A week before final exams, double-check the examination timetable and make sure you know when and where to go for various papers.

• pack the necessary materials (e.g. matric card, pens, correction fluid). Do some revision if you find that reassuring but don't cram in new information.

• relax. If you are prepared, there is little to worry about. If you are unprepared, negative thoughts of failure merely aggravate the problem.

On the day of the examination, get to the exam hall in good time but not so early that you end up hanging around and absorbing other students’ tension.

• pay attention to instructions. This is laughably obvious but important. Students have been known to plunge straight in, ignoring the rubric and discovering too late that they have missed compulsory questions or answered the wrong number or combination of questions. Listen to instructions given by the chief invigilator. Granted, much of it is routine, but there are occasions when corrections are made to a paper or when special instructions are given (e.g. write your answers to certain sections of a paper in separate books).

• choose carefully. Read through the entire paper before deciding on your choice of questions. Try not to be too distracted by the choice. Consider carefully the demands of each question. Here are some key words frequently found in essay questions (roughly organised in increasing levels of difficulty):

  • describe or identify (e.g. list in order, outline an event or process),
  • summarise (i.e. identify the most salient points),
  • demonstrate or prove (i.e. give specific examples of how a general principle or idea works),
  • illustrate (i.e. give specific examples to support a generalisation),
  • explain (i.e. describe something and show how and why it is so),
  • justify (i.e. give reasons to support an action or stand),
  • argue for or against (i.e. substantiate a point of view with evidence, illustrations and reasoned argument),
  • evaluate (e.g. list the pros and cons, determine the merit or effectiveness of an idea or point of view),
  • compare and contrast (i.e. identify similarities and differences),
  • interpret (e.g. define, provide an explanation for a phenomenon or idea in accordance with your understanding and/or how others (authorities on the subject) have represented it),
  • discuss or comment (e.g. explain or examine an issue, deliberate on the nature of an argument, provide definitions or examples and consider the ramifications),
  • analyse (i.e. examine an issue closely by dividing it into parts and explaining how different pieces relate to each another and to the whole).

• mind the time. Allocate time for each answer, taking the weightage of marks into account and allowing time for planning and final checking.

• outline. Jot down your central argument and your main and supporting points-preferably for all the questions you have chosen-before writing your answers in full. You will find it reassuring to have the essentials noted down and your final answers will likely have more shape. Jot your notes on the unruled side of the answer book so there will be some evidence of what you intended should you run out of time.

• write legibly. Write as quickly as you can, but clearly. Having to stumble through an answer adversely affects the examiner's sense of its coherence.

• be concise. Although a good answer often needs a certain 'critical mass', quality-not quantity-is your goal. Pages of 'waffle' will not only annoy the examiner, it will also suggest that you are unfocused and unable to address the question.

• write grammatically and spell correctly. Some allowance may be made for haste and stress, but too many errors will wear out the most charitable of examiners.

• check it through. Allow at least 10 minutes at the end of the examination to double-check your work. For example, check for careless mistakes and ensure that your answers are correctly numbered and that your matriculation number is on every booklet.

• don't give up. Even if you think it is hopeless, don't panic and walk out. If you quit, you forfeit a chance at passing, whereas if you manage to put something down on paper you may get some credit for it. Often, once you've calmed down and gotten started, you get some ideas and find that you do know and can recall pertinent information.

• don't leave early. Make full use of the allotted time to ensure that your answers are as good as can be.

After the examination, don't waste time doing a 'post-mortem'. Unless you have very strong nerves, this is not a good time to learn from your mistakes. Relax. It's over!