Exam advice - anxiety and revision
Along with the festive season, the first term also brings exam season along. I’ve spoken a lot about exams on my blog before, from tackling exam anxiety, study and revision tips etc, so this blog post will be a combination and summary of some of my older posts (which will be linked below) to give advice about all things exams.
Exam anxiety and dealing with it
Close to 20% of students manage test taking anxiety on a daily basis to make it through their studies. For a variety of students, sitting down in silence and relying on reading comprehension and writing skills is not their forte, which is why the prospect of taking tests can send their bodies physically and mentally into a stressed state. Some of the best ways I have found to deal with exam stress are:
Deep breathing - our bodies enter a fight or flight response which causes us to shallow breathe and as a result, not enough oxygen is delivered to our brains. Forcing yourself to take deep, long breaths breaks the pattern of shallow breathing which should also help other physical symptoms like slowing your heart rate, but also allows enough oxygen to reach your brain
Move around - Just briefly getting the blood moving before a test can increase endorphin release and help blood reach everywhere its needed
Tense and relax muscle groups - when we get stressed, we tighten up certain muscles and lock other parts of our body into place, so remember to relax and loosen up different portions of your body as you take the test.
Rely on a personal peaceful memory - pick a memory in your life in which you looked out at something beautiful and peaceful, and when you start to get nervous, think about this place, what you see, what you smell, and what you hear while you are there. Allow yourself 60-seconds to drift out of reality until you feel yourself stabilising.
Revision tips
I’ve talked about revision tips a lot, but here are some of the ones I think are most useful and easiest to incorporate in your studying:
Short bursts
Studying in short increments makes it a lot more manageable, plus it means you can study for longer without burning out. It is best to study in increments of about 25-30 mins with a five minute break in between, meaning that you can give yourself time to rest and absorb everything you have learnt.
Study space
Having a designated study space is very important - it puts you in the right mindset when you sit down to work. Everyone needs different things to study - some people need music or background white noise whereas others need complete silence, so make sure your study space is optimised to the way you study best.
Organisation
One of the hardest things about exams is the sheer volume of things you need to learn, especially as you near the end of courses like GCSEs or A Levels. Making a plan of what you need to learn can help you prioritise things and help manage your time so that you can do the most efficient studying.
Study smart, not hard
Smart working can be prioritising things you know you struggle with, and optimising your study methods to yourself - if you are a visual learner, instead of writing out pages and pages of work, use colours and diagrams to help you remember and visualise your notes in your test. Actively engaging with your work is proven to be one of the best ways to retain information, for example, practise questions or creating mind maps or even explaining concepts aloud to yourself instead of reading them.
I hope this has provided a useful and comprehensive guide of tips and tricks to help you get through exams, and remember, the most important thing is always to prioritise your mental health and wellbeing!
Links to original posts:
https://www.zahramerali.com/blog/top-tips-for-efficient-studying