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Mid-year exams have begun with some schools about to end their exams!
It is not too late to get tips from CLS. Be sure to check out our top 10 exam tips so that you can get the best out of your exams.
1) Find out about the exams
Find out all the information you can about the exams before you sit them.

This will help you be more prepared for the exams as you know what to expect and do get surprised on the day.  Ask questions like:
How long is the exam?
What questions are in the exam – multiple choice, short and/or long answers?
How many questions are in the exam?
How much will each question be worth?

2) Organise your study material
Be sure to get hold of all your study notes/practice exams/tests in one place.
Organise and collect all your study material so that you can focus on one subject at a time.  This will ease your stress as you have collected everything you need to study in one space.  Plus it will stop you from procrastinating as you have all the notes and stationary you need to focus.

3) Check past exams papers
Study past exams as these will be one of the best sources you can find.
Depending on how many exam papers you can get hold of, you may be able to identify any trends or repeat questions from past exam papers.  This will help you out and give you an idea as what to expect from upcoming exams.
Past exams are also really good to make you apply what you have studied get use to exam conditions.
If you need past exams, be sure to check out our Past Exams www.studentbox.com.au/notes/Past_Exams and Revision Resources www.studentbox.com.au/notes/Revision_Resources sections.

4) Check your exam timetable
Make sure you know when, where and what time your exams are on.
This will help you make a study timetable and prioritise what to study in the lead up to exams.  Knowing when and where your exams are will also reduce your stress on the day of the exam as you know where you need to be.

5) Maintain
Stick to your study schedule.
Once you have set up your own study timetable and set yourself some goals such as “I want to get ‘x%’ average for my exams” etc . . .  Stick to the timetable you have made so that you stay on track to achieve what you want to.

6) Don’t cram
Don’t cram your study, especially the night before.
This will put a lot of added pressure and stress on yourself if you try to cram everything into one night. You can’t revise a whole term/year into one night.  It is best to stick to what you have already revised the night before exams.
This will calm your nerves and give you confidence in what you know.  Check out our post for tips on the night before the exams.

7) Talk to your friends before/after exams
Don’t talk to your friends about the exam before or after.
Talking to your friends about the exam just before you walk in can really lower your confidence and dramatically impact your ability to perform in the exam as you may become confused and begin to question what you have studied.
Similar to after the exams, don’t hang around and talk to your friends about the exams as you will question what you have just written and stress out if you think you have made a mistake.

8) Use your reading time
Use your reading time to prepare yourself for the exam
Use your reading time to glance over the whole exam.  Read the instructions carefully and select what questions you need to answer.
Be sure to check how many pages there are in the exam and how much each question is worth so you can allocate enough time to each question.
This will help you manage your time within the exam and justify how long your answers should be to get full marks.
Use the readying time to plan how you will answer questions and what question you will answer first.  Always start off with easier questions to build your confidence and warm up.

9) Break down the questions
Break down the questions so that you understand what you are being asked
Break down the question to really understand what it is you are being asked and answer the question.
Focus on reading and identifying key terms in the question which outline what you are required to do.  Check out our post on short answered questions to find out more about key terms in questions.

10) Review
Don’t stress out over an exam you have just sat.
It is better to review how you went in the exam in and think of ways you can improve for next time.
A few things to review are how you deal with exam stress, your study timetable and study method and more.
Think of ways you may seem to benefit so that you can do better in your exams.

You can also ask your teacher to go through the exam with you if you want to revise certain questions you didn’t understand. – www.studentbox.com