In the Exam

Don’t rush! The first five to ten minutes of the exam are important.

Take time to read all the sections. Pay close attention to the instructions. What is the question asking you to do? (This process will be helped by the preparation work you will have done with past papers).

Planning and thinking are vital to exam success. General advice is that you should think for 30% of the time and write for 70%. This means that in a two-hour exam, approximately 35 of the 120 minutes should be spent thinking and planning.

Make sure you follow instructions carefully otherwise you will lose marks. (Most marks are lost either because the student does not follow instructions/answer the question or because the student runs out of time).

Organise and keep track of your time. Plan how long you will spend on each section bearing in mind mark allocation. Do not exceed the limit you impose for each section.

Finally, remember that exam results are often much better than you think, so be positive