Dear learners, most of us are afraid of exams. It’s certain that examinations produce anxiety and stress. Yet, exams are the crucial part of your learning process. Thus, you should keep calm and always remember that exams are not threats and there is nothing to be nervous about. Most of the students perceive exams as hazards. Hardly a handful of learners acknowledge the truth that examinations are the typical methods of intellectual sustainability or enrichment.
Exams improve one’s knowledge and skills in a radical way. Every learner has to go through certain tests and examinations. And every student is instructed about DO’s and DONT’s so that one can avoid common exam mistakes. Despite instructions, many students tend to repeat the same mistakes. Writing unplanned answers is not the only common mistakes in exams. Students tend to make the saga of mistakes despite the instructions provided. If you wish your answer sheet to be impeccable, then scroll down to have a quick look at the common mistakes in board exams that you should avoid and save yourself from losing grades.
1. Last Minute Mug-up
Board Exam preparation requires time and strategic preparations. However, most of the students procrastinate and tend to avoid the crucial subjects or chapters, which can actually fetch them good marks. It’s quite common that many of the students reach outside the examination hall and devour the notes that have never been studied before. Last minute cramming might make you feel confident for a while but, What if, somebody rushes up to you and asks you about a topic that you’ve never heard of?
It’s highly evident that you will curse that person for making you realize that your notes are inadequate. On contrary, you will certainly freak out and get more stressed thinking about probable outcomes.
Tips: Last minute mug-up can lead to stressful situations. Avoid doing so, instead, start preparing from the beginning of your academic sessions. This will not only fetch you excellent grades but also ensure in effective learning.
2. Attempting the questions without reading them thoroughly
Every board provides 15 minutes time just to read the questions with an objective to make every student understand the questions, its pattern, and the methods. Not in board exams, even during the school examinations the students are given 15 minutes to read the questions with an objective to make them acquainted with this habit so that they can follow the same in boards exams.
Most of the students randomly start scribbling without any organizational strategies which can also be regarded as common mistakes in exams. In the hasty moment, they even fail to notice the marks allotted for certain questions and end up wasting time in a single question or end up making the wrong illustrations.
Tips: Utilize the precious 15 minutes for reading and understanding the questions. Make a mental note that you would answer which question in what way, or tick out the questions that you want to do first or last.
3. Copying the inaccurate Information
Whether you know everything or slightly, you will be in a rush to attempt all that you know within the stipulated time. In such cases, many students tend to go off-focus from the information provided and end up copying them incorrectly. Copying the improper information is one of the common exam mistakes that students are likely to repeat. The inappropriate details you copy will result in the wrong answer which will cost you a good amount of marks.
Tips: Be cautious about what you represent. Take extra care and stay vigilant regarding the given data. Your concentration and calmness will help you save yourself from losing marks.
4. Skipping the easiest questions for the “later” moment
You may think it’s a good and sensible idea to attempt the tough questions first, but it’s not true. Leaving the easy questions for the “later” moment is one of the unpardonable and common mistakes in board exams. If you came across a question that you think you can answer, then do it first. This is one of the best marks scoring techniques as easy questions are less-time consuming. Choosing the easiest questions can be beneficial as you will get more time for the difficult questions.
Tips: Once you carefully read the question paper, tick the questions that you find easy. Always remember to write the correct question number for each of the answers that you solve.
5. Bad Grammar and Poor Spelling
Good Grammar and good spelling is the greatest grade saver. Imagine yourself as an examiner. Your desk piled with a heap of answer sheets to be evaluated. Your eyes are tired and your head spins when you look at the exam sheet that is filled and jumbled with grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. What impression will get created in your mind regarding the student, even if you have never met?
It’s highly unlikely that you’ll give extra marks for the littered answer sheet. So, be cautious about the identical basic mistakes, which you will never write under normal situations. Example: Accept as Except, Whole as a Hole, Holy as Holi, Grateful as Greatful, Write as Right, etc. If you think of yourself as a grammar freak, then you’d certainly be astonished by the fact that even a simple mistake can alter the meaning of what you actually mean.
Tips: Don’t underestimate the worth of a sound grammar and correct spellings in your board exams. If your words are clear and sentences are precise the grades will go nowhere but be yours.
6. Crumpled and Tiny Writing
Panicking during the boards is okay but the crumpled and the tiny handwriting is unpardonable. In the haste of completing the exams on time, most of the students usually don’t pay attention to their handwriting. Well, there is no any forced rule on how to write a board exam paper, but it is crucial for the students to pay attention to how their handwriting is. For an examiner, who must check heaps and loads of answer sheets, bad and tiny handwriting will certainly create a bad impression and multiply the stress. Thus, no examiner will be graceful towards a handwriting that is extremely tiny and crumpled, and difficult to understand.
Tips: Practice writing and improve your handwriting. It is you who should take extra effort and initiative for making your answer sheet look clean and readable.
7. Leaving the Exam Hall Early
The allotted hours for finishing the 100 marks questions are yours. Thus, every moment should be considered precious and you should utilize every bit of it. Some students might come ill-prepared and they might try to get out of the exam hall as quickly as possible.
However, students should know that the questions that you get on your boards are simply based on the subject and the topics that you’ve been taught and studied. Thus, instead of wasting time, you can reflect back on what you have studied or taught in class so that you can generate an idea about the concerned question.
Tips: Warning bells doesn’t mean that you should leave. You can revise what you have written and can rectify the spelling and grammatical mistakes or do the needful modifications where needed. You should even check the roll number, registration number, and so on.
8. Submitting the Answer sheet without Checking/Revising
If you find the questions easy and finish it before the warning bell rings, then you’re lucky! Because you will own the entire grace period to recheck your answer sheet. However, most of the students who tend to finish early, repeat the common exam mistakes. They bustle for submitting the answer sheet without checking a single line.
Even if you take 5-10 minutes for checking your answer sheet, you will save yourself from losing grades. A little amount of grammatical or spelling mistake leads to enormous grade deduction. If you lose grades, the loss will be yours. Indeed 1 marks can make a difference. Imagine scoring 98.9 against your competitor who scores 99%. So, revise by utilizing the stipulated the grace period.
Tips: Don’t rush for submitting the answer sheet. Have patience to revise what you have written.
There are endless ways of scoring and obtaining the grades. Even though there is no such theory that specifies how to write a board exam paper for gaining outstanding grades, but, students can even score well by avoiding common board exam mistakes by being vigilant and cautious.
We wish you success for your boards!
Also Read: Top 10 Tips How To Write Perfect Answers In Board Exams
