When you think about intelligent people, you’d immediately think that they have near perfect marks on their exams and really high grades. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case.
There are people in this world who are smart, brilliant, and intelligent, but can’t seem to get good scores on exams; and there could be a lot of reasons why. It could be because they have anxiety problems, or are too much of a perfectionist, or maybe they can’t really understand how the professor teaches and prefer a different learning method.
So, if you feel that you belong in this group, here are some strategies that can help you get better marks on your tests.
Source: Learn Civil Engineering
Attitude Adjustment
Perfectionist
In engineering school, it’s important that you should ease up on this attitude. It’s a good thing that you want to do well, but perfect scores (especially on major subjects) are pretty rare. If you reviewed and are prepared, relax, and just do your best to answer what you can.
Overthinking
When solving problems in engineering school, it is always an unspoken rule to STOP OVERTHINKING. Overthinking a problem can lead to solutions that are lightyears away from the correct answer. Or sometimes, it can lead you to a very complicated solution that isn’t necessary. Thus, wasting your time and effort that you could have used for a different problem.
Relax
Don’t dwell on your classmates who are anxious about the exam. If you’ve reviewed well, then sit down and relax before you start your exam. If you can’t stay still, try to run over the important parts of your notes.
Think Positively
Keep a positive outlook as you take your test. Be confident because you reviewed, if by chance the exam has questions that you weren’t able to study, try to visualize when it was being discussed during your lecture period. Try to remember that formula that was being written on the board.
Source: Odyssey
Test Preparation
Practice
Practice is no new word in engineering school. It is more important than memorizing. When you are studying, it’s important to practice solving the problems instead. Solve different versions of the problems multiple times so that your brain will understand the method.
Don’t Cram
Procrastinating is never a good practice. However, cramming the night before an exam can’t be avoided sometimes. So the best advice I can give is always be attentive during lectures. Solve with your professor, understand the lessons genuinely. If you’re going to copy homework from your classmates, make sure you understand the process. By doing this, you will have an easier time studying the night before the exam since you already understand the process, you just have to solve a bit more and hope for the best.
Sleep
Not having a good night’s sleep can give you mood swings the next day, which can result in you having a mental breakdown during the exam
Eat a healthy meal
Eat a good breakfast/ meal before your exam. Protein is good for your brain, while sugar will give you a brief burst of energy, followed by a low.
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