How to score good marks in exams-time management tips and tricks.

Appearing for an exam could be one of the worst nightmares for most of the students be in school, college or university (except of course for the few 'gifted' ones). And scoring good marks is yet another challenging task. Everyone one wants to score good in exams-but only few know how to.

There might be two students with the same mental caliber and level of preparation in an exam, but still one of them might just beat the other when it comes to scoring. How? That's the big question. The difference lies in the way both attempt their respective exams, the little tricks that can do wonders to your score. Here are a few of the most effective tips to excel and score well in an exam.

For writing any exam a clear and legible handwriting is always a must. So always try to write in a very neat and clean handwriting. Even those of you who don't have a good handwriting, you don’t need to be disappointed. Just follow the following steps to make your answer sheet look neat and clean:

a. Organize your answer into headings and subheadings because that always looks good.

b. Write the heading very clearly with a different colored pen (may be you can use black pen for headings).If use of a different color pen is not allowed you can underline it with the same pen.

c. Divide the sub headings into further subheads to make it more presentable.

If you have a very clear understanding of the answer you are writing and you have got enough knowledge about the answer then you must write your answers in points form.

a. The points form is easier to read and understand for the examiner (checker). Even they don’t like reading long and boring texts in the answers.

b. It is also easy to write and organize your answers in the form of points.

c. Point wise presentation also fills more space in the answer sheet. (So it helps you fill your pages faster, as you can always leave some space between two points)

Important Note: A word of caution: IF THE ANSWER IS NOT VERY CLEAR TO YOU, ALWAYS WRITE IT IN THE FORM OF PARAGRAPHS. Because then the checker will also not understand it much or bother to read deeply and award you some marks :)

Time management is one of the biggest problem while writing any exam.

a. Make sure you get a watch to the examination hall.

b. Keep a track of time throughout the exam say at every half an hour.

c. Divide your time judiciously for all answers, and if you feel like lagging on time i.e you are short on time just degrade the quality of your answers. That is to say that write smaller answers than you would usually have written for the same question.

d. But just make sure that you attempt all the questions, even if that means slightly low quality answers.

I personally prefer this approach, rather than going as per the question paper pattern. So what we do in this approach is that we write the best known answers first. What impact it has is that the paper checker gets into a comfort zone "feel good" about your answer sheet. So towards the end of the sheet, even if there are some answers which are not up to the mark, the marks are awarded on the basis of the good track record.

And if the starting itself is with a poorly written answer, imagine what first impression it leaves on the examiner. In such cases even the well written answers at a later page in the answer sheet would fetch lesser marks. Remember 'First impression is always the last impression'. So make sure you start with your best.

It is always a good habit to review what you have done. In an examination it becomes even more important as a review can fetch you that little extra marks which might make all the difference in the end. Sometimes you number an answer incorrectly, have missed out on a question's answer or made a silly mistake in a numerical problem.

Whichever be the case from the above scenarios, a timely review will surely help you identify and rectify such mistakes. So always manage your time in a manner that you do get some 10-15 minutes for review towards the concluding stages of your exam.

To conclude all I would say is that plan properly, study meticulously and score handsomely. I wish you success and great scores in all the exams that you attempt in your life.

Good Luck !

Done with exam preparation tips, look at some of the tips for effective studies during the non-exam period to help make your life smooth during the exam time: