USING AI FOR EXAM PREP

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First, after I write a blog, I check the topic on ChatGPT to see if I missed key points. Last week, I didn’t miss key points on using AI to prep for essay questions, but I was reminded that point form makes for a better read.

This week, I’m focusing on other ways my students have used AI to cover key exam material effectively and efficiently:

Mnemonics:

For material where definitions or order are important, input the order or definition and ask AI to generate a mnemonic–that’s a sentence where the first letter of each word cues the order of what you’re going to remember. The classic example is the colours of the rainbow: Roll Off Your Great Big Inflatable Vegetable for Red, Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet.

This can be applied to any list where terminology or order is important, such as the bones of the hand, the Kings and Queens of England, the protected demographics in the Charter of Human Rights.

Flashcards:

Here you want to be able to remember precise detail. You might

Feed AI vocabulary lists for a second language or for SAT prep and cue it to prepare flashcards, save the deck, and have it present the cues to you in random order.

Feed AI technical terms with definitions, then cue it to prepare flashcards. Then have it present the definition and require you to supply the technical term. Also cue it to do the opposite, presenting the term and requiring you to supply the definition.

Multiple Choice:

Here’s what one grad student does: They feed their notes or text chapter into AI, then prompt it to generate dozens of multiple-choice questions. The student gets creative in modifying the questions, fine-tuning how close the choices are to being correct, and changing the focus of the areas covered. This is a chance to focus on the areas that are challenge areas, as challenge areas vary from student to student. 

Other:

Short-answer questions . . . Fill-in-the-blank questions . . . Sample STEM questions . . . Math questions . . . I leave it to you to use your AI to experiment, prompt, revise, and get creative.

Bonus:

As was the case last week, learning begins as you choose the material, design the prompts, and evaluate the results, not just when you answer the questions.

With AI, you’re not stuck if you don’t understand why the correct answer is correct. AI gives you the chance to explore further.

For example, if you don’t see how that integral was solved, AI is right there, and you can prompt it to walk you through, step by step. Then, it will present you with another integral and walk you through it again, rinse and repeat. Over time, you will eventually become competent and confident.

If you don’t understand a philosopher’s explanation of linguistics, you can input the explanation and ask for clarification, being careful to check out alternative explanations. 

Caveat:

Keep in mind that AI has been known to be wrong, to hallucinate, to make stuff up. Have a way of performing reality checks.  

In politics, history, and philosophy, you might prompt for alternative explanations or use different AIs, and check with your instructor during office hours. How do you know that that publication cited exists? That that is a real court case? Have alternative checks where verification might be needed.

Mandatory: Always, always, always stay up to date on what your campus allows, forbids, and encourages on the use of AI. Keep documentation that proves your virtue. 

Check in with me [email protected] to share what you have learned, and to work together designing creative, strategic use of AI. The goal is to use AI to effectively nail the material for recall and performance come exam time.

The information in this blog cannot take the place of support from your own mental health professional or community health resources. Reach out to them. And IF YOU ARE IN CRISIS, PLEASE DIAL 911.

AI

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Why am I doing this?

I was going to blog about using AI to reach academic goals. Then I thought, “Why would I blog about using AI when students can use AI to explore how to use AI to gain academic goals?”

Then I thought, “Hm. Is there any learning strategy I can blog on that students couldn’t use AI themselves?” 

So then I asked myself, “Why are students still working with me on gaining and maintaining their academic strategic approaches?”

And it’s about finding what works for them. It’s about keeping on keeping on—knowing when to fine-tune, when to try something new, or when to recognize that a particular tool or strategy is not for them. 

What I can share are the AI suggestions that have worked with my students.

If a blog about an AI tool prompts you to do your own exploration using AI, then it’s a benefit and bonus! We are all amateur prompt engineers in this field: I’m happy to share and happy to hear from you about what has worked well.

So AI: Shared Tip for the day

As you probably have found, AI can be great at summarizing or organizing text. You can go beyond this to use AI to prepare for essay questions that you might expect on an exam. You can prompt AI to generate essay questions based on topics, or better, on text that you provide. Next, you can ask for an outline of what should be covered in an essay response. You may wish to revise this outline. Then, you can use the revised AI outline to draft a practice essay and run it through Grammarly. What you need to remember for the exam is the key points of the outline.

Note: I am not recommending that you prompt AI to write the essay—during the exam, you will find it much easier to remember a point-form outline than to memorize a whole essay. And you won’t be flagged for AI-cheating on the exam. Play with this. How do different AI apps deal with this approach? Try different prompts and refinements?

Mandatory: Always, always, always stay up to date on what your campus allows, forbids, and encourages. Keep documentation that proves your virtue. 

Let me know how this worked for you and if you have any questions about fine-tuning your academic AI approach. 

Connect with me to further strategize to meet your academic goals: [email protected] 

The information in this blog cannot take the place of support from your own mental health professional or community health resources. Reach out to them. And IF YOU ARE IN CRISIS, PLEASE DIAL 911.

PICK UP THE EXTRAS THAT CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

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These are the weeks where summer beckons. For spring session students, classes are over, but exams are not yet finished. For high school students, classes are winding up before finals.

 It’s a time when the regular routines and structure are blurred or dissolved. It’s also the time when there are extras that can be tricky to capture, but can give you that extra boost.

Here are some extras available on most campuses. You can likely identify others at your school, but here are the ones I hear about most often:

Extra time on campus: With no classes to attend, you have extra time. I encourage you to use it. Get to campus. It’s worth the travel time to avoid distractions and gain a few hours on challenge material.

Extra time with the instructor: The instructor knows what is on the exam. Many instructors and TAs keep office hours to be available for students once classes are over. Make an appointment, and use some of your extra time to outline your questions for your meeting.

Extra opportunities to consult experts for help with challenging areas: This can include team tutorials or additional sessions in the statistics lab. It can be exam workshops. 

Extra time using AI to polish your game: Use AI to augment your own study techniques. AI can help break down STEM examples, can generate sample questions, and can generate mnemonics—more on that next week. 

Extra time for you: Do spend time on you. Deliberately get some summer in, in addition to your self-care routines. The key is enjoying summer deliberately, rather than as a distraction.

How to decide what to do with all of this extra time so it doesn’t just dribble away? First, think of your three major challenges from now until end of exams. Then, plan how the extras you have identified can be used to meet those challenges.

Connect with me to match the extras in your academic world and how you can use them to meet your main challenges: [email protected] 

The information in this blog cannot take the place of support from your own mental health professional or community health resources. Reach out to them. And IF YOU ARE IN CRISIS, PLEASE DIAL 911.

EXAM WEEK JUNE CHECKLIST

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Exams this month for high school students and spring printers: I run this checklist at the end of each term, so if it looks familiar, this could be a quick refresher, just to be sure that you don’t overlook the obvious! 

First, endorse yourself for getting this far. Endorse for each quiz, each class attended, each problem set that did get done, each piece of work handed in. 

Double check your email to make sure there are no last minute scheduling or place of writing changes.

If you have take-home exams, double check the rules about AI. For example, sometimes Grammarly is allowed, sometimes it isn’t. The rules are changing almost as quickly as AI is evolving, and are not usually consistent from department to departmen.

That done, it’s on to planning for the final exam. I’m assuming you have gone for coaching and workshops if you need them for exam anxiety—if not, then note to self to do that next term. Book any last-minute consult you need in this area with counselling and possibly your strategist.

Then down to the checklist. This is the night to map out the week!  Go over this checklist and adapt it for your circumstances. 

During Exam Weeks:

You know what I’m going to say.

Maintain your structure for sleep, meals and moderate exercise. If you’ve fallen off a bit, get back into the regular routine that works for you.

In the day or so before an exam,  plan an activity for after the exam. This helps you maintain objectivity and keep the perspective that life does go on after the exam.

Prioritize your allocation of remaining study time so that what needs the most attention gets the most attention.

Now take a sheet of paper or large file card, and make up a plan of what you need to do, and what you need to bring to the exam.

Plan your plan with a list. Your list might include

  • Gas up the car or make sure you have your bus pass.
  • Have snacks and meals handy.
  • Review study summary.
  • Complete help sheets that are allowed.
  • Make sure clothes are ready to wear.
  • Make sure last minute trips for medical, personal, and school supplies are looked after.
  • Make sure cash and credit cards are in order.

The Night Before the Exam

  • Eat a light dinner.
  • Review study summary.
  • Gather help sheets that are allowed.
  • Set out breakfast.
  • Pack snacks, lunch and hydration for tomorrow.
  • Charge phone.
  • Charge tablet/computer.
  • Charge calculator.
  • Make sure student ID is in wallet.
  • Make sure bus pass or parking pass is in wallet.
  • Make sure cash, credit cards, and license are in wallet.
  • Make sure wallet is in purse or pants you’ll be wearing.
  • Pack extra pens/pencils.
  • Pack a timepiece (that may be your phone).
  • Check weather forecast.
  • Set out clothes for tomorrow.
  • Pack backpack with everything except food and items charging.
  • Eat a light snack if that is part of your regular food plan.
  • Place packed backpack out of sight next to your door.
  • Set your charged or plugged in alarm and put it out of reach of your bed.
  • Set alternate alarm.
  • Visualize writing the exam.
  • Visualize walking out of the exam room.
  • Put away the day with your bedtime routine and calming exercises.
  • Go to bed and sleep.

The Day of the Exam 

  • Go through your morning grooming routine.
  • Eat a light breakfast.
  • Pack phone and charger into your backpack.
  • Pack tablet/computer and charger into your backpack.
  • Pack calculator and charger into your backpack.
  • Pack snacks, lunch and hydration into your backpack.
  • Check your wallet contents and ensure it is in your pants or purse.
  • Grab your keys.
  • Go to the exam site. Target to arrive 15 minutes before exam time–too early is almost as bad as too late.

At the Exam Site

  • Go to the bathroom.
  • Avoid lingering near the entrance to the exam room, picking up the chatter and fear pheromones from other students.
  • When the exam door opens, find your seat, arrange your ID, supplies, and  timepiece.
  • Breathe. Calm.

Writing the Exam

I have dealt elsewhere with techniques for writing different types of exams and different types of questions, and will be happy to discuss particulars with you. In the meantime, the basics are

  • Use every minute. Do not leave early.
  • Answer every question. If you don’t know, a best guess (or any guess) has a better chance for marks than no answer unless the question is right minus wrong.
  • Read the introduction to the exam. It may have critical instructions, such as “show your work,” “answer in complete sentences” “show your outline.”
  • For every question, read the whole question before you start to answer.
  • Quickly answer the questions that are easy for you.
  • Note which questions are worth the most points, and allow enough time to give yourself time for them.
  • Keep your eye on your timepiece. 
  • Outline essay questions before you start to write the essay–but keep your eye on your timepiece.
  • If you run into a question you have no idea how to answer, move on and come back to it later. Sometimes memory kicks in. Sometimes later questions give an idea about how to answer.
  • Check your work once you have answered everything for typos or missing words. Marks have been lost because the word “no” was intended but not entered.
  • Again, answer every question. If you don’t know, a best guess (or any guess) has a better chance for marks than no answer unless the question is right minus wrong.
  • Again, use every minute. Do not leave early.
  • And make sure your name and ID are on your exam.

After the exam

  • Leave quietly.
  • Avoid the nerve-wracking post mortem sessions with other students at the exit. 
  • Endorse yourself for preparing for and writing the exam in a professional manner.
  • Take time for a reward before heading into preparing for the next exam.

Now modify this list to make it your own.

Extra tip No. 1: What if there are questions I have no idea how to answer?

Accept that it is normal to have a quickening of the pulse and a bit of anxiety or fear. Then pause, lift up your head, and call on your rational self. You may well not get this question. A suitable response may come later. Take the secure thought that you will finish this exam, will finish the term, and you will survive. Right now, it’s just finish this exam.

Plant your feet firmly on the floor.

Skim through the rest of the exam to make sure you have time for the answers you are more sure of. Sometimes there is information in later questions that give a cue for the question you are uncertain of.

If there are several troubling questions, accept that this is not a happy time, but it is also not the last exam you are going to write in your life. Tell yourself that you are going to do as good as you can, and that will be what you do on this exam, this day.

Extra Tip No. 2: What if I have exams back to back?

Plan ahead to use the break between exams. You will want to allow for travel from venue to venue, hydration, light nourishment, bathroom breaks, and ensuring that you have all of your tools, texts, etc. in your backpack as you leave one exam and move on to the next.

Change your mental focus. If there are concerns about the earlier exam when you have finished it, jot them down on your phone, take a few deep breaths, stretch and recall your mental notes for the upcoming exam.

A special shoutout to high school grads:

The special challenge and joy of graduating with all of the celebration, angst, farewells, looking after next year’s academic administrivia: You rock! Even when it might feel overwhelming, take a breath, and celebrate how close you are to the finish line! You’re doing it, and you rock! 

Much of my work with students is helping them fine-tune their self-care and academic strategy for exam week. Connect on this form or by email [email protected] .

The information in this blog cannot take the place of support from your own mental health professional or community health resources. Reach out to them. And IF YOU ARE IN CRISIS, PLEASE DIAL 911.

THINKING AHEAD TO FINALS

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With just a few weeks or less until finals, you have time to tend to last-chance grade boosters:

  • Now is the time to ask those questions in class: What will be on the final? Is the whole term covered, or just since midterms? Will there be short-answer questions, or is it all multiple-choice?
  • Check the syllabus for course requirements and exam writing regulations.
  • Are your accommodations documented and any extras arranged, such as isolation, reader, extra time, etc.? 
  • Check to ensure you have received credit for all work handed in.
  • Check for practice sets–especially for STEM courses.
  • Check exam place and time postings.
  • Check your email for any last-minute changes to course requirements or exam scheduling.

And my standard reminder: Keep to your basic schedule for self-care, review your schedule daily, and adjust as needed!

You’re almost there! Take it part-task by part-task, and endorse for every step forward!

Connect with me to stay on track and to plan for next term [email protected] 

The information in this blog cannot take the place of support from your own mental health professional or community health resources. Reach out to them. And IF YOU ARE IN CRISIS, PLEASE DIAL 911.

THINKING SPRING!!!

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Today I’m thinking of high school students, with a shout out to college students in spring session.

Spring is a real challenge time for many high school students. Yes, you know finals are next month. Yes, you know college admissions look at the last two years of high school. Okay, okay. But the sun is warm, the air is fresh, it feels SO GOOD to be outside!!! Friends are doing things that are fun. Grad prep takes time. Ahhh the lengthening days!

It is so easy to know you should be doing xxx, but just to think about all that later.

I hope you’re still reading. There are ways to move toward your academic goals while listening to the call of the season.

Have a look at that phrase, “think about that later.” That phrase usually comes at a decision point and signals that the choice is going to be pleasure over what you feel is duty. Even writing that sentence is a downer, but stay with me.

What you want to do is to avoid making that choice in the moment when the pleasure call is strong. How to do that is to make the choice ahead of time. The time-proven tool for that is scheduling. Not scheduling that puts study-study-study twenty-four seven. Scheduling that works almost always has the pleasure activities built in, and specific rewards/reinforcers planned.

That way, you get the pleasure of sun time as well as ensuring you’re not ending up the night before finals start with the knowledge of how much you really, really wish you’d gotten done!

So take time this weekend and review what you need to do to meet your academic goals.  List what you want to do for spring pleasure as well. Roughly schedule up to finals. Then chunk the rest of the term week by week.

As you plan the week give yourself break time, downtime, R&R time. As you live the week, be prepared to adapt. 

Here’s an example of how flexible scheduling keeps you on academic track without sacrificing all other aspects of your life:

Let’s say an opportunity to hang out with an old friend again comes up and it conflicts with the time you had scheduled for memorizing history dates. Your decision now can be how to reschedule the study so you can hang out with your buddy. This is way better for your academic goal than just pushing the history off into some nebulous never-gonna-happen land. The history is rescheduled. The buddy time is enjoyed without guilt.

Maintaining motivation as you balance–that involves endorsing yourself every time you move in a goal-directed activity. Just a quick, “Hey, I made time for Harry!” or “Hey, I found time where I can reschedule history!” or “Hey, I’m opening the file with those history dates.” Motivation can also be aided by having visible reminders of the reward you are going to take when you end the term, when you write the final.

Short of finding the 36-hour day, this is the most effective antidote for spring fever rampaging through your best intentions. Schedule, be flexible, reward, and enjoy!!!

Shout-out to college spring session sprinters: This weekend is a good time to sketch out the rest of the term, to reassess how realistic your standards are for the work, and to check your balance of work, self-maintenance, and pleasure. Think of that reward at the end, and keep on endorsing!

Connect with me to plan for these last high school months, or to maximize efficiency during this short, fast, spring sprint term. [email protected] 

The information in this blog cannot take the place of support from your own mental health professional or community health resources. Reach out to them. And IF YOU ARE IN CRISIS, PLEASE DIAL 911.

SIMPLE GRADE BOOSTERS

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In the best of all possible worlds you will ace every exam, stun your instructor with the brilliance of your papers and have your portfolio featured in the hallways.

If this is not the case, and you are just a few points short of your GPA target, you may kick yourself for not having picked up those points with the easy grade boosters that don’t involve exams, papers, presentations, and portfolios.

Because hindsight won’t pick those points up, here’s a chance to plan with foresight using just five grade boosters:

The participation grade

Here’s one that has two components:

  • Be seen–that means show up in class. On time whenever possible. If the prof doesn’t see you until you make an appointment late in the term to ask for an extension. . . well . . .
  • Participate. You don’t have to participate with brilliance. If you don’t like speaking in front of others, write out a question or two to read aloud if you have to. After doing this a few times, your comfort level will be higher and you will find it easier to share your questions and comments.

That five to ten percent can be the difference between an A- and an A+. Or between a C and the grade needed to advance to the next course.

Outside-class activities

Here’s one that you will have to weigh the time cost against the grade gain. Some courses have extra credit for participating in outside-class activities, such as volunteering to be a participant in psychology experiments or to coach other students.

An added plus can be the networking connections you make with future colleagues and summer employers.

Hand it in!!!

But it isn’t finished! But it’s a poor piece of work! But it’s already late! What’s the point?

The point is that not handing it in is a zero. Handing it in, no matter whether you are going to get an A++ or a D- is better than 0. Come the time for the calculation of your grade for the term, a zero here and a zero there is leaving marks on the table.

If you are not happy with the quality of the work, hand it in anyway–and make an appointment with the prof to discuss your disappointment and ask for suggestions for next time.

Make use of office hours, or after-class meetings

Setting up a meeting with the instructor doesn’t have to wait until you have that disappointing piece of work mentioned above. Going in with questions on a tricky assignment early in the planning stage increases the chance that you will come closer to meeting your own standards (and those of the course).

It can sometimes also count for participation.

Check the syallabus

The syllabus is where you learn where to pick up extra marks in a course, such as out-side-of-class activities, and exactly what counts for participation marks.

The syllabus is where you also learn how you can lose marks, such as losing credit for a course if certain requirements aren’t met, or just how bad the pain is for submitting work late. If one course reduces the grade on a project by 10 per cent per day late and another course does not accept work that is beyond one day late, you might want to know that, just in case.

These are all the easy extra marks. They don’t substitute for writing exams or doing the work. They can, to some extent, make up for a blown quiz or disappointing grade on a project. 

Why would you leave them on the table?

Connect with me to plan for future terms, to maximize efficiency during this short, fast, spring sprint term, or to get the most from those last two months of high school. [email protected] 

The information in this blog cannot take the place of support from your own mental health professional or community health resources. Reach out to them. And IF YOU ARE IN CRISIS, PLEASE DIAL 911.

END OF TERM!!!

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Exams are done!

Take that reward!

And end of term is the time I have my students review–what were the successes? What went right? How did you make that happen? What went not so well? What were the hitches and glitches?

What did you learn about your study patterns? Your time management? Your strengths? Your soft spots? What resources were particularly helpful? Which resources were not so useful?

This is important: What were the reinforcers and rewards that you found meaningful for you?

What will you keep in your strategy and patterns going forward? What are you going to do differently?

Most importantly, what did you learn? What did you enjoy?

If you made it through, take that reward! If you didn’t meet all of your goals, take the reward for making it through the term. Endorse for reading this blog today—it shows you can still focus on your academic career. Many of us have stumbled along the way. It’s what we do next that makes the difference.

This term is history. Connect with me for future terms. Connect to debrief, to celebrate, and to plan! Or to debrief, to endorse for carrying on, and to plan! [email protected] 

The information in this blog cannot take the place of support from your own mental health professional or community health resources. Reach out to them. And IF YOU ARE IN CRISIS, PLEASE DIAL 911.

THAT L – A – A  –  A  –  S   –   T EXAM

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Here’s an exam week problem some students encounter. This is the opposite of the back-to-back exams crunch. It’s when you’ve finished all your exams except the last one. And that last one is a week to two weeks after the second-last exam. 

Done but not done

You would think that’s not a problem because it takes the pressure off having enough time to prepare for the last exam. Yet paradoxically, it can be just the opposite in terms of stress. You are done, but not done. So you can’t really park your term and get on with what’s next. You might even find yourself resenting that there is so much time and you just don’t feel like spending two weeks solid on exam alert, studying and refining and studying some more. So you don’t. Or you put in the time, but not all that effectively. And you don’t enjoy whatever you are doing, or not doing. Guilt can happen.

If you find yourself in this dilemma of study/not study, two strategic tactics can get you out of a tail-biting loop.

Treat time

First, think of a treat that you will give yourself after that last exam. This isn’t a reward for meeting a goal. It isn’t a reinforcer for making an effort (although I hope you continue to use reinforcement for effort throughout). It’s just a treat to enjoy once you have written that last exam. It can be going to a movie, visiting a hobby shop, streaming favourite music, biking a familiar trail, reading a cartoon book, or writing that poem that’s itching.

This treat isn’t something that you don’t allow yourself until you’ve written the exam. You will have this treat at the end, even if you have enjoyed it a few times before the end. The objective is to have a treat that you call to mind with zero stress.

When you think of the exam, think of that treat and how you will enjoy it. If it’s the right treat, thinking of it will bring the anticipation of pleasure, of joy.

Planning the intermission

Next, having chosen  your treat, schedule the time between now and then. Plan stragetically: Think like a hockey player. This time is the intermission between second and third period on the ice. You’re done, but not done. You don’t take your uniform off; you stretch, you hydrate, you strategize and gear up for third period in the game. 

Being strategic means scheduling your study time for best exam recall, which might mean an overview sooner, and review periods each day, especially the last days before you write.

In this scheduling session, decide which tools are most effective for you for this course, and schedule when you will use which tools. 

Schedule flexibly. While you are prepping for the exam, you may discover areas you want to emphasize more, or whole areas that you knew better than you thought you did.

Now schedule your non-study time. Keep your life maintenance routines so that you’ll be in good condition with stamina and alertness when your body and mind need them most. When scheduled, R&R and social time can be enjoyed without guilt and without crowding out your study time.

Schedule flexibly here, too. Life happens.

Tactics + self-motication = Control

Mark your treat on your schedule. Throughout these last days, when you think of the exam, think of the treat. Anticipation puts just that bit of pleasure that is a great self-motivator.

That’s it. Instead of banging around at loose ends these long final days, using these two tactics, treat + schedule, puts you in control.

Now think about that treat . . .

Much of my work with students is helping them fine-tune their self-care and academic strategy for exam week. Connect with me on this form or by email [email protected] .

The information in this blog cannot take the place of support from your own mental health professional or community health resources. Reach out to them. And IF YOU ARE IN CRISIS, PLEASE DIAL 911.

EXAM WEEK CHECKLIST

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I run this checklist at the end of each term, so if it looks familiar, this could be a quick refresher, just to be sure that you don’t overlook the obvious! 

First, endorse yourself for getting this far. Endorse for each quiz, each class attended, each problem set that did get done, each piece of work handed in. 

Double check your email to make sure there are no last minute scheduling or place of writing changes.

If you have take-home exams, double check the rules about AI. For example, sometimes Grammarly is allowed, sometimes it isn’t. The rules are changing almost as quickly as AI is evolving, and are not usually consistent from department to department.

That done, it’s on to planning for the final exam. I’m assuming you have gone for coaching and workshops if you need them for exam anxiety—if not, then note to self to do that next term. Book any last-minute consult you need in this area with counselling and possibly your strategist.

Then down to the checklist. This is the night to map out the week!  Go over this checklist and adapt it for your circumstances. 

During Exam Weeks:

You know what I’m going to say.

Maintain your structure for sleep, meals and moderate exercise. If you’ve fallen off a bit, get back into the regular routine that works for you.

In the day or so before an exam,  plan an activity for after the exam. This helps you maintain objectivity and keep the perspective that life does go on after the exam.

Prioritize your allocation of remaining study time so that what needs the most attention gets the most attention.

Now take a sheet of paper or large file card, and make up a plan of what you need to do, and what you need to bring to the exam.

Plan your plan with a list. Your list might include

  • Gas up the car or make sure you have your bus pass.
  • Have snacks and meals handy.
  • Review study summary.
  • Complete help sheets that are allowed.
  • Make sure clothes are ready to wear.
  • Make sure last minute trips for medical, personal, and school supplies are looked after.
  • Make sure cash and credit cards are in order.

The Night Before the Exam

  • Eat a light dinner.
  • Review study summary.
  • Gather help sheets that are allowed.
  • Set out breakfast.
  • Pack snacks, lunch and hydration for tomorrow.
  • Charge phone.
  • Charge tablet/computer.
  • Charge calculator.
  • Make sure student ID is in wallet.
  • Make sure bus pass or parking pass is in wallet.
  • Make sure cash, credit cards, and license are in wallet.
  • Make sure wallet is in purse or pants you’ll be wearing.
  • Pack extra pens/pencils.
  • Pack a timepiece (that may be your phone).
  • Check weather forecast.
  • Set out clothes for tomorrow.
  • Pack backpack with everything except food and items charging.
  • Eat a light snack if that is part of your regular food plan.
  • Place packed backpack out of sight next to your door.
  • Set your charged or plugged in alarm and put it out of reach of your bed.
  • Set alternate alarm.
  • Visualize writing the exam.
  • Visualize walking out of the exam room.
  • Put away the day with your bedtime routine and calming exercises.
  • Go to bed and sleep.

The Day of the Exam 

  • Go through your morning grooming routine.
  • Eat a light breakfast.
  • Pack phone and charger into your backpack.
  • Pack tablet/computer and charger into your backpack.
  • Pack calculator and charger into your backpack.
  • Pack snacks, lunch and hydration into your backpack.
  • Check your wallet contents and ensure it is in your pants or purse.
  • Grab your keys.
  • Go to the exam site. Target to arrive 15 minutes before exam time–too early is almost as bad as too late.

At the Exam Site

  • Go to the bathroom.
  • Avoid lingering near the entrance to the exam room, picking up the chatter and fear pheromones from other students.
  • When the exam door opens, find your seat, arrange your ID, supplies, and  timepiece.
  • Breathe. Calm.

Writing the Exam

I have dealt elsewhere with techniques for writing different types of exams and different types of questions, and will be happy to discuss particulars with you. In the meantime, the basics are

  • Use every minute. Do not leave early.
  • Answer every question. If you don’t know, a best guess (or any guess) has a better chance for marks than no answer unless the question is right minus wrong.
  • Read the introduction to the exam. It may have critical instructions, such as “show your work,” “answer in complete sentences” “show your outline.”
  • For every question, read the whole question before you start to answer.
  • Quickly answer the questions that are easy for you.
  • Note which questions are worth the most points, and allow enough time to give yourself time for them.
  • Keep your eye on your timepiece. 
  • Outline essay questions before you start to write the essay–but keep your eye on your timepiece.
  • If you run into a question you have no idea how to answer, move on and come back to it later. Sometimes memory kicks in. Sometimes later questions give an idea about how to answer.
  • Check your work once you have answered everything for typos or missing words. Marks have been lost because the word “no” was intended but not entered.
  • Again, answer every question. If you don’t know, a best guess (or any guess) has a better chance for marks than no answer unless the question is right minus wrong.
  • Again, use every minute. Do not leave early.
  • And make sure your name and ID are on your exam.

After the exam

  • Leave quietly.
  • Avoid the nerve-wracking post mortem sessions with other students at the exit. 
  • Endorse yourself for preparing for and writing the exam in a professional manner.
  • Take time for a reward before heading into preparing for the next exam.

Now modify this list to make it your own.

Extra tip No. 1: What if there are questions I have no idea how to answer?

Accept that it is normal to have a quickening of the pulse and a bit of anxiety or fear. Then pause, lift up your head, and call on your rational self. You may well not get this question. A suitable response may come later. Take the secure thought that you will finish this exam, will finish the term, and you will survive. Right now, it’s just finish this exam.

Plant your feet firmly on the floor.

Skim through the rest of the exam to make sure you have time for the answers you are more sure of. Sometimes there is information in later questions that give a cue for the question you are uncertain of.

If there are several troubling questions, accept that this is not a happy time, but it is also not the last exam you are going to write in your life. Tell yourself that you are going to do as good as you can, and that will be what you do on this exam, this day.

Extra Tip No. 2: What if I have exams back to back?

Plan ahead to use the break between exams. You will want to allow for travel from venue to venue, hydration, light nourishment, bathroom breaks, and ensuring that you have all of your tools, texts, etc. in your backpack as you leave one exam and move on to the next.

Change your mental focus. If there are concerns about the earlier exam when you have finished it, jot them down on your phone, take a few deep breaths, stretch and recall your mental notes for the upcoming exam.

Much of my work with students is helping them fine-tune their self-care and academic strategy for exam week. Connect on this form or by email [email protected] .

The information in this blog cannot take the place of support from your own mental health professional or community health resources. Reach out to them. And IF YOU ARE IN CRISIS, PLEASE DIAL 911.