| If you are looking for a high grade the question that | | | | Sometimes they may be on the exam paper itself. If |
| will make or break you will be your worst, not the | | | | not, use your knowledge of marking schemes in your |
| ones you know well. Choosing that question correctly | | | | exam preparation to estimate marks. Do a rough |
| can make all the difference. The time constraints | | | | calculation for each question you are considering. |
| within an exam make the choice of question more | | | | The choice may be obvious at this point if one |
| important still. You don't have time to start another if | | | | stands out from the others. If they are still close in |
| you make the wrong choice! | | | | marks, then choose one anyway, but start, if it |
| So how do you choose and how do you tackle | | | | makes sense for your subject, with the difficult part |
| those questions? | | | | at the end. Don't start with the parts you know. If |
| First, scan through the paper, quickly recognising the | | | | you find the difficult part is worse than you thought |
| questions you know you can answer well. There will | | | | then you will have minimised the time lost on that |
| usually be one or two that you feel less confident | | | | question and will have some time to change to the |
| about. | | | | other question. If you had started from the beginning |
| Leave these aside for now, and assuming you have | | | | and then realised your mistake, then the damage |
| divided up your time properly and left enough for | | | | would be worse. |
| these questions, get started on your good ones. This | | | | It is preferable to choose the right one the first time |
| will get you into a state of 'flow' and increase your | | | | of course, but using this technique you can at least |
| confidence. Don't dwell on the problems. When you | | | | reduce the pressure in choosing your question which |
| have finished your good questions, feeling more | | | | in itself can impair your judgement, knowing that the |
| confident and having some of your exam behind you | | | | lost time will be minimal. |
| already, take a look again at the ones you are not | | | | Make sure you practice this technique on old exam |
| sure about. They will need a little more attention than | | | | papers before the exam and finish both your worst |
| the good ones when you scan through them. | | | | questions to see if you made the right choice. It will |
| Check through each section and note the parts you | | | | make a good content revision exercise at the same |
| do know and the parts you don't know or are unsure | | | | time, so hopefully there will be no bad questions |
| of. Try to allocate rough marks to these areas. | | | | come exam time! |