Exam season can be notoriously stressful. It’s a time where you’ll be assessed on whether you’ve actually been paying attention to the year’s teaching, and whether you’ve managed to retain any of that information. For a cohort whose experience has varied from many of its preceding students, this can be daunting. Many of the students sitting exams this year will have acclimatised to sitting online assessments which are often a less pressurised form of examination. However, there is no need to feel overwhelmed and stressed beyond your means. With some preparation, good time management skills and a dash of fun for good measure, you’ll sail through exam season. Here’s how I prepare to sit LSE examinations. 

Start revising early

The earlier the better. From my personal experience, week seven of Winter Term, is the best time to start recapping your knowledge of previous topics. Because it’s immediately after reading week, it marks the beginning of the final term of teaching, and gives you plenty of time to refresh your memory on the topics that might be a little foggy in your memory. Depending on how much you need to recall for your examinations, this can be the perfect time to start your revision. There’s nothing worse than realising you don’t have enough time to do all your revision, and feeling powerless when you realise you won’t be able to cover all of the necessary content. This is a great way to make sure that the knowledge is solidified in your mind, and that you allow yourself enough time to not be overwhelmed with your decision. 

Practice writing notes by hand 

This is a very handy tool for anyone who has become so used to typing everything up, that they find it difficult to transition into completing handwritten work. Last year, when I was preparing to sit my first in-person exam in over three years because of COVID-19, I found it extremely difficult to write like I used to. During my A levels, I found it very easy to write extremely long essays in a very short space of time under exam conditions. When it came to my second year of university, I was out of practice. 

There are ways to get around this. If you know that you’ll be sitting an in-person exam in June, it’s a good idea to transition from the laptop to the pen. You’d be surprised how helpful writing your notes by hand will be when it comes to the day of the examination. It’s one more factor of worry that you can eliminate, and something that’s easy to implement. 

Exercise good time management skills

Balance is essential to success. Exams are very important and it’s good to place a high value on them to ensure that you succeed and progress to where you want to be. Time management is the key to this. I find that it’s really helpful to draw up a broad study timetable that factors in your other life commitments and responsibilities. Once you do this, you can appropriately apportion your time to the most important things and still make sure that you succeed when it comes to the day of the examination. 

Time management doesn’t just mean that you’re  excelling in your academics, it means that you’re  utilising the time you have available in the best way. Work out how much time you need to spend in order to get your desired grade, and begin to work towards this goal. Sooner or later you’ll find that you can have a balanced, healthy lifestyle while still being able to focus on the other things that matter to you.