Under-prepared? 5 must do's to avoid exam failure

If exams are right around the corner and your teen has not done enough study, failure does not have to be inevitable.

When exams are right around the corner and your teen hasn’t done enough study, there are a few things they can do as damage-control to make sure the exam isn’t a total disaster.

Inevitably, there will be many teens freaking out right now because they know they're not prepared for their upcoming exams.

If this is your teen, now more than ever is the time to get SMART about how they’re using their time.

Your teen doesn’t have time for me to ramble on, so let's get on with the 5 must do's to NOT FAIL your exams when, let's be honest, they haven't done enough study:

1. Focus ONLY on the key topics

In these circumstances, your teen does not have time to study nice-to-know details.

The majority of the marks up for grabs in an exam come from the MAIN TOPICS of a subject. Therefore, the key is to understand the FUNDAMENTALS of a topic; the crux of the matter; the main point — and to show the examiner that they understand it.

You have to bake a cake before there is any point in decorating it beautifully. And in this instance, your teen needs to bake their cake, so to speak... Okay maybe not the best metaphor, but I think you get it — aiming to understand the most important parts of the subject is the most efficient use of your teen’s limited time.

Because at this point, with not enough time to study everything, they need to pass, and to do so they need to know the fundamentals, not extraneous details. (More on the essential elements of being prepared for exams here.)

2. At least look at a past exam

Past exams are absolute gold when it comes to exam study. Short of being psychic and knowing what the exam questions are actually going to be, looking at past years' exams is the next best thing.

Past exams show you what type of questions are likely to come up, what the format of the exam is likely to be, how many questions you're likely to get asked, how the questions are written — I mean — you really are nuts not to look at a past exam before the real thing.

This is true even if you're under-prepared.

Your teen might be tempted to think that they don't have time to do this, but being prepared about what the actual exam is going to be like is a much better use of time than studying that extra sub-topic that’s not going to pull in many marks.

I would encourage your teen to try their best to actually attempt a past exam in the same amount of time they will have in the real exam, but at the very least, make sure they flick through some past exams to get a feel of what the real thing is going to be like.

3. Don't pull all-nighters

Your teen might think you sound completely ancient when you say don't stay up all night! But I would back you up on that 100%. Our brains need sleep to perform at their best, and if you're under-prepared, you want your brain to be performing at its best!

During exam study, your teen’s brain (and grades) will thank them for sticking to an Exam Study Timetable during the day and evening, and then at a reasonable time (well before midnight), giving themselves a break and watching something good on Netflix.

Pulling all-nighters or at least trying to cram too much in at once can be really counterproductive. Much better to start afresh the next day.

4. Don't waste time on pretty stuff

It's nice when study notes look nice. It's nice when your desk looks tidy. It's nice when you have time to make flash cards. But at this moment, your teen does not have such luxuries.

As I’ve said above, your teen needs to get on with nailing the fundamentals of their subjects.

This isn’t to say that your teen needs to rush through their study — they absolutely need to aim to actually understand what they’re studying, but it does mean they don't have time to do the sorts of study tasks that one might do when they have lots of time to prepare.

5. Ask for help

You know who understands what your teen needs to know for their exam better than anyone else? Two people — their classmates and their teacher.

Your teen doesn’t need to study in isolation and feel like they have to climb the mountain alone. There are lots of people they can turn to for help.

Too many students under-utilize their teachers, who, most of the time are happy to dish out vital bits of information about the upcoming exam.

And when it comes to classmates, I would encourage your teen to ask them for help too. They don’t need to feel like a nuisance because they will be helping their friend too.

Explaining something to someone is one of the best ways to make sure that you understand something yourself. (I have discussed the power of talking things through before here.)

Overall — your teen shouldn’t waste their precious time trying to figure difficult things out on their own, because they don’t have to.

Mission possible

This is the mission your teen is now embarking on. Yes, they have a hill to climb, but it’s not impossible. They just need to use the right foot holds (ie the tips above) and they’ll get there.

Hope this helps and thanks for reading.

Clare