Format of Short story

Due to the high stakes that characterize exam taking in many settings, it is critical for students to be physically and mentally prepared. Furthermore, tests are a reflection of a student's learning efforts and development over the course of a school year or semester. In light of this, there are critical steps that students can do during their exam period to strengthen their knowledge and skills. As a result, employing these tactics ensures that pupils pass their exams. The first step on how to pass exams is finding a mentor. According to Shannon Doyne and Holly Ojalvo in their article ""Preparing for the Future: Improving College Readiness,"" ""Students identify specific areas for personal improvement…then identify people who are already in their lives…who are willing to serve as mentors..." (2011). Mentors enable one to sharpen their skills in areas that they find difficult to comprehend and handle. Consequently, the students use information received from their mentors and use it to overcome the hardships in the exams.

The second step is preparing psychologically for the exams. The dissertation "Examination Stress and Test Anxiety," states that "…examinations are stressful because of their educational and occupational consequences" (Putwain, 2008). From this quote, it is evident that exams tend to be stressful or some students and this affects their performance. Moreover, increased exam anxiety affects student's preparedness by leading to actors such as forgetfulness and doubt. Given this, students are supposed to deal with test anxiety by studying ahead of the exams, going through past exam papers and engaging in extracurricular activities.

The third step on how to pass exams is engaging in discussions with people who are familiar with the course. Doyne and Oljav stipulate that "Host a panel discussion with graduates who matriculated at a college or university…" (2011). In the author's opinion, this strategy is useful in passing examinations as one can get new information about a particular topic. Also, these gatherings act as a motivation activator for students since they can challenge one another by asking each other diverse questions from the various topics in the course. Because of this, it accelerates their chances of mastering the course, hence allowing them to tackle their exams without fear.

The fourth step is possessing essential writing materials and tools before entering exam rooms. Having these items prevents an individual from wasting their classmates and own time. Also, it does not hinder the person from skipping significant questions with the expectation their neighbor will provide them with the materials they require. Instead, it proves the student is independent and ready to handle the examination irrespective of how difficult the unit is. Hence, having these materials helps the student have sufficient time in the exam room as he/she is not distracted by borrowing equipment from the neighbor.

The final step is applying critical and creative thinking to every question of the tests. Ann Coughlan's commentary, "Learning to Learn: Critical Thinking and Creative Thinking," ascertains that "…creative thinking is about applying imagination to finding a solution to your learning task (2007)" whereas critical thinking is "…reasonable reflective thinking focused on deciding what to believe or do" (2007). The definition of these essential techniques of thinking depicts their importance to students who are taking exams. In this case, critical thinking allows them to focus on the questions and how to achieve the solutions whereas creative thinking enables the students to use their acquired knowledge unlimitedly in solving every problem they encounter. Therefore, they play a significant role in ensuring the flow of ideas is consistent in the mind of the individual taking the exam.

References

Coughlan, A. (2007). Learning to learn: Creative thinking and critical thinking. DCU Student Learning Resources.

Doyne, S., & Oljavo, H. (2011, February 11). Preparing for the Future: Improving College Readiness. Retrieved November 30, 2017, from https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/11/preparing-for-the-future-boosting-college-readiness/

Putwain, D. (2008). Examination Stress and Test Anxiety. The Psychologist, 21(12), 1026-1029