Intelligent students have, before now, failed examinations not because they were ignorant, but because they were suffering from excessive fear. Most students feel some nervousness during examinations. Just as do most people facing any kind of test in life - from an interview to a Pilot's first solo flight. But some people are, or think to be, bad examinees whose examination nerves cause embarrassing symptoms, such as vomiting or insomnia, and make the examination a paralyzing business. The first thing for such a fear of exam is largely an Unreal fear, and is very often either a disguise for some other fear, or an unconscious excuse. Fear of examinations is sometimes a disguise for some other mental distress. This maybe hostility to parents ( to fail an examination will hurt them, so the child in a sense half wants to fail). Or again it may be a kind of morbid fear of growing up (examinations once passed, the student will have to face the greatest test of work and life; to fail the examination might postpone the time of taking full responsibility). The Secret of successfully facing the exam stress is so simple as not really to be a secret at all. Prepare properly for the examination Einstein himself could not have passed a school examination without learning some physics. Nor could T.S Eliot have taken a degree in Literature without studying literature. No amount of Intelligence will remove the necessity for thoughtful and disciplined work. Some people can learn things more easily than others, but no one can learn anything worth learning without some effort. The best way to avoid examination tension is to start preparing for the examination as soon as we know we are going to sit for it. The student doing say for a BA, or for an Engineering degree, is not likely to suffer from terror on the day of a final examination if he or she began to study seriously in the first week of the course and continued steadily throughout. There is a whole optimistic myth about last minute learning, known to students as swotting or craming. True, one can learn some useful things in the last week. True, a last hard effort may make quite a difference. And true,too, that most of us do work better with an examination looming than with three years stretching before us. However, it is not possible to learn in one month, or even three, the contents of a course of study designed to take three years. Naturally some people learn faster than others. But the human brain is not capable of unlimited acceleration, and one of the minor laws of psychology is that in the process of learning their have to be pauses in which knowledge sinks in and is absorbed. So the student who does not wish to fall a victim to examination tension will be wise to start work today and keep up a programme of steady, systematic work, and his or her best work all the time. In my experience it is extremely rare for a steady worker to fail and examination. Realise the purpose of the examination Perheps because, for obvious reasons, a good deal of secrecy has to attend the setting and printing of examination papers and the marking of the scripts, important examinations are seen by students as rather mysterious, and therefore the more alarming. It is very comforting to bear in mind, from the very beginning of the course, that the purpose of the examination will be to test the student's knowledge of material that has been studied in the course (usually with plenty of guidance and practice exercises), and that a majority will pass. No sane examiners will set a paper that the average student on this course, who has worked hard, will not be able to do so. The purpose of an examination is not to pick out the geniuses, or to trap terrified students with improbable questions, or to convince them of their hopeless ignorance, but to obtain proof that they have worked through the prescribed course and have enough knowledge to be fit to let out on the world as doctors, engineers, managers or whatever it is. Once we use our common sense, we see that before people are allowed to practice any trade or profession, they must be reasonably fit to do so, and so that examinations really are necessary. Once we see that examinations are for, and understand that examiners take a great deal of trouble to set papers that are a fare test of ability and knowledge, we do not approach them with search feeling of awe and apprehension. Cultivate composure. Anyone expecting to take an examination will do well to try to train himself or herself in calmness of mind, balance and self control - qualities which are useful not only in examination, but in the whole of life. Now, serenity is not achieved by clenching the fists and shouting at ourselves, "I must be calm!" Nor is imparted to other people by righteous, unsympathetic chatter about self-control. The two best helps towards calmness that I know are: learning to relax the muscles and practicing mild auto-suggestion. The general technique of self suggestion is to repeat to oneself such positive and healthy statements such as," I feel quite composed." "I can cope"." this will come out in the end."" I can but try." let us work and hope." and so on. It is also a help, on the whole, to cultivate the habit of speaking fairly quitely and at if early low pitch ( without, of course, becoming a whisperer or a mumbler), and to bear in mind that many tasks can be done more quickly if we attack them slowly. It is never to early to start building up these habits of work : of a rational attitude to examinations, and of a composed manner. However, sum further advice on last minute tactics may be helpful to you. Because as the examination time approaches, some students almost fall into the grip of nervousness. Before an examination one should make a special effort to remain calm. Here are some more tips on this: 1. Avoid defeatist thoughts and words Do not be dragged into time wasting speculations just before an examination; and do not join in the silly defeatist chatter of " I know I am going to fail", " they say he is a terrible examiner", " last year 3 students pipped", and so forth. Never talk as if you expected to fail;do not listen to others who talk like that,and do not encourage others in such talk. Do not think about failing; think about passing. 2. Relax and relax Pencils are not in the least nutritious, nor are fingernails. Pacing up and down like a caged panther wastes shoe-leather. Cramp is not going to improve handwriting. Let those muscles go slack. In the hours or minutes before an examination, the candidate should, as far as circumstances permit, relax muscles and breath deeply. Tension & Stress increases our liability to make mistakes. But a good supply of oxygen to the brain what improve its working, and deep breathing also makes for composure. 3. Take some recreation Even shortly before the examination, no student should attempt to work during every waking moment. Few people can do much more than 8 or 9 hours' study in a day and do it properly; many people can manage rather less. When the quality of the work is fast deteriorating, it is time to take a rest. In the busy weeks or days before an examination, pottering is the temptation. Time spent doing nothing in particular and wishing there were not so much work to do is indeed time wasted. However, each day the student should try to have a short walk, a pleasant chat, listen a little good music, a game of tennis or badminton, or some other not too prolonged amusement or relief that give the mind a rest. Rest periods give the matter learned time to soak in. 4. Know the rules and be ready It is student's business to know where the examination will be held, at what time, what is needed for it, and so on. The student should know what books or apparatus, if any, may be taken into the examination room. It is always wise to see, the night before, that everything wanted for the examination is ready - Uniform or clothes, which, as far as the regulations permit, should be as comfortable as possible, and appropriate to the weather; pen, pencil or ink, with a spare pen or ball-point in case of a last minute mishap; pencil, ruler and crayons, or other equipments if required; a watch and anything else that the particular examination may demand. To set out in the morning calm and at leisure is a great help. The sensible candidate about to go into a 3 to 4 hour examination goes to the W.C first. And any candidate who has a cold or a pain or ailment takes all possible precautions against being hampered by this. 5. Read the examination paper The last thing you should do before actually writing the answers is to read the paper carefully. This sounds obvious; but every year several students fail examination from not answering the questions asked, or from some other misunderstanding of the question paper. The first few minutes in an examination are well spent breathing deeply and slowly, carefully reading the paper and grapping the rubric. Plane which questions to tackle and how to answer them quickly and efficiently. Good luck to all the students and young Indian readers who have the examination before them. Tension out of the way, and brains at the ready!
