O/L Exam is tomorrow...............!

Are you ready...!:

Compiled by Panchamee Hewavissenti

Hey girls and guys, O/L exam is tomorrow...! How are you feeling at this moment? Ok.. Stay calm and cool! Don't be worried! I'll tell you something that you can do in the exam tomorrow. I want to tell you this , don't panic about the exam you're going to face tomorrow.

Take it as another normal event in your life. You've been applying studying strategies and have done some relaxation exercises. So don't worry, you're already ready to face the exam tomorrow.

The long awaited day is tomorrow. After much hard work. You'll have the opportunity to show others how well you've studied during the past couple of months.

Wake up early

Set your alarm early, so that you won't have to rush to the exam centre. It's wise to place the clock at the far side of the room so that you'll have to get up from the bed and walk up to that place to turn the alarm off.

For a heavy sleeper who might be tempted to return to bed " just for another few minutes" ,put a basin of water on the floor at the far side of the room near the alarm clock.

When you go to turn off your alarm clock you can splash cold water on to your face, neck and arms and then stand in the water. Then you will be less tempted to return to bed.

You shouldn't oversleep and run the risk of getting to the exam late or missing it altogether. One of these reasons can put your results at risk. If you can't trust either the alarm or your self, you better get help from a family member. Remember it's very important to get up on time.

Don't miss your breakfast

Drink a glass of water as you get up and do some light stretching exercises. Make sure you don't miss your breakfast. You may be too nervous to have breakfast, but a couple of hours later, you may regret for not having your breakfast.

Your brain needs energy to think, analyse, plan, solve and write. If you haven't had any food since your last dinner, then your blood glucose levels will be very low. It's not at all a proper condition for a three hour examination period.

Verify the venue

If your examination centre is unfamiliar to you, take the time to find the building and the room before the exam day. It will avoid you being late to get to the exam centre out of breath, sweaty, flustered and more than mildly angry at yourself.

Be aware that rooms don't always run in strict numerical order and that buildings are not always identified by a particular name. These potential problems are easily solved by simply finding the buildings and rooms before the exam period starts.

Be aware of the time

You should start your examination with as much calmness, composure and confidence as possible. For that you better arrive at the examination centre early. It's very important to know the time so that you can go early and calm yourself down for a while till the exam starts.

Where's your seat

You should be comfortable with your seating because you're going to spend two to three hours sitting in a chair taking your exam. When you entered the examination room you'll be assigned a seat. You should be alert on the place if it's a sunny place. If so you'll be uncomfortable and it'll affect your exam badly.

Fill in the sheets given to you

When you're given computerised answer sheets, time will be given to you at the beginning of the examination for you to complete identification grids on the answer sheets. You should record your registration number, examination centre number and the date. It's advisable to fill the grid with a pencil so that if you do a mistake you can erase it without spoiling the answer sheet.

When the question paper is given, it's always advisable for you to read the paper carefully. It will prevent you from working on three questions, when only two were asked for. And it will help you to understand the question properly.

Allocate your time

Allocating your time to the major sections or questions on the paper takes only a minute or two and is a simple task to complete.

How do you apportion your time in an examination? Basically you should know the areas that you know and get marks very well. It's better to list the order in which you intend to do the questions at the beginning of the exam.

The order should take in to account two criteria. Your knowledge of the questions and the mark value of the various questions Having decided how much time you plan to devote to each question, it's up to you to keep to the plan.

Remember, it's far better to have something down on paper for each question than have a near perfect answer for one question and empty space for the rest.

Another consideration given to the time allocation is your preference for essay, short answers and MCQ type questions. It's not advisable to devote too much time on MCQs or short answer questions if you feel that you're very good in them. Ultimately you'll have no time to work on the other areas.

The following information will be beneficial for you when doing aforementioned questions.

"One further suggestion about planning your attack relates to fatigue and writer's cramp. If you have the option of writing several essays and completing a series of MCQs, you might want to do one or two of the essays, switch to the MCQ section, and then return to complete the essays.

By inserting the MCQs in the middle of your exam, you allow your hand to have a bit more rest. Not only will your hand get a break, but also your mind will benefit by switching from the creative task of essay writing to the more analytical chore of choosing the most correct MCQ answer. Generally speaking, giving yourself a change of pace during exam is a good idea. Staying in the same mental gear can result in fatigue". (Fred Orr, How to pass exams)

When answering questions

The first task in answering essay questions is to be certain you understand what's being asked. Be careful, hasty reading and misinterpretation of the question have been the undoing of many a candidate. Make sure you understand specially what's being asked.

Read the question, then re- read the question and underline key words.

Key words

Analyse - Describe the main ideas and their relationships, assumptions and significance.

Compare - Show the pros and ons or the similarities and differences.

Contrast - Compare by focusing upon the differences

Define - Present the meaning of the term, generally in a formalised way. Including an example will enhance your definition.

Describe - Present a detailed and accurate picture of the event or phenomenon.

Discuss - Describe the event or phenomenon, but give the positive and negative aspects.

Evaluate - Weigh up or give your assessment of the relevant matter, citing positive and negative features, advantages and disadvantages, and so on.

Justify - Present the background for a particular event and why you think it is so. You'll be expected to present evidence to support your views and conclusions.

Summarise - Present a brief overview of the major points with commentary about why they're important.

MCQs

1. Before start answering the questions, you should read the directions very carefully.

2. Be certain to complete fill in the answer spaces.

3. Completely erase any errors.

4. Be sure not to mark two answers for the same question.

5. Work rapidly but carefully, through the examination and do the essay questions first.

6. Mark the questions you want to reconsider but be careful not to have such a mark confused with an answer.

7. Underline key words in the test paper. Words such as all, many, some, none, always, sometimes, never, more, less,best and least.

Neatness and clarity are taken in to account

After several hours of writing, your hand can get tired and your handwriting can deteriorate. Clear and legible writing can win you marks.

Most examination markers have to read paper after paper and if they strike a series of almost unreadable essays, the marker is not likely to be sympathetic to the plight of the fatigued candidate. Make the situation as easy for the marker and as beneficial for yourself as you can.

Go through the answer script before handing over

Shortly before the end of the exam, save a short amount of time to check your answer sheet to see that you have recorded your answers correctly and fully. Correct any spelling errors, insert any missing punctuation and tidy up any blotches or stray marks. Finally, check to see that you've recorded your candidate identification information correctly.

The Sunday Observer wishes you all the best for the O/L exam........Good luck.....!