How do I overcome stupid mistakes in exams
I get ‘exam anxiety’ if that’s a thing, and honestly, I made the stupidest of stupid mistakes it’s actually embarrassing at this point. I start rushing my work in exam conditions because I get nervous and overwhelmed, which leads to this.
Again today, I was overlooking my AS chemistry mock paper and in total there are about 20 marks worth of stupid mistakes. Either I’m not reading the question correctly or I miss words in the question or I simply write a number down wrong, resulting in my whole calculation to be wrong.
I genuinely know how to answer these questions, but for some reason my mind chooses to be daft in exam.
The marks I lost in the mock isn’t a huge deal to me now, but I can’t afford to make these silly mistakes again in the real alevel exam.
How can I over come this ? Thank you :-)
Again today, I was overlooking my AS chemistry mock paper and in total there are about 20 marks worth of stupid mistakes. Either I’m not reading the question correctly or I miss words in the question or I simply write a number down wrong, resulting in my whole calculation to be wrong.
I genuinely know how to answer these questions, but for some reason my mind chooses to be daft in exam.
The marks I lost in the mock isn’t a huge deal to me now, but I can’t afford to make these silly mistakes again in the real alevel exam.
How can I over come this ? Thank you :-)
Original post by harlz_chalamet
I get ‘exam anxiety’ if that’s a thing, and honestly, I made the stupidest of stupid mistakes it’s actually embarrassing at this point. I start rushing my work in exam conditions because I get nervous and overwhelmed, which leads to this.
Again today, I was overlooking my AS chemistry mock paper and in total there are about 20 marks worth of stupid mistakes. Either I’m not reading the question correctly or I miss words in the question or I simply write a number down wrong, resulting in my whole calculation to be wrong.
I genuinely know how to answer these questions, but for some reason my mind chooses to be daft in exam.
The marks I lost in the mock isn’t a huge deal to me now, but I can’t afford to make these silly mistakes again in the real alevel exam.
How can I over come this ? Thank you :-)
Again today, I was overlooking my AS chemistry mock paper and in total there are about 20 marks worth of stupid mistakes. Either I’m not reading the question correctly or I miss words in the question or I simply write a number down wrong, resulting in my whole calculation to be wrong.
I genuinely know how to answer these questions, but for some reason my mind chooses to be daft in exam.
The marks I lost in the mock isn’t a huge deal to me now, but I can’t afford to make these silly mistakes again in the real alevel exam.
How can I over come this ? Thank you :-)
Start by underlining key words/numbers in the questions, so that you have an easier time keeping track of all the information given to you.
Make sure you know all your definitions, as those are easy marks. PMT should have all of them.
When you get a question wrong, keep a record of it and reattempt it so you memorise all the key points.
When you start the exam, look around. You will see people rushing to answer the questions
Don’t do that!
Instead, take the time to read through the paper. Identify which questions are easier for you and which are harder.
Having read through the paper, your brain will start to think about the answers in the background (honest).
You give it space to do that by answering the easier questions. This also gives you more confidence (reducing anxiety)
Work your way through the paper. Try to allocate time broadly to the marks available but deduct 10 mins or so to read through your script afterwards.
If you do hit an issue with a question, move on to another one picking up easier marks
Having completed the exam, skim read / read through your script and try and spot obvious mistakes (picking up free marks).
If you do those things (exam technique) you should see your scores improve.
If you review answers afterwards against the mark scheme and understand where and why you are dropping marks, that will help enormously too.
Hope that’s useful advice
Don’t do that!
Instead, take the time to read through the paper. Identify which questions are easier for you and which are harder.
Having read through the paper, your brain will start to think about the answers in the background (honest).
You give it space to do that by answering the easier questions. This also gives you more confidence (reducing anxiety)
Work your way through the paper. Try to allocate time broadly to the marks available but deduct 10 mins or so to read through your script afterwards.
If you do hit an issue with a question, move on to another one picking up easier marks
Having completed the exam, skim read / read through your script and try and spot obvious mistakes (picking up free marks).
If you do those things (exam technique) you should see your scores improve.
If you review answers afterwards against the mark scheme and understand where and why you are dropping marks, that will help enormously too.
Hope that’s useful advice
Original post by harlz_chalamet
I get ‘exam anxiety’ if that’s a thing, and honestly, I made the stupidest of stupid mistakes it’s actually embarrassing at this point. I start rushing my work in exam conditions because I get nervous and overwhelmed, which leads to this.
Again today, I was overlooking my AS chemistry mock paper and in total there are about 20 marks worth of stupid mistakes. Either I’m not reading the question correctly or I miss words in the question or I simply write a number down wrong, resulting in my whole calculation to be wrong.
I genuinely know how to answer these questions, but for some reason my mind chooses to be daft in exam.
The marks I lost in the mock isn’t a huge deal to me now, but I can’t afford to make these silly mistakes again in the real alevel exam.
How can I over come this ? Thank you :-)
Again today, I was overlooking my AS chemistry mock paper and in total there are about 20 marks worth of stupid mistakes. Either I’m not reading the question correctly or I miss words in the question or I simply write a number down wrong, resulting in my whole calculation to be wrong.
I genuinely know how to answer these questions, but for some reason my mind chooses to be daft in exam.
The marks I lost in the mock isn’t a huge deal to me now, but I can’t afford to make these silly mistakes again in the real alevel exam.
How can I over come this ? Thank you :-)
You need to slow down. Read each question twice - think before you write anything.
Try highlighting - that will slow you down.
Estimate numerical answers then you should pick up slips.
Original post by harlz_chalamet
I get ‘exam anxiety’ if that’s a thing, and honestly, I made the stupidest of stupid mistakes it’s actually embarrassing at this point. I start rushing my work in exam conditions because I get nervous and overwhelmed, which leads to this.
Again today, I was overlooking my AS chemistry mock paper and in total there are about 20 marks worth of stupid mistakes. Either I’m not reading the question correctly or I miss words in the question or I simply write a number down wrong, resulting in my whole calculation to be wrong.
I genuinely know how to answer these questions, but for some reason my mind chooses to be daft in exam.
The marks I lost in the mock isn’t a huge deal to me now, but I can’t afford to make these silly mistakes again in the real alevel exam.
How can I over come this ? Thank you :-)
Again today, I was overlooking my AS chemistry mock paper and in total there are about 20 marks worth of stupid mistakes. Either I’m not reading the question correctly or I miss words in the question or I simply write a number down wrong, resulting in my whole calculation to be wrong.
I genuinely know how to answer these questions, but for some reason my mind chooses to be daft in exam.
The marks I lost in the mock isn’t a huge deal to me now, but I can’t afford to make these silly mistakes again in the real alevel exam.
How can I over come this ? Thank you :-)
Hi! This is exactly how I feel about exams.The way I tackle this is by doing the easiest questions and working my way up. I know some people prefer to also do the hardest ones first and then easier, but it depends on what works for you. Maybe try a few practice papers with both methods and see if either works for you?
For chem, I found that writing out all the numbers in the question to the correct chemical for example helps me process it better. Highlighting key info works too For example;
- N2H4= 8.0g
- N2O4= 92g
About rushing work, I do the exact same thing causing me to finish exams much earlier than the end time. This actually relaxes me in the sense that I have finished the paper and then I re-check it will less stress and allows me to spot all the silly mistakes I made that I wouldn't normally have done. Thats why I make sure to retype all my calculations in to make sure I didn't write them down wrong or input the wrong numbers.
These are just some things I do to try and deal with the anxiety. If you're taking your exams in 2024, you have a whole year to prep and try out different methods and see what works best for you.
Good luck
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