TIPS TO PASSING EXAMINATIONS

Passing examination entails many steps, starting from the way you answer questions on different
subjects. Sciences carry more marks in practical; languages are heavier in literature just as math paper
two is easier to pass than paper one. And that is why you need examiners in your school to train you
how to answer questions in different subjects.
Success also comes from you. Do not anger the examiner with poor handwriting or
cheeky-unprecedented statements, irrelevance or arrogance. You may be under pressure from your
parents or guardians. However, get this burden off your shoulder and start working for your future and
not theirs.
Ask yourself these questions
1. Did I cover the syllabus?
By how much 70%, 95% or 39%-Does it matter anyway if I don’t cover the syllabus? Yes! it does, it’s a
matter of probability, and KCSE examination covers the entire syllabus and addresses key sectors of the
curriculum. Covering the syllabus (but not in a shrewd manner) increases the probability of passing
exams by a larger margin.
2. Does my Behavior affect my grades?
Find out whether your behavior slows you down. Are you always at logger heads with school
administration, parents? Or maybe alcoholism- How often do you get excited when you spend time with
pals of opposite sex? Can you be able to transfer the same feelings to books? Gauge your Psychological
needs, what do you want? Why do you want it? Is it cost effective? Is this the right time to desire it?
Why should adolescence command my integrity? How can I overcome the challenges I face in my life?
3. Am I too good for these examinations?
This is what we call overconfidence; Examination game is not over until the last exam, last period.
Approach exams with soberness and humility; Seal all loopholes that can expose your weaknesses. Do
exams with pride but don’t overestimate yourself, you may as well prepare for kickbacks if you try.
4. Am I really Capable of…………….?
Why do you doubt yourself in the first place? This means that you are unprepared or what? Nobody
likes exams, you are not alone in this Island; examination is not a matter of live or die- examination is a
measure of academic performance, life is not all about academics; life is more than that- if you can be
able to mix your academic performance and wisdom on a 50:50 basis, then life becomes easier- pressure
only comes when you think academic is a matter of grave danger. Now can you get this burden out of
your shoulders and start living?
5. Did I prepare well for the exam?
Did you? Did you try to revise? Finish your home works? Covered the syllabus? Did you forgive your
enemies before you sat for these exams? Did you cut ties with the past before exam day? Have you ever
appreciated yourself? Looked into the mirror and admired how composed you are; how unique and how
wonderful? People see you the way you see yourself in that mirror. Degrading yourself has hazardous
consequences in your overall composure. Appreciate yourself and start to build a destiny for yourself/ a
territorial fence of success. Don’t expect to eat if you never cooked, harvest if you never tilled, dance if
there is no music, don’t expect to pass if what you all along did was to sit and wait for exams- not, unless
it’s a miracle.
6. Do I hate this subject?
 Most students hate science subjects, if you are one of those silly phobia brains; try to mend your
relationship with these subjects. They are truly a gateway to success as you will find out in future.
7. Did I understand this question/instruction?
Make sure you understand every question you want to answer. Assuming that you understood is as
expensive as ‘Kenya’s taxation on basic commodities’ as you will end up losing a lot of marks as Kenyans
lose this taxation via corruption of the highest caliber.
I happened to come across this tips on internet and also found them helpful. Scan them to add to what I
had already given you.
Here are 7 tips to help every student pass exams, based on my personal experience:
1. No limiting belief please
- Remove the limiting belief that you can’t pass.
- If you believe you can pass or you believe you cannot pass, you are right.
- I have seen students under the impression that examiner is their enemy. Please don’t think so. Pass
percentage might be low, but students do pass their exams. So, don’t think that you will be in a failure
category ever.
2. Understand the structure of paper
- First of all, understand the structure of paper – is there any marks allocation for a particular topic?
- Secondly, if there is marks allocation, is examiner following it? The best thing to do is to review the past
five papers.
- What is the key topic i.e. examiner’s favorite? Is there any article by examiner in the Students’
Accountant or any other relevant student magazine? Study that topic and prepare for it, even if you
don’t like it!
3. Taking notes
- Prepare for exams by way of ‘notes’ which you can recall quickly at the time of taking exam. This will
help in two manner. First, when you write, you are in better picture of giving your mind instruction
through written letters. Secondly, you can revise from your notes instead of opening the book when
exam day is near. Here is my strategy for taking notes:
- Take a paper and turn it in landscape format.
- Put three columns in landscape form.
- Once done, take synopsis of a chapter in smaller fonts and the language which you can easily
understand.
- Write bullet points, important concepts and key ideas which you need to remember.
- These notes should be used at the time when paper is on head and you need to revise whole subject in
two to three hours.
4. Remembering / memorizing key ideas and formulae
- One of the key ideas to memorize ideas e.g. formulae, is to write them in small charts and hang it in
front of your bed.
- See those formulae daily before going to bed and rising up.
- Use different colours and markers.
- Believe me, in my statistics paper, I was recalling the formulae in the exact colours which I wrote on
charts.
5. Exam practice
- Practice mock exam – be your own examiner.
 - Take any past paper and solve it as a mock exam.
- Solve past paper in the time allocated in exam. Think you are in exam hall and solve the paper
accordingly.
- Check your paper and give yourself marks.
- See how you are performing in mock exam and be sincere to yourself.
6. Time your paper
- Here is technique to time your paper: Take total marks and total time. Subtract 10 minutes from the
total minutes. Divide the remainder with the marks and you get time per marks
- Example: If there are 100 marks for a paper and you have 180 minutes. Subtract 10 minutes. This
means you have 170 minutes altogether or 1.7 minutes per mark.
- make sure that you don’t spend more that 1.7 minutes per mark e.g. if a question is of 10 marks,
maximum time you should spend should be 17 minutes.
- It happens that students try to focus on one particular question and if they are unable to solve it, they
get confused. Don’t panic. Start next question. If student has time, he / she can take up that particular
question later on.
- Try to allocate 10 minutes at the end of exam to review the paper thoroughly.
7. Don’t annoy examiner
See for spelling errors and writing style. Writing needs to be legible and understandable. As a teacher to
many students, I have noticed that spelling errors and the way students write, at times, is not
understandable. Examiner has very less time to check paper. If your paper is examiner friendly, you are
going to attract good marks.