Case Studies

With a solid foundation of effective study skills and proper exam preparation under your belt, we are ready to look at some strategies of ‘exam-wiseness’.

3.2.2 Exam strategies

3.2.2.1 Exam time management strategies

Running out of time because of spending too much time on a few questions and therefore missing the opportunity to earn easier marks on later questions happens unfortunately too often. Here are some ways to avoid that pitfall.

• Ø Take a few moments to get an overview of the exam, looking at each page to get a sense of the questions, seeing how many pages there are in the exam booklet, and what the total number of questions is. This overview allows you the perspective to plan your strategies for tackling the exam. In particular, note whether every question is worth the same number of marks or not. If not, you will have to balance a strategy of doing the easy questions first and quickly versus spending more time on the harder, more valuable questions.
• Ø Divide the total number of minutes of the exam (e.g. a 2-hour exam = 120 minutes) by the total number of questions on the exam. This will give you an estimate of the average number of minutes you can take per question. Some questions will take less time, some will take more. Based on this number, make a mark beside the question number, which you think you should have reached by the end of the first hour (and the second hour if you are allowed more than two hours). This will tell you whether you are on schedule to finish the exam on time, are ahead of time and can focus longer on more difficult questions, or behind time and must focus on the questions you can answer with quicker certainty. You should bring a watch or clock in order to regularly monitor the exam time remaining.
  • Ø Generally, your strategy should be to read each question closely yet quickly, then answer the ones you are fairly sure of, but place a mark beside questions that will take more thought, and then move on to the next question. Do not worry about the questions you do not answer at first because you will come back to them. Having read the harder question, your subconscious mind can be making connections and your memory can be stimulated by information in other questions you read as you move through the exam. Then, when you return to the unmarked questions, you will more likely be in a more primed state of mind to answer them.
  • Do not rush yourself into choosing your answer too soon. Even if one of the answers is the one you expected from the question, take time to read the other alternatives in case there is an even better answer.