“Time is really the only capital that any human being has, and the only thing he can’t afford to lose.” – Thomas Edison
The September holiday is only 2 weeks away, which only means that now is the period of assignments, tests, and for the Primary 6 students, preliminary examinations. Most, if not all students should be busy preparing for the upcoming assessments. Students and parents might both be stressed and preparing to face the exams. Time management is one of the necessary skills a student has to master to ace their exams. Even if your child has studied every topic in every subject, if they are unable to manage time during their examination efficiently, they will not be able to score well. So, time management is an important skill for your children to have.
How to manage time?
- Get familiarised with the exam structure
Look at previous year’s question papers. Assess how marks are divided among different sections of the question paper. It can help your children prepare accordingly.
- Prepare required stationery supplies early
Get all the stationery supplies your children need for the exams at least a day before the exam. Having all the things at hand can be important, especially to ensure that they do not panic at being short on pencils or pens during the examination. Furthermore, owning new stationery may increase the motivation for them to put in more effort in their academics.
- Mock examinations
Make your children attend as many mock examinations as they can. It helps them get familiarised with the exam structure and practice managing the time they have. It is the best possible method to prepare for the exams. Mock examinations also help teach them to manage stress during exams.
- Read through once and decide to imagine how to answer
Briefly go through some examination strategies with your children. Guide them on how to glimpse through the examination paper right at the start of the examination, identify the questions which are easy to answer, and ask them to visualize how they will be going through the entire examination procedure, practising careful time management in the process.
Simple time management skills such as allocating time to different sections is important. Allot time accordingly. If you have allotted a particular time for a question, try to finish it within that time frame. Else, skip it and go to the next question. You can come back to it if you manage to finish a section early and have extra time. But if you feel like other sections are harder and you are confident in answering certain questions first, do these questions first. Then adjust the time for the other sections accordingly. It is up to the student’s judgment. Taking mock exams can help your children to become better at making such judgments.
- Wear a watch
Wear a watch and keep your eye on the time regularly. If you don’t have a watch there will be clocks in the exam hall. Keep track of the time and ensure you don’t lose time trying to answer a single question.
- Don’t dwell on a question when in doubt
If you feel a question is difficult to answer or feel lost, skip it and go to the next question. You can always come back to it after answering other questions. Make sure you don’t waste all your time trying to answer difficult questions.
Try answering all the easy questions first and go to the difficult questions later.
- Don’t rush
Rushing can have the opposite effect of what you intend to do. Take your time answering each question. It is best to stay calm and write each question slowly. It can help you avoid mistakes and not having to waste time correcting them.
- Practice. practice.. Practice…
Practice is vital for time management during exams. Tell your children to try answering as many questions as they can and time them. Help them practice writing and calculate faster. Help them master shortcuts and easy methods to find answers. The more one practices, the faster they become in answering the questions.
- Manage stress
Managing stress is also vital in time management during an exam. Stress can make students freeze or even forget what they studied. It can mess with all their planning. So, ask your children to try stress management techniques like breathing exercises and self-talk. Before answering the exams, ask them to take a few deep breaths and tell themself that they can do well in the exams.
We’ve got a detailed blog coming up later this week on the topic – managing emotions during examinations. So, make sure you check out that one too.
- Got extra time? Double-check your answers!
If you manage to answer all your questions before the end of the allotted time, don’t waste the rest of it sitting simply or leaving early. Instead, use it to check your answers. You might catch any mistakes you might have made and will be able to save your marks. Also, it will help ensure that you haven’t missed any questions and have answered them all.
We hope these tips were helpful for you (or your child). We wish all students good luck with the exams! 🙂
Exam Smart Tips
Exam Smart Tip #1 – How to Encourage Our Kids to Speak Better?
Exam Smart Tip #2 – How to avoid carelessness?
Exam Smart Tip #3 – Establishing Routines!
Exam Smart Tip #4 – Let’s Read Carefully!
Exam Smart Tip #5 – Beating the Exam Fever!
Exam Smart Tip #6 – How to Eat Right for the Exams?
Exam Smart Tip #7 – How to Avoid a Meltdown?
Exam Smart Tip #8 – Taking Stress out of Tests
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