To cram, or not to cram, that is the question

And this (in my opinion) is the answer...

There are a couple of hours left before the exam... If you're feeling well-prepared (or even if you're not), last-minute cramming probably isn't the most productive way to spend your time. Why not try some of these ideas instead?

• Have a look at the mark-scheme for a few past papers- This will remind you of what the examiners are looking for, but doesn't involve panicking and trying to remember loads of facts.
  
  
• If you're about to sit a language exam, do something to get your brain in the zone. For example, before a French listening test, find a French radio station, or even just a clip from a previous exam. This should help with that bit at the start when they might as well be speaking Chinese.
  
  
• For exams that involve learning specific facts/ quotes/ case studies, you could remind yourself of these by looking over some of your notes.  This will probably be most useful if you've got a list of equations (or something similar) that you know you're going to need- there probably isn't much point doing this with pages and pages of notes about the Cold War, for example.
  
  
• If there's a specific thing you're struggling with, you could always refresh your memory by looking over some of your revision notes or flashcards. But, don't try and do this for the entire syllabus- it might just about sink in if you focus your last-minute cramming on just a few targeted topics, but flicking through the whole textbook will probably just confuse you and stress you out.
  
  
• If you're reading this a couple of days/ weeks before an exam, you could start a list of things to look over on the morning of the test. This way, as you revise, you can add to it with facts/ figures/ points that you think will be crucial to remember just before you go in.  Make sure your list doesn't get too long though, otherwise there isn't really much point!
  
  
• For those of you who feel, by the time the exam comes around, you're completely ready to just go in there and get all the information you've learnt down on paper, it might be best just to relax and rest your brain.  You don't want to get yourself all worked up unnecessarily, because if you feel ready, then you probably are and there's no need to be taking notes right down to the last second.
  
  
• When you're waiting outside the exam room, don't be one of those annoying people who starts loudly going through everything they've learnt and all the questions that they think might come up.  This will not only cause everyone else to panic, but it will probably confuse you too, especially when other people join in with different things that they know and you don't.
  
  

Hopefully some of the above will help you in your final hours (!)Try and take comfort in the fact that it will all be over very soon and you'll feel a lot better if you know you did all you could to prepare yourself properly.

(http://www.sprichie.com/)

Harriet