Busting Exams Stress

Being stressed out during the exam period is a common occurrence among students, we present to you these tips and we hope they set you at ease.

Tips for the Revision Period

Leave plenty of time to revise so that you don't have to do last minute cramming. Giving yourself adequate time will help to boost your confidence and reduce any pre-exam stress as you know you have prepared well.

Develop a timetable so that you can track and monitor your progress. Make sure you allow time for fun and relaxation so that you avoid burning out, but avoid drugs and alcohol.

Take a short break as soon as you notice your mind is losing concentration. Make yourself a sandwich. You will then come back to your revision refreshed. Be careful that you don’t reward yourself during your break with five minutes of TV or checking your e-mail or Facebook. A few minutes can easily turn into an hour before you know it.

Experiment with alternative revision techniques so that revision is more fun and your motivation to study is high. Try mind-mapping, use multi-coloured index cards, get yourself an assortment of highlighter pens.

Don't drink too much coffee, tea or fizzy drinks; the caffeine will 'hype' you and make your thinking less clear. Eat healthily and regularly; your brain will benefit from the nutrients. Don’t give in to a Saturday evening of binge drinking, either!

Regular moderate exercise will boost your energy, clear your mind and reduce feelings of stress. Try out some yoga, pilates, tai chi or relaxation techniques. They will help to keep you feeling calm and balanced, improve your concentration levels and help you to sleep better.

Tips for the Exam itself

Avoid panic. It's natural to feel some exam nerves prior to starting the exam, but getting excessively nervous is counterproductive as you will not be able to think as clearly.

The quickest and most effective way to eliminate feelings of stress and panic is to close your eyes and take several long, slow deep breaths. Breathing in this way calms your whole nervous system. Simultaneously you could give yourself some mental pep-talk by mentally repeating "I am calm and relaxed" or "I know I will do fine".

If your mind goes blank, don't panic! It will just make it harder to recall information. Instead, focus on slow, deep breathing for about one minute. If you still can't remember the information, then move on to another question and return to this question later

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Take a small bottle of water into the exam with you and some sweets (if allowed—find out ahead of time). Have a drink of water. If you are really stuck, you might consider getting up and taking a short walk outside the room to compose yourself or going to the toilet. Ask the invigilator for assistance. When you are able, get back to work - remember that it is better to put something down rather than nothing.

Remember that the invigilator is there to assist you (for instance, if you have a problem with distracting noises inside or outside of the examination room, if the sun is shining on your exam paper, if you need a drink of water, etc.).

Survey what’s in front of you

• Read the instructions carefully

• Quickly survey every page of the exam paper

• See what will be expected of you

• Re-read the instructions a second time (are you really being asked to answer either one or three of the questions?)

Prioritise what needs to be done

• When surveying the exam paper, place a mark beside all questions you know you can answer

• Divide up your time according to the importance of the questions

• Answer the easiest questions first to guarantee marks in the least amount of time

Pace yourself

• Do not rush through the exam

• Regularly check time left for the rest of the questions

• Give yourself time to proofread; you should not still be writing at the invigilator’s “5 minutes remaining” announcement

• credit: st-andrews.ac.uk