| Has this ever happened to you? You've studied and | | | | context of yourgoals. |
| researched anddone lots of work, and yet somehow | | | | 6. Study What You Are Comfortable With Rather |
| when the Prof gives you yourtest back, you don't | | | | Than What You |
| always get the great results on your examsthat you | | | | Need. |
| feel like you should be getting. If only you couldfigure | | | | The Fix: Dig into the material you really need work |
| out what is ruining your exam results... | | | | on, so thatyou develop all the necessary skills for |
| Here are the top Ten Things Not to Do, both during | | | | great exam results --not just the skills you already |
| your examsand while preparing for your exams, plus | | | | have. |
| a way to fix it, so youcan consistently get the high | | | | 7. Plan for the Wrong Kind of Test. Have you ever |
| level exam results that you want. | | | | done this? |
| DON'T | | | | Prepared for an essay exam the same way you |
| 1. Start Preparing Too Late. Many people just don't | | | | prepare for amultiple-choice test? Different types of |
| givethemselves enough time to properly prepare for | | | | exams require differentpreparation strategies. |
| their exams. | | | | The Fix: Prepare for the kind of exam you are taking. |
| The Fix: Be sure to start earlier that you think you | | | | 8. Misread or Ignore Directions. If you want to |
| need to. | | | | compete with everyone else, you need to be playing |
| 2. Stay Up All Night the Night Before a Major Exam. | | | | the same game. |
| To performat peak efficiency, you need your rest. | | | | The Fix: Read carefully and follow directions. |
| The Fix: Prepare early and get a good night's sleep | | | | 9. Ignore the information a question asks for. This is |
| before majorexams. | | | | a commonmistake on essay exams, and the first |
| 3. Exaggerate the Importance of the Exam. If you | | | | thing the marker usuallylooks for. |
| give it toomuch importance it can get you worked up | | | | The Fix: Answer the question that is asked. |
| emotionally andinterfere with good exam results. | | | | 10. Cheat. Do I even need to talk about this? No |
| The Fix: Keep the exam in perspective. | | | | matter howdesperate you may think you are, no |
| 4. Get Scared and Give Up During the Exam. This | | | | matter how important youmight think an exam is -- |
| often happenstogether with #3. | | | | cheating is Never acceptable. |
| The Fix: You're already there, so relax, take the | | | | The Fix: Have faith and believe in your abilities, and |
| exam, and whoknows? You may do better than you | | | | prepareas well as you can. Respect yourself enough |
| think. | | | | that if you can'tearn a grade honestly, you would |
| 5. Minimize the Importance of the Exam. If you tell | | | | rather walk away. |
| yourself itis not so important, you are unlikely to do | | | | Follow these fixes, and you're going to have great |
| what you need to doin order to acquire the skills to | | | | exam resultsin your future! |
| succeed on the exam. | | | | Copyright 2006 by Teresa Bolen. All Rights Reserved. |
| The Fix: Remember the exam's importance in the | | | | |