Q&A for How to Do Well in Tests and Exams

The number one thing to understand about test anxiety is that it is a physiological response, which has to do with your fight or flight response. The most effective way to deal with that is through resetting the nervous system. Try breathing in for four counts and out for eight counts. If you breathe out twice as long as you breathe in, even for two or three cycles, it resets the nervous system and can bring you a sense of peace and calm.

Double check your work. Pretend like you never answered the question, and re-examine the choices to ensure you picked the right one!

When you take notes, highlight them so that you will be more inclined to look at them. Also, go to a quiet place to study for the test.

Breathe in slowly and out slowly and pace yourself. You should have done practice exams or large tests before the real thing, so remember your coping skills from those. If you don't know the answer, then guess from what you do know -- use your thinking skills. And funnily enough, try to enjoy the exam, it's an opportunity to show all that you know.

When reading, avoid memorizing. When we memorize facts, we tend to forget what we memorize as our memory is limited. Instead, make sure you are actually understanding the material. Try to relate your reading to something in real life - making these kinds of connections will help you remember things.

Create organized, simple study notes! They can be written or typed, but make sure they're very concise. Then, just review them. Memorize things by turning them into songs or poems, or something similar. Get extra help if you can. Study with friends, and actually try and get things done. Study a lot and study hard, but not every waking moment, A week in advance from your exam(s), try to sleep at least eight hours for full energy the next day. Eat healthy. Reward yourself by doing things you like afterwards.

You can do well at any age, these tips are still good advice for young through to very old people. It is often easiest to make a revision folder with revision from every subject, and then make flash cards as mini test questions.

Yes; some people find that if they chew a certain type of gum while studying, they'll remember things better if they chew that same flavor of gum later on. Keep in mind, however, that most exams will not allow you to bring gum to chew.

You may simply be too anxious about performing. Prepare well by studying beforehand; the day of the test you should focus on clearing your mind and maintaining calm. You want to be as relaxed as possible heading into the exam.

Find a pattern. Sometimes the teacher will give you the answer later on the test... 'Example: Question 1) Who was the king of France in 1873? Question 17) Why did Napoleon III get the throne?' Read the whole test first to see if there are loopholes or free answers.

Postpone most of the celebration until you finish the exam or know your final grade, but then, once you get home, belt out a song like "Welcome to Paradise" by Green Day.

First cover all the other topics, then come back to it. You can always ask a fellow peer or even a teacher for help.

Yes, whatever helps motivate you, as long as you don't overdo it. You can treat yourself while studying or, probably better, set goals for your study sessions and treat yourself each time you've accomplished one of them.

Make sure you figure out the key elements and main topics of said test, and that will help you revise more easily. Sometimes teachers offer extra help outside of school, so if you know you're having trouble, go and see them! If you're a person with a slow processing speed, long tests are going to be difficult, even if you have lots of time. Try making flash cards to help you remember things; get enough sleep; take your time in figuring out questions; if you really don't know it, skip it and come back to it later!

Ask your friends for help or a teacher. A teacher is the best option because your friends could be wrong or too busy studying. Parents might help too.

Generally, all topics in the syllabus are equally important. Focus on the topics that you struggle with. If you do think some topics seem more important, ask your teacher or professor about it.

It depends on how much material the test is covering and how much time you have to prepare. If you have plenty of advance warning about the test, you should start studying a week or two ahead of time for an hour a day.

Avoid caffeine after 3pm. Go to bed on the early side, after "unplugging" from screens for at least an hour. Listen to music or try relaxation apps to help ease your mind as you are trying to fall asleep. It takes time and practice to learn good "sleep hygiene."

You won't get any points for questions you haven't answered. When you start a test, go through first and answer questions which are easy and have short answers. Leave the hardest and longest questions for last.

Try to study a bit at least and go over the facts you know and only practise the facts you don't know, to save time. Then wing it.

The same techniques recommended here can be applied to any exam. Practice, recitation, etc.

You can use these same tips for an oral exam, but wikiHow has lots of articles that can help you improve your public speaking skills as well, which can make your oral presentation even better.

From the beginning, try to pace yourself. If you find yourself behind and time is running out, try skipping the difficult questions and answer as many of the easy questions you can. Then, if time permits, you can go back to the harder questions.

You can study hard before you do it. Think carefully about your answers before marking them.

Try to think about what topic you have studied that is most similar to the question, and try to answer it by applying your knowledge from that topic. A lot of exams these days deliberately set unusual questions for students to demonstrate applied knowledge and critical thinking, which separates a very good student from an average one.

It is probably stress and anxiety making this happen. Try calming down and clearing your head before doing any type of exam to help you concentrate more on your test.

Ask your teacher in advance that what type of questions he/she will ask. Study more about the topic. Find more about the topic from books, internet or your parents. Be prepared and don't stress. Pay attention in class.

There's a difference between studying and understanding. You know you understand something if you can explain it to someone else so clearly that they understand it, too (when they didn't understand it before). If you really understand a subject, you'll be calmer and do better during tests.

Make sure to double-check your answers before you turn in the test. If that doesn't help, you'll need to triple-check your answers.

Relax and tell yourself you can do this. If you keep thinking negative thoughts, it will most likely slow you down further and you'll probably be the last one to finish the test (if you even manage to finish the test).