Exams are round the corner. Apart from studying hard, by avoiding some common mistakes, students can achieve better grades. Below are top 10 common mistakes students commit in exams:
Keep it clean: Make sure your answers and diagrams are clean and easy to understand. Write in good handwriting and don't cross the diagrams. looking at unreadable answers, graders don’t feel comfortable to award favorable marks. If you have doubt, sketch it in rough first.
Shuffling the answers: Though guidelines allow students to write answers in any order, it’s always better to write the answers in same sequence as of questions. This increases your chances of getting marks for same answers.
Marking wrong answer in multiple choice questions: Its common mistake done by students. Sometimes they know the right answers but somehow they circle the wrong answers. Reviewing your answers is the key.
Read instructions carefully: Most of the times, exam papers come with the instructions. Don't ignore these guidelines. These notes may have rules about negative markings and other important directions such as including rough works in answers, using calculators or earning marks on steps.
Allocate time for questions: Sometimes students spend more than enough time on some questions. This results less time for other questions. In first 10 minutes of exam read thoroughly the question paper and allocate time for each question based on the marks. Don't forget to reserve 15-20 minutes to review.
Review: Don’t forget to review the answers thoroughly. Make sure all parts of all questions have been answered. Correct any spelling mistakes, and add diagrams if needed. Many times, you can make your answers better after revision.
Ignoring the clock: Don't ignore the clock in exam hall. Try to answer the questions in allocated time. If you are going beyond, plan to conclude the answer as soon as possible.
Don't forget to put you roll-number: As per instructions write your roll-number or name on the answer-sheets before writing anything. If you forget this important step, you will get absent for the exam.
Over-thinking: Don't think too much on a particular question. By do this you are killing precious time. If you have a doubt skip the question for a while, mark it on question paper and come back after sometime. It’s better to write something than nothing because you didn't get time.
Get prepared: Broken pencils, out of ink pens, rough scale. There are numerous reasons which lead wasting your precious time in exam hall.Have multiple pencils, pens with you. Dress in comfortable attire. It’s important to study hard but all the hard work would be fruitless if you fail to perform in exam hall. It’s better to learn about the mistakes beforehand.
The writer is Vivek Singh, BharatTutors.com