“ Make your faith larger than your fears and your dreams bigger than your doubts.”- Robin Sharma
Most students inevitably face some level of anxiety during an exam.
When this anxiety disturbs their performance in the exam – then it becomes a crucial problem.
In most cases, exam stress is caused by the fear of failing an exam and it can also be caused due to:
- Low motivation levels
- Lack of preparation and planning
- High expectations from others
- Competition from peers.
- Ways to help eliminate Exam Stress
BEFORE EXAM
General preparation for boosting confidence
- Review your situation and skills
- Develop good study habits and strategies.
- Strategies vary with every individual. Make sure to come up with the most effective strategies you can to personalize success: visualization, logic, practice, teamwork, etc.
- Manage time (dealing with procrastination, laziness and other distractions).
- Organizing materials to be learned and studied.
Take a step by step approach to build a strategy and not get overwhelmed .viz. try answering questions from past exam papers, practice tricky questions.
- Try hard for a relaxed state of concentration. Avoid outside pressures like success, failure consequences or grades, peer pressure, competitiveness etc.
- Review your past performances on tests to improve and learn from experience.
- Write down everything you feel like you need to do. Use a checklist and try and tick one thing off. If you pretend you are in control of your revision can help.
- Avoid thinking you need to cram just before your exam.
- Get a goodnight’s sleep, the night before the exam.
- Watch a film, a TV show, play outside or listen to music to uplift your mood.
- Take a small snack or some other nourishment but never go with an empty stomach to the exam.
- Allow yourself plenty of time, especially to do things you need to before the exam and still reach the venue a little early.
DURING THE EXAM
- Read the directions carefully.
- Budget your test-taking time.
- Change your sitting position; stretch your legs, this helps you to relax.
- If a question causes you a freeze, skip and go on to the next question.
- Don’t panic when students start handing in their answer scripts, you take the time allotted for the exam.
USE THESE RELAXING TECHNIQUES IF YOU FIND YOURSELF TENSING DURING THE EXAM
- Relax – Take deep breaths. You are in control.
- Don’t think about the fear – Pause, think step-by-step.
- Use positive reinforcement for yourself- Acknowledge that you have done, are doing your best.
- Expect some manageable anxiety – It’s a reminder that you have put in your best. That also provides positive energy.
POST EXAM
- Avoid the exam “Post Mortem”.
- List what worked, hold onto those strategies.
- Focus on your next exam.
Always remember that scoring low marks or failing an exam is not the end of the world. Each time the going gets tough. Stick through it. Never give up……
“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again.”
