8 strategies to succeed on exam day

Even though the word “exam” can strike fear into many students, we don’t think that’s necessary. We’re here to help.

There are many ways to improve your chances of passing. The following techniques will help you perform well on exam day:

1. Get some sleep.
   First, and maybe foremost, it’s essential that you get enough sleep the night before your exam. You want to be as fresh as possible.

2. Know where you’re going
   Ensure ahead of time that you know how to get to the examination centre. You don’t want to get lost on your way to the centre.

3. Arrive early.
   Make sure you arrive at the examination centre at least 15 minutes before the starting time. You want to be relaxed and focused when the exam starts.

4. Keep moving ahead.
   If you don’t know the answer to a question, move on to the next one. You may find that subsequent questions can help you recall information to answer the question you missed.

5. Apply the process of elimination.
   For a typical multiple choice exam, a useful way to find the correct answer is by the process of elimination. Even if you don’t know the answer to a question, you may be able to recognize that some of the options are incorrect. Eliminating them will allow you to focus on a narrower range of choices and increase your chances of selecting the correct answer.

6. Answer every question.
   No marks are deducted for wrong answers. If all else fails, guess. You still have a chance of getting the correct answer. If you’ve eliminated some of the options, your chances of getting the correct answer are even higher. If you leave a question unanswered, you needlessly reduce your chances of passing the exam.

7. Read carefully.
   Read every word in the questions. Sometimes, a single word may be the key to the correct answer. Here are some examples:

“net asset value” vs. “net asset value per unit”

“capital gain” vs. “taxable capital gain”

“income tax” vs. “taxable income”

“never” vs. “sometimes”

“some” vs. “all”

8. Manage your time.
   Allocate your time properly so you can answer all the questions. A typical three hour exam may have a 100 multiple choice questions. This means that you have approximately two minutes on average for each question. In practice, most students have no difficulty completing the exam on time.

Follow these strategies and you’ll improve your odds of success. Good luck on your exam!