Exam Technique

SO WHAT ABOUT THE EXAM ITSELF?

1. The most obvious thing to do in the exam is to Read The Question Carefully.(RTFQ)

I have trained a group of police officers for three weeks once on a Crammer Course where every day started with an exam, on the final mock exam one of them still read a question wrongly. It is an easy mistake to make. But it is not a good thing to do.

2. Try to work out your answer without checking the options

If you find the answer you were hoping for once you look at the answer options then that is a good indicator that what you are right. If not then you will need to start again.

3. If you don’t know the answer

You might want to think about guessing, If you do then guess either B or C. Statistically they appear more often than A or D.

If you decide to leave the answer until later mark your answer sheet so you can come back to the right place. If you don’t I have known people who have forgotten they missed a question and carried on from where they left off. That meant the whole answer sheet was one question adrift, and consequently wrong all the way down.

4. Be clear about which answer you are indicating

Your answer sheet is marked by a computer which reads the pencil marks you leave on your paper. If you change your mind make sure you remove all trace of your previous answer, if not the computer not being able to make its mind up will disregard both and that is a mark you wont get.

I marked an exam once where the candidate marked three of the four options in 75% of the questions. Then just to be sure the examiner knew which answer he had selected, he then wrote the answer in the margin.

5. Plan Carefully

You have to answer 150 questions in 3 hours that is 1 minute 12 seconds per question. You need to have answered 50 questions at the end of each hour. What are you going to do if at the end of the first hour you have only answered 30? If you carry on at that speed you will be 60 questions short at the end. It is important that you practice answering questions so you can do 150 in 3 hours.

6 Be Prepared

This is about making sure you have everything you need for the day, pencils erasers, bottle of water etc.

You may find to that you need to use the toilet during the exam, if so that is very valuable time you are not using to answer questions. However when you get back do not be tempted to rush at a few questions to catch up. That is how you will mis read the questions and get things wrong.

Clearly it would be advantageous not to need to use the toilet at all, so don’t drink too much of that water you have taken in with you.

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