Go for it - and, oh yes, don't forget your name

Forgotten your own name? Can't read the writing on the page? It must be exam time and the invigilator has just suggested that you can turn over the paper. If you've put in the time and effort and study - go for it, do what the psychologist suggest, and take a few deep breaths.

Remember all the useful bits of advice your teachers gave you. Do read the paper twice, read each question fully, answer all the compulsory sections, use the marking system to guide you in the length of your answers, and include your rough work with your answer book.

Remember all of the stuff that seems perfectly obvious before you enter the exam hall with its unique atmosphere redolent of hopes, dreams, guilt, regrets, sweaty armpits and pencil parings. Here is a list of things which past generations of exam candidates have blithely ignored . . . and now REGRET. Feel free to read on. Memorise as required.

Not Reading The Paper Correctly:

You just can't get away from this one. Examiners say it's the old staple. It happens every year to the brightest and best.

Do read the entire question and don't burst into glorious prose because it mentions your favourite poet, author or someone you happen to know something about. Find out what you're being asked. Examiners are only human and irrelevant, learned-off, tracts of prose tend to send their blood pressure soaring. And, we all know the old law which states that as examiners' blood pressure rises, candidates' exams marks drop.

Compulsory Questions:

Again, it happens year in, year out. Students neglect the compulsory section in favour of elective questions which they can answer. It may seem comforting at the time as you scribble away while your friends chew the ends of the their pen struggling with the compulsory questions.

But, if a section is compulsory, and you don't answer it, you automatically lose those marks and they can't be made up in any other way. Any attempt at an answer in this section is better than leaving it blank. So, try a little pen chewing.

Charts, Graphs & Diagrams:

In maths, science, geography, materials technology . . . a picture is worth a thousand words but only if it is clear and well-labelled. Abstract art, which is accessible only to a chosen few (and even these would benefit from a nudge in the right direction) is not advised - outside the art exam. Oh, and use graph paper if it is indicated.

Repetition:

This may have seemed to have formed the backbone of your teachers' classroom technique but it's inadvisable in exams, even if the examiners are teachers. There are no extra marks for repeating yourself. Use the time for something else - preferably answering another question.

Not Including Your Rough Work:

OK, so it's messy and you doodled a little graffiti down the side but examiners suggest that you include all of your rough work with your script. Good preparatory work or a statement of the principles involved can partly compensate for a wrong answer.

Ignoring The Marking System:

The more marks, the more time you allocate to the question. Marks equal time is a simple axiom, frequently ignored by the harassed examinee.

Over-Use Of Calculators:

Calculators are sadly prone to mysterious ailments, brought on by over-agitation in the schoolbag, battery rundown or Murphy's Law.

Don't rely on a calculator to pass your maths exam for you. A slip of your finger or a blip in the calculator will not be immediately obvious to the examiner. Rough work provides the examiner with better clues as to your actual knowledge of maths. At the least, check, using pen and paper, that your answer is in the right order of magnitude.