Exam stress/Worry

LegacyUser

Hi,

I appreciate this is a very trivial in comparison to most but i'd appreciate advice nonetheless. I have recently returned to education and I am doing exams in a few weeks. The thing is I feel like nothing is going in and I am having trouble remembering stuff from each subject. I'm so worried about failing. Any tips/advice you can give me?

Gi joe!

Its easy to feel overwhelmed by looking at the sheer volume of things you will need to know for each subject. I've been in the exact same position. What has helped me has been doing the following.

You need to break every one of you subjects into different parts, and have a goal each day of covering one or two parts each day. There's no need to study 8 hours+ going over and over the same stuff, you will just burn out. Just keep covering a small amount daily and in a few weeks it should all add up. Quality over quantity!

As for nothing going in, your gonna have to find out what kind of learner you are: i.e visual or auditory. For example, I'm a visual learner, so I like using diagrams, mind maps, mental images and so on to help me.

Make sure your diet is decent as well, your eating good quality food(although as I student it can be difficult!) and your not eating too much or too little.

Good luck! And remember to relax. A few nerves on the day is a good thing, but too much is completely counterproductive!

krd

If you're putting in the work - the stuff is going in - though it might not be coming out that easily.

I have a friend who scores really highly in exams regardless of the exam. He's scored highly in exams he says he should never have passed as he didn't understand the subject - but he is very good at doing exams. Through practice.

Practice exam questions from past papers. Do at least one every night -under the same conditions you'd do them in the exam. No peaking or cheating. Some people studied but ignore preparing enough for the actual exam. Time yourself with a watch. When you're answering questions with a few minutes to spare - you'll know you're getting there. You'll find your weakness quickly and be able to fix them.

Do the best you can. These things you have to chip away at.

Try to push the stress out of your mind - and teach yourself to focus. Do something like absolutely focusing yourself on doing a 20 minute question within the 20 minutes - push everything else out of your mind

It's a bit like learning to drive a car - at first you think you're going to kill yourself or someone else. After a while you realise you're not and you relax and drive the thing.

Good luck.

LegacyUser

krd wrote: »

If you're putting in the work - the stuff is going in - though it might not be coming out that easily.

I have a friend who scores really highly in exams regardless of the exam. He's scored highly in exams he says he should never have passed as he didn't understand the subject - but he is very good at doing exams. Through practice.

Practice exam questions from past papers. Do at least one every night -under the same conditions you'd do them in the exam. No peaking or cheating. Some people studied but ignore preparing enough for the actual exam. Time yourself with a watch. When you're answering questions with a few minutes to spare - you'll know you're getting there. You'll find your weakness quickly and be able to fix them.

Do the best you can. These things you have to chip away at.

Try to push the stress out of your mind - and teach yourself to focus. Do something like absolutely focusing yourself on doing a 20 minute question within the 20 minutes - push everything else out of your mind

It's a bit like learning to drive a car - at first you think you're going to kill yourself or someone else. After a while you realise you're not and you relax and drive the thing.

Good luck.

Thanks so much for the advice. Unfortunately it's not possible for me to study every night, I work forty hours a week and i'm in college 2 nights, between communting and the daily mundane stuff it really is hard to get much study done, i'm doing what I can when I can, but i'm afraid it won't be enough

greenprincess

What used to really really help me was making notes of my notes, then filering them down and down until it was just buzz words. So you look at the buzz word(s) and you know what the rest of your notes are.

Or just doing tonnes of exam papers!!

Best of luck

LegacyUser

K really need some help or advice I sat down to answer a past paper got less than half a page and BLANK. I'm worried sick.

Fentdog84

Have college exams coming up myself in 2 weeks, I'm a bit of crammer so have a lot to do. Best thing to do is to read through slowly each of the topics in each subject and a make sure you understand the stuff.Anything that you cant understand, leave it and come back to it later. No point spending hours on one thing trying to understand it. Then go back through each topic and make notes in your own words on the stuff you dont know/unsure of. Then on the days coming up to the exam, just learn off the notes. Take plenty of breaks in between and go for walks and drink plenty of Water. If something is not going in, take a break or move onto another topic. good luck.

murphm45

Freakedout wrote: »

K really need some help or advice I sat down to answer a past paper got less than half a page and BLANK. I'm worried sick.

First off i'm not trying to be bad or make light of the situation at all but try to remember that exams aren't the be all and end all (i'm fairly sure you won't be shot if you fail), just try to focus on that. Believe me i know all too well that when you're in the quagmire of study, exam stress, panic etc its hard to realise that but try to, it helps to put the situation into perspective.

You said you drew a blank when you were doing a past paper, when you look at the answer did it make sense? Were you annoyed with yourself for not getting it? if so then there's a good chance you're letting the pressue overwhelm you so if you relax you'll find it easier. If not then remember that this is why you're studying, you're trying to get to a situation where that won't happen in the exam.

Just keep plugging away at it and try not bogged down if you hit walls, note it, park it and move on, you can come back to it later. Your subconscius will work away at it and you'll find that when you go back to it later it makes a bit more sense.

You're clearly taking it seriously and appear to be putting the work in, rarely does that dedication go unrewarded. Just try top rememeber the examiner wants you to pass as much as you do (they don't want to have to correct repeats!). Also don't be afraid to state the obvious, i know people who've corrected exams and they always say that while alot of people obviously know there stuff they haven't demonstared it adequately.

Anyway keep up the hard work, relax and the best of luck (i'm sure you won't need it though)!

LegacyUser

murphm45 wrote: »

First off i'm not trying to be bad or make light of the situation at all but try to remember that exams aren't the be all and end all (i'm fairly sure you won't be shot if you fail), just try to focus on that. Believe me i know all too well that when you're in the quagmire of study, exam stress, panic etc its hard to realise that but try to, it helps to put the situation into perspective.

You said you drew a blank when you were doing a past paper, when you look at the answer did it make sense? Were you annoyed with yourself for not getting it? if so then there's a good chance you're letting the pressue overwhelm you so if you relax you'll find it easier. If not then remember that this is why you're studying, you're trying to get to a situation where that won't happen in the exam.

Just keep plugging away at it and try not bogged down if you hit walls, note it, park it and move on, you can come back to it later. Your subconscius will work away at it and you'll find that when you go back to it later it makes a bit more sense.

You're clearly taking it seriously and appear to be putting the work in, rarely does that dedication go unrewarded. Just try top rememeber the examiner wants you to pass as much as you do (they don't want to have to correct repeats!). Also don't be afraid to state the obvious, i know people who've corrected exams and they always say that while alot of people obviously know there stuff they haven't demonstared it adequately.

Anyway keep up the hard work, relax and the best of luck (i'm sure you won't need it though)!

Hi Murph,

Thanks for your response. You are right there's more important things in life. I did get annoyed with myself for not getting the answer down, its mostly theory and I just didn't know what to write. Finding it hard juggling work/study but trying to get a couple of hours done every evening. Got a good bit done last night and felt better after it, took a break in between and went for a walk. I engage in class and seem to understand most things simply enough with the exception of one subject that's scaring me but it's like it goes out of my head. Anways i'll just soldier on and see how I go.