Useful tips on how to prepare for the exam and pass it with flying colors

Ah, those exams! I was very nervous before them, especially before the piano exam concerts. Only once I managed to overcome the debilitating “scare” by repeating to myself every night when I went to sleep: “I’m not afraid of the music exam! And you know, on the appointed day I was surprisingly calm and easily performed the program. And how hard is the time of graduation and entrance exams. Then the university sessions… I remember myself well as a student. I have solid experience as a university examiner. And what you are about to read about how to prepare for the exam in high school reflects both of these experiences, backed up by some advice from psychologists.

Why you need to study not only during the session

The old rule, “You have to study throughout the year,” is so simple, but so difficult to follow. It is necessary to set yourself the attitude right away: “I study not for the institute, but for life. So knowledge must be in the long term memory. Before the exam, it is easier to repeat what you already know, than to memorize the unknown.

In many universities, exams are now conducted exclusively in writing. You hand in your work and wait for the result. It is difficult to get a better grade: “I was up all night studying! To which the teachers usually replied, “You should have worked during the year.

Grades to some extent reflect the actual knowledge of the pupil or student. A “bachelor – specialist – master” system is being introduced at universities, where only excellent and good students (a certain percentage) will study for free. Those with poorer results will have to pay after the first level (bachelor), if, of course, they want to continue their studies. Selecting their graduates to work, firms are picky about their diplomas. A student with an “F” grade is ineligible. The exceptions are the children of the directors themselves.

How to prepare for the exam

The last night before an exam should be used for sleep. Especially important is the period between two and five o’clock. When I was a student, I often sat up nights, and the next morning my head was not fresh and it was hard to think about what I knew well. So the main thing on exam day – to have a fresh head. In the extreme case, just resourcefulness, intelligence, ability to think logically will help.

If there is a lot of material, it is better to get up earlier. In the morning, especially in an extreme situation, and you have to take a high tempo right away, don’t wait for inspiration – the material is imprinted in your memory better. Another issue is that the effect may be short-lived: you pass and forget, because short-term memory is triggered.

A useful morning workout for the brain

Exercise in the morning is good, of course. That’s if it’s in the habit. And if not: “Ah, what exercise, and so no time! Still, it is possible to find minutes for at least three exercises.

The first one is very exotic. Medics call it “mental aerobics. The idea is to get your mind in order. The time is 5-10 minutes after waking up, sitting or lying down comfortably in bed. All seven exercises are said out loud:

1. As quickly as possible, count backwards from 100 to one.
2. Say the alphabet, thinking of a word for each letter: “A, aster, B, butterfly, C, grape,” and so on. Do not think about any letter for longer than 30 seconds (for foreign language learners this is a particularly useful exercise, but the alphabet and words then are from the respective language. It is good to change the words every day).
3. One should say twenty male names as quickly as possible, numbering each one: “1, Boris, 2, Alexei, Z, Arthur, and so on.”
4. Same, but with women’s names.
5. Same as the previous two exercises, but numbering 20 kinds of food: “1, bread, 2, apple, Z, salad, etc.”
6. Choose one letter from the alphabet and name 20 words beginning with it, numbering them the same way you did in the previous exercises. Do this as quickly as possible, too: “1, thread, 2, note, 3, file, etc.”
7. If your eyes were open during these exercises, now close them, count to 20 and open them. Your brain is now warmed up and ready for the challenges of the day ahead.

And now for the second one: just jump. Starting position: standing, arms out to the sides. As you exhale, legs apart, hands up, clap your hands over your head. When breathing in, return to the starting position. During the jumps is a massage of the internal organs. It is not for nothing that aristocrats loved the morning walk on horseback. They did not jump themselves, but the effect was about the same.

The third exercise can be done when you, for example, fry eggs or warm tea in the kitchen. You just have to toss and catch with the other hand some small object (a box with matches or a small ball). This exercise mobilizes the vision.

 

After breakfast, get to work right away. Don’t walk, don’t wander. I had an acquaintance who would stand in front of a window for hours and look at people and cars before he got to work. His other knack for not working was reading newspapers. Until he read it, he wouldn’t get down to business. But we’ll talk about laziness later.

Schedule for repeating the material

You have to have a training plan. And you have to do it by all means. You know, when I have busy days with a lot of things to do, I always make a schedule: when and what I’m going to do. That’s the only thing that saves me.

Some people, especially men in the creative professions, make fun of me: “The schedule is broken!” But women are different from men because they tend to look into the future, to plan. From what will be prepared for lunch today to much more serious and long-term things.

And in your case, divide the questions for the exam by the number of days of preparation, subtract half a day that will be spent on attending counseling, time for repetition. And every day the number of questions you have planned should be learned. Don’t get your hopes up that “This won’t get me.” By “law of meanness” it is the unread question that gets caught (I say this from my own experience). If you haven’t learned it, at least read it once. It will leave something in your head. You’ll add to your general erudition, and maybe you’ll get away with it.

When it’s best to practice

In the morning for the first two hours, you will be able to work very hard. That’s why I urge you not to waste this precious time. In order not to lose it further, you should take a 15-minute break every 40-60 minutes. During it do some exercise (you can run on the spot, jump); listen to music, you can molest with a conversation with someone from home. That is, you have to switch completely.

If you don’t have time for such breaks, at least change your body position more often. You can not sit bent over the table, not moving, afraid to lose precious minutes. Lack of movement drastically reduces one’s perception of the subject matter.

By the way, I never prepare for exams and I don’t repeat texts of lectures sitting at the table. I try to sit in the American way, so my feet are higher. Americans are not just rude people, as it often seems to Europeans. They are very pragmatic. They probably realized a long time ago that this posture promotes better blood circulation, which means that the brain is better supplied with blood and works more productively. And experts from the American University of Berkeley in general, claimed that the memorization process is much more effective if the person is lying down. The main thing is not to fall asleep. Although a half hour nap during the day is very refreshing.

Whether to make cheat sheets

Lying down, however, is not convenient to write cheat sheets. Many spend a lot of time doing just that. You can, however, lose time, and you can not use it, because teachers observe the tradition of kicking out “cribs”.

As a student, preparing for exams, I myself all the time wrote dates, names, titles. I remembered them better that way. The floor around my chair was strewn with scribbled papers. But I didn’t take them with me, because I didn’t know how to use them.

Besides, I used to make answer charts. And these schemes were like “funny pictures”, because I encoded some thought with a symbol or a picture. For example, to remember the importance of Byzantine culture in the development of the world, I drew two horizontal arcs, which meant “a golden bridge between the cultures of East and West, antiquity and the Middle Ages. Of course, it was impossible to write down the details in such a scheme, they were remembered later, but the main thoughts in a logical order were easily remembered and reproduced, it was only necessary to draw drawings during preparation in the classroom.

How to stop worrying

On the morning of the exam, excitement reaches its limit. A lot of adrenaline, the so-called fear hormone, is released into the bloodstream. It can be neutralized by vigorous exercise, so that the muscles tense up nicely. Be sure to take a cool shower or at least wash up to the waist. This not only relieves tension, but also washes away the sweat that some people produce copious amounts of excitement. Then use deodorant. And you won’t be shunned by your fellow students or held back by examiners.

For God’s sake, don’t take any sedative pills, especially tranquilizers. You will calm down, but you won’t be able to think of the basics. A better remedy is to smell a slice of lemon. The smell of it reduces fear and helps you solve difficult problems more easily. Mint and lily of the valley aromas are also good, because they improve attention and help concentration. You can do without coffee, because the smells of jasmine, rose and cloves excite the brain cells better.

Aromatotherapy can also be used on any exam preparation day. In particular, the inventive Japanese in the early morning through the ventilation ducts supply the smell of lemon into the workplace, during the day – floral (to enhance concentration), by the end of the day – the smell of pine forest, which creates a feeling of relaxation. It is possible to stock up on the appropriate essences for you, too. Don’t forget to smell lavender before going to bed. It counteracts fears and insomnia.

And on exam day, worrying is inevitable, so change your attitude towards it. Sometimes excitement can be a helper, because it acts mobilizing. And a person remembers or thinks of things that in normal circumstances could not do. Still, you should worry less.

How to eat right

When I was a student, I had the notion that the worse I looked, the more I could be pitied: that’s how hard I worked, how hard I studied. The bruises under my eyes were supposed to be evidence of sleepless nights and special diligence in preparation. Now, when I sit on the opposite side of the table, I much more like confident, good-looking students. That’s for me, a female examiner. And what about men? They like to give a higher grade to a pretty girl, especially if she answers well.

And to look good, you need to get enough sleep and follow a diet that will also help in learning. During intensive studies are very hungry. Great is the consumption of mental energy: if the mass of the human brain is only 2-3% of body weight, the brain takes up daily 20% of all the energy you get with food. What you eat decisively affects the performance of your brain. And not just it.

There’s an enormous amount of nervous tension. From it increases the acidity of the stomach, which often leads to ulcers and other gastrointestinal diseases. Maybe nervous overload and irregular nutrition is the reason that among students and pupils a lot of patients with these diseases?

The body in the days before exams needs proteins, which are in plenty in cottage cheese, meat, fish, eggs. You need phosphorus (egg yolks, fish), calcium (cottage cheese, cheese, milk), vitamins and trace elements from fruits and vegetables. You also need butter, for better brain function it is recommended to drink two-thirds of a glass of water at night, in which a teaspoon of honey is dissolved.

And then there are special foods that are absolutely necessary for the student. Nuts strengthen the nervous system, stimulate brain activity. They are especially important during the “mental marathon. Prawns supply the brain with fatty acids that will not let your attention weaken (100 grams a day is enough). But salt them only after frying or boiling. Onions help with mental fatigue and mental fatigue, help thin the blood, improve the supply of oxygen to the brain (at least half an onion a day). Cabbage relieves nervousness. Lemon refreshes thoughts and facilitates the perception of information due to the high content of vitamin C. Carrots especially make it easier to memorize material due to the fact that they stimulate metabolism in the brain. A plate of grated carrots with vegetable oil before cramming is a must!

Ask your questions in comments and I will answer you! Also, watch a helpful video on the topic below.