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Common Mistakes Students Make When Preparing For an Exam

Preparation for an exam is a prerequisite to having a good grade. However, when preparing for an exam, students often make some mistakes that usually deny them a good result. A student who wants an excellent result in an examination must prepare adequately for it. While preparing for an exam, you must be persistent, self-confident and tenacious because it enables you to remain determined despite the stress, problems and pressure you face during your learning process.

Common Mistakes Students Make

More importantly, preparing for examinations is not just about knowing the subject matter; it is also about learning how to interpret and solve questions in the exam. The questions may come from a different angle. For example, some questions are easy and can be answered through memorization. Contrarily, some may be complex and require you to do calculations or apply real-life examples.

Be that as it may, this article addresses the common mistakes students make when preparing for an exam.

Common Mistakes Students Make When Preparing For An Exam

1. Not Knowing Examiners’ Expectations

Examiner expectation is what a lecturer is expecting from a student. That is to say, how a lecturer expects a student to answer a question. Each examiner has different expectations from students. Hence, it is also essential to know the examiners’ expectations for a particular course and comply with them. However, students should be familiar with the style of each lecturer by asking their seniors in higher levels. Understanding examiners’ styles will enable a student to know the likely questions to be asked in the exam and how to tackle them.

2. Over Confidence

Another common mistake that students often make when preparing for an examination is being too confident in what they know. This occurs when students think a course is simple. Hence, they don’t read for the course or prepare ahead.

3. Lack of Good Attitude Towards The Exam

A student’s attitude toward an examination also matters. Students must develop a good attitude towards the exam. Some students have developed lackadaisical attitudes towards exams, which consequently affect their overall performance.

4. Not Taking regular breaks while studying

There is time for everything. Preparing for an exam is not about the quantity of time you spend but quality. Hence, you need to take frequent rest and relax when needed. These small breaks will keep you alert and active throughout your studying hours.

ALSO READ: 6 Proven Ways To Increasing Your CGPA From 1.5 to 4.5

5. Lack of Time Management Skills

Time management skills are important for getting good grades in examinations. Time management is the effective utilization of time to accomplish goals by efficiently organizing activities. Time management will help you both before the exam and during the exam. A student who has proper time management techniques can answer exam questions in less time than others.

6. Not Deciding The Study Method to Use

A study method is a strategy applied to learning. A student must have a study method before learning anything. Most students do not have a specific style of reading; they just read haphazardly (aimlessly). However, to achieve success in examinations, a student needs to develop good reading habits.

7. Lack of Well Organized Timetable

A timetable is a schedule that shows a list of what to be done and the time it must be done. It is essential you have a well-organized timetable so that you can carry out all planned study and other work activities within the required time limits. If a student fails to adhere to the study schedule and start preparing for exams on time, he or she will not only lose valuable time but also end up with low grades in examinations. It is important to note that student’s performance in exams depends largely on planning; if you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.

8. Not Practising Past Questions

A student must be knowledgeable of the type of questions that will be asked, be familiar with the time limit on the examination, have a firm idea about how to answer the questions. However, you can only achieve this by practising past questions. Practising past questions will give you an insight into questions that are likely to be asked. You must focus on learning and understand the structure of each question.

9. Not Reading Ahead

Another mistake made by students is not preparing ahead for the exam. To be successful in any exam, you need to prepare materials in advance. The best way to prepare for an examination is to study textbooks that contain examples of questions that have already been solved. However, a student may have to use additional resources to prepare for an examination. These extra resources include past questions, PDFs, Online Articles e.t.c

In conclusion, this article explains common mistakes that students make when preparing for an exam. However, in order to have a good result, all the above mistakes must be avoided while preparing for an exam.

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