Exam technique is obviously important. Your technique in the exam will allow you to achieve peak efficiency in terms of answering questions and allow you to minimize silly, careless mistakes. Considering that the HSC is your final set of exams, and your final opportunity to either maintain your stellar marks, or bump your grades up a notch, perfecting exam technique is essential.

So, how can you develop excellent exam technique?

Surprisingly a lot of developing strong exam technique comes down to preparation. From my interviews with 98+ UAI students, the following patterns emerged.

All 98+ UAI students unanimously allocated time in exams by dividing total exam time, but total marks available. Importantly, they did not wait until they sat in the exam to work out how long they would spend on each section. 98+ UAI students calculated the time they intended to spend on each section prior to the exam so when they sat down at the start, they had a clear plan of action for the exam, and could instead dedicate all reading time to actually, well reading.

Not only did 98+ UAI students determine timing prior to an exam, when they were in the exam, they made a point to stick to the allocated times! While there may have been questions which stumped them, they made a point not to let the question disrupt their exam plan.

So, what happens when you get a question you get stuck on? Rather than trying to work it out and wasting precious time, leave it until you have completed the relevant section. Then go back to it. Have you ever met someone, and despite trying, could not remember their name? What happens 30 minutes later? Often your remember the name. This is because your brain subconsciously continues to try to work out the person’s name even when you are nothing actively thinking about it! This applies for exams, and is a key reason to leave a difficult question until the end of the section.