Plan to get there early.
Ensure you have all the necessary equipment.
Take a deep breath before you start to read the paper.
Read the paper through, before you decide which questions to answer.
Work out the time allocation for each question, and stick to it. Write a plan for your answer.
Start with an answer you are confident about. If you feel yourself panicking take a slow deep breath.
The quickest and most effective way of eliminating feelings of stress and panic is to close your eyes and take several long, deep breaths. Breathing in this way calms your whole nervous system. Simultaneously you could give yourself a mental pep-talk by mentally repeating ‘I am calm and relaxed’ or ‘ I know I will do fine.’
If your mind goes blank, don’t panic! Getting excessively nervous is counterproductive as you will not be able to think as clearly. Panicking will just make it harder to recall information. Instead, focus on slow, deep breathing for about a minute. If you still can’t remember the information then move on to another question and return to this question later.
After the exam don’t spend endless time criticising yourself for where you think you went wrong. Often our own self-assessment is far too harsh. Congratulate yourself for the things you did right, learn from the bits you know you could have done better, and then move on. If you are worried about how you did talk it through with someone, such as a friend or a tutor, don’t bottle things up.
Failure is not the end. Try to remember that although you want to do well, failing is not the end of your chances. Many of the world’s most successful men and women have survived many failures. If it really matters to you, you can always resit.
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