answers is important because it helps you correct errors and adds missing words. If you spot any mistakes, ensure that you correct them, even if they will make your paper look untidy. The goal is to have correct solutions that can fetch you as many points as possible. While writing your exam, you should always plan for at least five minutes which you should use to check whether you have answered all the questions accordingly.
Conclusion
When getting into an exam room, ensure that you follow the tips provided above. Have a clear focus on each question and go through your work after completion. Proofreading your answers is important because it helps you identify errors or omitted words. It is also important to understand all the instructions before tackling the exam. We have highlighted the importance of starting with the easiest question. Your goal is to score the best grades; therefore, manage your time well to answer all possible questions. Lastly, ensure that all your answers are straight to the point when writing your exam. Your examiner will not waste time trying to think what you meant because they have many papers to mark.