Common mistakes
Here you will find some of the most common mistakes that can make you fail an exam, as well as methods to avoid them. Failing an exam is not pleasant, but sooner or later, it can happen to anyone. Many times, our results are unsatisfactory because we fail to prepare for the exam in advance, because, although we have read all the given materials, we didn’t study as deeply as we should have, or because the teacher’s guidelines were not clear enough. However, in other cases, the grades we receive are not as high as we would expect due to avoidable mistakes, which anyone can fix by the date of the next exam. Let’s see what are these errors that occur relatively often during written exams.
You don’t pay enough attention to the requirements
Many students throw a quick glimpse to each question, then start answering them without making sure first that they understood everything correctly. For example, whether the question asks you to give a definition or a description. These misunderstandings can have repercussions on your grade. Therefore, after you are given the questions of your exam, make sure you read them at least twice, and one more time when you check your work, before handing it over.
You care about the orderly and neat aspect of your work
The exam paper is not like the paper you take notes on. It is a document that is going to be read and examined by a teacher or a committee. Thus, it makes a bad impression if you hand it full of corrections, with margins written all over, carelessly torn edges or illegible handwriting. It is true that you get your grade on what you say, not on how you present your ideas, but a poor handwriting can mislead the teacher, who can mistake a correct answer for a wrong one. What’s more, some teachers even grade the aspect of the paper.
May 18, 2015
