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Doing exams
General exam tips
Be gentle on yourself!
- On the day of the exam, just remember that you've done as much preparation as you could.
- Remember examiners want you to succeed. Exams are set to test what you know, not what you don't know! The examiners are on your side and want to give you marks. Make it as easy as possible to show what you know in your answers.
- Eat healthily and don't skip meals! Keep yourself hydrated and relaxed as much as possible.
Make sure you have everything you need for the exam
- Make sure that you have all that you need with you: spare batteries, pencils, sharpeners, pens, rulers₀
- If you have any special exam arrangements and are using your own laptop or are in a special room or lab, then make sure that you have all the necessary software and hardware and ensure computer compatibilities.
Use your reading time to plan your answers
- In the reading time, get a full overview of the exam questions and look at their weighting.
- At the start, write down any mnemonics or memory anchors you'll need for any questions.
Show the examiner what you know
- Use clear, concise forms, words, diagrams and try not to use convoluted language.
- At the start of the writing time, decide on the order in which you'll answer the questions and tick these as you complete each. Do the easiest questions first and do the ones worth more marks earlier too, so you can get the best chance of higher scores.
- Ensure that you answer each question and understand what it is asking. If you don't know the answer, leave the question and come back to it later. Don't waste time putting in everything else you know about a topic in the hope of getting marks! Use the list of Direction word explanations for key words in exam questions to guide your understanding and question responses.
- Focus on answering only what the question asks of you. Don't give extra irrelevant information hoping to get points.
If you panic...
- If you go blank on a question, breathe slowly and deeply! Just keep moving on to another question. Use any triggers later to return to the question, for example, try remembering the lecturer talk about the topic to remind you of relevant information. Use other bits of the exam to help trigger information about a topic.
- Stretch your arms and take deep breaths to relax. Sometimes chewing barley sugar or chewing gum can keep you alert.
- If you run out of time, jot your answers in point form, even for the questions that you haven't attempted. It may mean that you get a mark or two, and every mark counts.
Tips for doing alternative examinations – oral exams or working with scribes
For some subjects such as language exams, some medical exams or if you have alternative exam arrangements, you may do an oral exam instead of a written one. Here are some tips adapted from ANU (Australian National University) Managing oral exams 
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- You should establish where the exam will take place and who will conduct it.
- The session should be audio or video taped.
- You should have a clear idea about the weighting for the content and presentation skills of responses, and discuss these with your lecturer or examiner in advance.
- Check to see if the oral examiner will invite elaborations on your responses.
- You may have a number of formats for the oral exams. The session may include:
- reading or listening to pre-recorded questions or ones posed by an examiner
- deciding on questions that you will do and their order
- preparing your answers to each question
- presenting your answers orally.
- You may find that chewing gum before the test will help keep your jaw muscles relaxed and saliva flowing. Under stress you may find your mouth dries up. Take some water with you too.
- Leave yourself time to revise or add to your answers.
- Overall, try to enjoy the opportunity to present your ideas verbally. Of course, you should still be able to use pen and paper to jot down your ideas before responding orally.
- Especially if you are doing a viva exam for example, (a medical exam), then ensure that your conduct, appearance and communication are professional and confident.
Go to the Guidelines for scribing in examination, of the Disability Liaison Unit if you need a scribe for your exams.
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