!

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l hear lL over and over from sLudenLs LhaL Lhey need help wlLh exam Lechnlque. 1hey feel LhaL Lhey are
loslng marks somewhere ln exams LhaL Lhey shouldn'L be. Somehow Lhey cannoL geL Lhe marks LhaL Lhey
deserve.

CulLe ofLen sLudenLs can have greaL knowledge of a sub[ecL buL sLlll noL geL hlgh marks. 1hls means LhaL
Lhey do noL know how Lo LranslaLe Lhelr knowledge lnLo marks, whlch ls a blg parL of exam Lechnlque.

!"#$ /'()*+,-' +0 /2#*03#/+*4 5*673'84' +*/6 $#250

1hls means LhaL you need Lo sLop maklng sllly mlsLakes, be able Lo ldenLlfy whaL Lhe quesLlon ls asklng
you and be able Lo wrlLe good clear answers. All of Lhls has been covered ln Lhe SLudy Skllls LuLorlals. So
Lhls exam Lechnlque sLuff can be pracLlsed over and over, lL has Lo be parL of your sLudy rouLlne.

lf you sLudy how l have recommended, Lhen you wlll be good aL exams. LveryLhlng l suggesL ls always
wlLh Lhe exam ln mlnd as LhaL ls whaL you are assessed on.

1here are also a few oLher llLLle Lhlngs LhaL you can do Lechnlque wlse on Lhe day of Lhe exam LhaL wlll
asslsL you and posslbly save you some marks here and Lhere.

ln Lhe exam lL ls really all abouL glvlng yourself Lhe besL chance Lo geL as hlgh a grade as posslble. 1he
sLudy and revlslon ls Lhe hard parL. Cnce you have done Lhls, Lhe exam ls [usL a case of noL dolng anyLhlng
crazy.

8uL once you geL good aL Lhls you can Lake lL one sLep furLher and squeeze exLra marks ouL Lhe paper LhaL
you wouldn'L normally geL when revlslng aL home. 1he slLuaLlon, Lhe nerves and Lhe facL LhaL lL ls Lhe
exam, can work ln your favour.

8elow l have summarlsed whaL l Lhlnk you should work on LhaL wlll lmprove your exam Lechnlque.

9+*80'/

!:'2;/)+*4 /)#/ /)'; #05 ;6- +0 <#0'8 -=6* 06$'/)+*4 /)#/ ;6- )#:' 86*'>

?ou musL belleve Lhls, as lL ls acLually Lrue. lf you Lhlnk Lhls way Lhen lL wlll Lransform your approach Lo
quesLlons and you wlll lose a loL of Lhe fear. ln facL, Lhls ls Lhe mosL common complalnL LhaL l hear.."LhaL
was a welrd exam". AlmosL word for word, every slngle year!

8emember.exam quesLlons [usL LesL you on a baslc concepL every slngle Llme. ?ou [usL need Lo ldenLlfy
lL.

lf Lhe exam was based on someLhlng LhaL you haven'L done, Lhen whaL ls Lhe polnL ln even sLudylng?

?+33; 9+0/#5'0

lf you can sLop maklng sllly mlsLakes you wlll save yourself so many marks. 1hls should Lhe flrsL place you
look aL ln your overall exam process Lo lmprove your marks qulckly.

1ake your Llme when you read Lhe quesLlon. !usL make an efforL Lo slow down. uL your pen down and
glve yourself a chance Lo Lhlnk loglcally. 8ead Lhe quesLlon several Llmes. uo noL [usL sLarL wrlLlng.

Look for Lhose Lrlgger words, look for clues and menLally form a sLrucLure for your answer. Cnce you
have done Lhls, you should be on Lhe rlghL paLh.

?ou $-0/ leave Llme aL Lhe end of Lhe exam Lo go back Lhrough Lhe paper looklng for sllly mlsLakes. 1hls
wlll also save you many marks.


@*07'2+*4 A-'0/+6*0

Ceneral advlce on how Lo wrlLe beLLer answers ls dlfflculL as Lhere are so many dlfferenL Lypes of
quesLlon across dlfferenL sub[ecLs.

8uL! ?ou always need 0/2-(/-2' and (3#2+/;. Lvery slngle answer musL flow and be easy Lo read. lf lL ls a
mess, you leave yourself open Lo Lhe examlners dlscreLlon.

As we have looked aL before, Lhe maln parL of answerlng quesLlons ls done menLally very qulckly. So [usL
by sLudylng properly wlLh concepLs and recognlLlon ln mlnd, you wlll lmprove drasLlcally aL Lhls parL.


B*/'*0+/;

lL all comes back Lo how long you Lake Lo do an exam and Lhe 2);/)$ LhaL you have.

Cenerally, you should be falrly lnLense ready for Lhe exam. AlmosL conLrolled aggresslon. lf you are Loo
lald back you wlll run ouL of Llme. 8uL also, when you have a sense of urgency or lnLenslLy, lL can
someLlmes enable you Lo maglcally pull answers ouL Lhe alr.

So, Lhls all means LhaL you go slow aL Lhe sLarL of Lhe quesLlon when you need Lo be careful and Lhen
lncrease your pace aL oLher Llmes.

My alm was always Lo do Lhe exam as qulckly as l could buL wlLhouL sacrlflclng any quallLy. 1hls Lakes
pracLlse. lL doesn'L acLually maLLer lf you do lL ln half Lhe Llme glven, as long as you have done lL well.

lf you are very well prepared Lhen you should do lL a loL qulcker Lhan expecLed. ?ou Lhen of course have
Llme Lo go back over lL agaln. ln facL, lf you don'L go over lL aL leasL once Lhen you are Lhrowlng marks
away.


&)' C9#4+(D &'()*+,-'

1hls ls menLloned ln Lhe Savlng Marks LuLorlal ln more deLall. 8rlefly, l recommend readlng Lhrough a
quesLlon from sLarL Lo flnlsh before you sLarL Lo wrlLe anyLhlng. 1hls Lles ln wlLh slowlng down, dolng Lhe
exam ln layers and lL also has many oLher beneflLs.

?ou could read Lhrough several quesLlons before you even begln Lhe paper Lo glve yourself a blL of Llme
Lo relax.


&)' E28'2

AnoLher Lhlng LhaL you can do ls vary Lhe order LhaL you do Lhe quesLlons. MosL people sLarL aL quesLlon
1 and flnlsh aL Lhe end. ?ou don'L have Lo do Lhls.

A loL of people wlll say geL sLuck on a quesLlon and only move on afLer wasLlng a loL of Llme or evenLually
answerlng lL, whlch ls a greaL way Lo make sure you run ouL of Llme!

lf Lhere are dlfferenL secLlons ln your exam, you may flnd LhaL you prefer a laLLer secLlon Lo Lhe flrsL one.
1hls means lL could be more beneflclal Lo you Lo sLarL wlLh Lhe laLLer secLlon.

AL Lhe sLarL of Lhe exam you are noL aL your besL. ?ou may be nervous and lL Lakes a blL of Llme Lo geL
comforLable. lf you sLarL aL quesLlon 1 and lL's a beasL Lhen lL could harm your confldence lnsLanLly.

Cn Lhe oLher hand, leL's say, quesLlon 3 ls one LhaL you could do easlly, Lhen why noL sLarL wlLh LhaL and
bulld some confldence?


F#;'20

AnoLher Lechnlque ls Lo do Lhe exam ln layers". 8y Lhls l mean do lL more Lhan once. ?ou're probably
now shouLlng, do lL more Lhan once!" Are you lnsane?" Pave you Laken leave of your senses?" l don'L
even wanL Lo do lL once never mlnd 2 or 3 Llmes!"

lL's acLually crazy Lo sLarL aL quesLlon 1 Lhen work your way Lo Lhe end ln exacLly Lhe Llme glven for Lhe
exam. lL makes no sense.

?ou could go Lhrough lL falrly qulckly aL flrsL, elLher menLally noLlng answers or wrlLlng one word LhaL
could prompL you laLer on (see Savlng Marks LuLorlal for more on Lhls).

?ou could Lhen go back Lo Lhe sLarL and sLarL wrlLlng ln Lhe answers properly. 1hls means LhaL you have
really done Lhe exam Lwlce. 1he more Llmes you do lL, Lhe easler lL ls. lmaglne dolng a pasL paper once
and geLLlng 30. ?ou Lhen do lL Lhe nexL day and Lhe day afLer LhaL and you should lmprove each Llme.
1hls Lheory applles here Loo. lL's all abouL famlllarlLy.

Cr you could [usL keep repeaLlng Lhls process unLll you run ouL of Llme. 1he ldea ls LhaL each Llme you
sLarL agaln" you wlll lmprove someLhlng. ?ou mlghL flnd a sllly mlsLake or noLlce LhaL you mlsread
someLhlng or flnd LhaL you could have added more deLall. ?ou are bulldlng up your answers each Llme
unLll you Lhlnk lL ls as good as lL can be.

.#2$ G=

Would you sLarL playlng a sporL wlLhouL warmlng up? Well you mlghL, buL lL's besL noL Lo, you mlghL pull
a muscle or aL besL you won'L be very sharp for 10 mlnuLes.

Lxams are Lhe same. ?ou have Lo do someLhlng before you go ln, oLherwlse lL could Lake, 10-20 mlnuLes
unLll you are acLually worklng aL your usual level. 8emember you wlll be nervous Loo.

ln LhaL 20 mlnuLes you could have made a loL of mlsLakes and lL wlll vary dependlng on how you feel and
your mood on dlfferenL days.

lnsLead, [usL read over some noLes for 13-20 mlnuLes on Lhe mornlng of Lhe exam. 1haL ls lL. 1he alm ls
[usL Lo warm up. noL Lo LesL yourself or Lo learn anyLhlng, [usL Lo geL Lhe braln focussed upon LhaL
sub[ecL.

.#2*+*4H When you do Lhls, you mlghL panlc a blL and Lhlnk LhaL you can'L remember anyLhlng. l have
had Lhls a loL. lL's [usL nerves. lf you have done Lhe preparaLlon, you musL LrusL yourself and LhaL once
you sLarL lL wlll all be good.