Passing an examination entails many steps, starting from the way you answer questions on different subjects. Sciences carry more marks in practice; languages are heavier in literature, just as math paper two is easier to pass than paper one. And that is why you need examiners in your school to train you how to answer questions in different subjects.
Success also comes from you. Do not anger the examiner with poor handwriting or cheeky, unprecedented statements, irrelevance, or arrogance. You may be under pressure from your parents or guardians. However, get this burden off your shoulders and start working for your future and not theirs.
Ask yourself these questions.
1. Did I cover the syllabus?
By how much, 70%, 95% or 39%? Does it matter anyway if I don’t cover the syllabus? Yes! It does; it’s a matter of probability, and the KCSE examination covers the entire syllabus and addresses key sectors of the curriculum. Covering the syllabus (but not in a shrewd manner) increases the probability of passing exams by a larger margin.
2. Does my Behavior affect my grades?
Find out whether your behaviour slows you down. Are you always at loggerheads with school administration and parents? Or maybe alcoholism- How often do you get excited when you spend time with pals of the opposite sex? Can you transfer the same feelings to books? Gauge your Psychological needs. What do you want? Why do you want it? Is it cost-effective? Is this the right time to desire it? Why should adolescents command my integrity? How can I overcome the challenges I face in my life?
3. Am I too good for these examinations?
This is what we call overconfidence; the Examination game is not over until the last exam, the last period. Approach exams with soberness and humility; Seal all loopholes that can expose your weaknesses. Do exams with pride, but don’t overestimate yourself; you may as well prepare for kickbacks if you try.
4. Am I really Capable of…………….?
Why do you doubt yourself in the first place? Does this mean that you are unprepared? Nobody likes exams; you are not alone on this island. An examination is not a matter of life or death; an examination is a measure of academic performance. Life is not all about academics; life is more than that. If you can mix your academic performance and wisdom on a 50:50 basis, then life becomes easier. Pressure only comes when you think academics is a matter of grave danger. Now, can you get this burden out of your shoulders and start living?
5. Did I prepare well for the exam?
Did you? Did you try to revise it? Finish your home work? Did you cover the syllabus? Did you forgive your enemies before you sat for these exams? Did you cut ties with the past before exam day? Have you ever appreciated yourself? Looked into the mirror and admired how composed you are, how unique and how wonderful. People see you the way you see yourself in that mirror. Degrading yourself has hazardous consequences for your overall composure. Appreciate yourself and start to build a destiny for yourself/ a territorial fence of success. Don’t expect to eat if you never cooked, harvest if you never tilled, dance if there is no music, don’t expect to pass if what you all along did was to sit and wait for exams- not unless it’s a miracle.
6. Do I hate this subject?
Most students hate science subjects. If you are one of those silly phobia brains, try to mend your relationship with these subjects. They are truly a gateway to success, as you will find out in future.
7. Did I understand this question/instruction?
Make sure you understand every question you want to answer. Assuming that you understand is as expensive as ‘Kenya’s taxation on basic commodities, ’ you will end up losing a lot of marks as Kenyans lose this taxation via corruption of the highest calibre.
I happened to come across these tips on the internet and also found them helpful. Scan them to add to what I have already given you.
Here are seven tips to help every student pass exams, based on my personal experience:
1. No limiting belief, please
– Remove the limiting belief that you can’t pass.
– If you believe you can pass or you believe you cannot pass, you are right.
– I have seen students under the impression that the examiner is their enemy. Please don’t think so. The pass percentage might be low, but students do pass their exams. So, do not think that you will ever be in a failure category.
2. Understand the structure of the paper
– First of all, understand the structure of the paper – is there any mark allocation for a particular topic?
– Secondly, if there is marks allocation, is the examiner following it? The best thing to do is to review the past five papers.
– What is the key topic, i.e., the examiner’s favourite? Is there any article by the examiner in the Students’ Accountant or any other relevant student magazine? Study that topic and prepare for it, even if you don’t like it!
3. Taking notes
– Prepare for exams by way of ‘notes’, which you can recall quickly at the time of taking an exam. This will help in two manner. First, when you write, you are in a better picture of giving your mind instruction through written letters. Secondly, you can revise from your notes instead of opening the book when exam day is near. Here is my strategy for taking notes:
– Take a paper and turn it in landscape format.
– Put three columns in landscape form.
– Once done, take a synopsis of a chapter in smaller fonts and the language which you can easily understand.
– Write bullet points, important concepts, and key ideas that you need to remember.
– These notes should be used at the time when the paper is on the head, and you need to revise the whole subject in two to three hours.
4. Remembering/memorizing key ideas and formulae
– One of the key ideas to memorize ideas, e.g. formulae, is to write them in small charts and hang them in front of your bed.
– See those formulae daily before going to bed and rising up.
– Use different colours and markers.
– Believe me, in my statistics paper, I was recalling the formulae in the exact colours which I wrote on charts.
5. Exam practice
– Practice mock exam – be your own examiner.
– Take any past paper and solve it as a mock exam.
– Solve past papers in the time allocated in the exam. Think you are in the exam hall and solve the paper accordingly.
– Check your paper and give yourself marks.
– See how you are performing in the mock exam and be sincere to yourself.
6. Time your paper
– Here is a technique to time your paper: Take total marks and total time. Subtract 10 minutes from the total minutes. Divide the remainder with the marks, and you get time per marks
– Example: If there are 100 marks for a paper and you have 180 minutes. Subtract 10 minutes. This means you have 170 minutes altogether or 1.7 minutes per mark.
– make sure that you don’t spend more than 1.7 minutes per mark. For example, if a question is worth ten marks, the maximum time you should spend should be 17 minutes.
– It happens that students try to focus on one particular question, and if they are unable to solve it, they get confused. Don’t panic. Start the next question. If a student has time, he/she can take up that particular question later on.
– Try to allocate 10 minutes at the end of the exam to review the paper thoroughly.
7. Don’t annoy examiner
See for spelling errors and writing style. Writing needs to be legible and understandable. As a teacher to many students, I have noticed that spelling errors and the way students write, at times, are not understandable. The examiner has very little time to check the paper. If your paper is examiner-friendly, you are going to get good marks.
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