Have but luck, and you will have the rest;
Be fortunate, and you will be thought great
                                                         …Victor Hugo

Exams are the ultimate test in a student’s life since they determine their life’s paths. The educational process is bound to reach the examination stage where the student will be judged for what he has learnt. This is the stage that needs the maximum preparation and there are certain techniques a student can adopt to acquire the skills of learning. Performance in the classroom will have no meaning if the student does not take enough care to perform well in his exams. At the time of examinations, proper attention should be given not only to academics but to the body and personal health as well. The mental tension a student undergoes during his exams could very well result in the deterioration of his physical health. To avoid any hassles due to ill health, a student should take care of his body and attempt to clear his mind of unnecessary tension and remain at peace with himself.

Vastushastra is a god-given gift to mankind, to help him absorb the maximum benefits of the elements of nature for peace, happiness and a better standard of living. Vastushastra caters to the human need to live in harmony with the laws of nature. It gives us the knowledge to use the natural resources and the vital role played by earth, water, fire, air and space in the existence of this world. This knowledge will help the student in his preparation for exams.

There are certain tips a student can keep in mind, which will help him in getting more marks in his exams. Taking the necessary care of your body will be the first step among these concepts and techniques. One should avoid eating a heavy meal for at least three hours before an exam. The reason for this is that digestion of food uses up much of the energy, which should otherwise be used in activating the mind towards studies. This much-needed energy is also produced by good, sound sleep. A student facing the exams should make sure that he sleeps well instead of losing sleep over his studies. Reaching the exam-hall ahead of time, and using this time to relax before the exam begins will help in easing tensions and help the mind to work better.

There are certain other ‘tricks’ or tips that could help a student in taking his exams. These pointers can help the student to develop the necessary skills in writing an exam. On receiving the question paper, it is always best to spend a little time in understanding the pattern and reading the questions thoroughly. You can then make the choice of answering the easier questions first, the answers for which you are confident enough. If you are faced with the option of answering a question with multiple objective types and a single essay type question with the same marks, always answer the multiple questions first. This will give you more time to answer the remaining questions that require more thought. When you time yourself properly, you will be able to take a single minute’s rest after every few questions. This will better activate your intelligence quotient. Do not ever leave the exam-hall before the time is over because in the time left after you answer, you may be able to recall answers to questions that you had previously been unable to or had ignored for some reason.
There are certain things a student should know about answering objective-type, multiple choice and blank-filling questions. The first step will be eliminating the choices in a question that you know are wrong. If two choices in a question of four are opposites, one of these will always be the best choice. Avoid choosing pairs if you are unsure about any one of them. Suppose you know that ‘A’ is the correct answer for the first question but unsure about the next answer, it is better to choose an answer other than ‘A’ again. At a risk, ‘Zero’ and ‘None of the above’ are usually wrong answers; so are exaggerated or complex answers. In ; questions for the fill-in-the-blanks, do not leave a question blank because they do not usually come with a negative marking. When you are going to make a guess, the first guess is always the best. If you truly do not know the answer to a question, do not hesitate to accept your intuition.

Written exams are a test entirely judged by an examiner who is liable to have a change in moods and temperament. It is also a comparison of merit and quality. In addition to the content of the answer sheets, the appearance is also very important, to create an impression on the examiner. Answer sheets must always be neat and clear. Except in quantity-bound answers, a longer answer is always more impressive than a short one. Different colours of ink may be used to clarify important points within the answers themselves, especially in underlining headings and sub-headings. A darker colored pen is easier to read than a light one and the examiner will also appreciate that. Since students do not get much practice at schools, it is good to take practice at home. This will make you more confident and also teach you to time yourself properly.

Comfortable clothes are always a must for a student, especially during his exams. Also, always take note of the weather, when you dress for your exams. Before you leave for an exam, always check to see whether you have your admit card, identity card and the required stationery items.

Exams will always remain the most dreaded part of student’s life if he is not well prepared. However, the tips given in the following chapter will aid the student in his preparation with the result that he gradually looks forward to exams. For a sincere, well-prepared student, exams represent not terror, but a golden opportunity to get ahead in one’s academic life and career.

Write Clearly and Legibly

Many examiners have confessed to giving fewer marks to students whose handwriting is not clear or legible. The teachers who correct our answer papers are not given the work of deciphering our handwriting. Their only work is to see if our written answers are those that the question requires. A bad handwriting not only makes it impossible to make out what the student has written but also irritates the teacher to the extent that he deliberately cuts marks. If your writing is not clear or legible, do not hesitate to take writing tests and practices. In our early education, we usually have books for practicing our writing. These books can be a great help even to advanced students who wish to improve their writing. Apart from untidy or dirty writing, another common problem is the stylish writing, which is very difficult to read. Such works often look neat and clean but individual styles are hardly legible because so much style has been put into it. It is better to have nice, rounded letters without too much style instead of flowery writing, which nobody can read.

Tackle Tension

It is natural to get a bit tense before an exam. It is even considered mentally healthy to feel a bit tense before an exam because it can improve learning by motivating you to study. Note, however, that this is just a little bit of tension. Unwarranted tension diminishes learning so you need to learn to tackle your tension to use it to your advantage. Practice some relaxation techniques like meditation during your exams to ease the anexiety. Also make sure that you eat and sleep well to relieve yourself of strain. The best solution to too much of tension is to study well; a thorough knowledge of your lessons is guaranteed to release you from your strain. Gain precious peace of mind by building up your confidence about your study matters and you will be free of unwarranted apprehensions that can hamper your performance in an exam.

Well - Planned Study

We have heard that gluttony is a sin but many still eat or drink themselves to death while nobody ever even thought of studying himself or herself to death. This is not to say that you should attempt such a task but even if you have thought about it, it would hardly be possible because a normal adult does not use even 10 per cent of his brainpower! Luck is said to be another name for hard work, so imagine what you could do if you worked hard enough to use the remaining 90% of your brain. The human brain becomes more effective in enriched environments, so use Vastu guidelines to enrich your surroundings. It has also been proven that with proper nutrition, the brain does not lose cells but keeps growing and that even adult brain can grow while the body ages. There will never be a substitute for pure hard work to achieve your goals in life.

Quality Study

Spend your study time well. How long you sit with your books open is not as important as what you do while you sit like that. Calculate carefully the time you spend studying, both at school and at home. You will realize that the time you spend studying at home is half the time you devote to studies at school. So, it is important that you learn to fully use your time in school to achieve success in studies. Revise your lessons at home before you leave for school and do it again at school before the teacher comes. At school, take advantage of the presence of your teachers to ask questions and clear doubts. This will help you when you study at home as doubts will not hamper you from progressing with your studies. Everybody knows that practice makes a person perfect. So, when you find yourself unable to concentrate on your studies, take practice tests instead of sitting empty-headed in front of an open book.

Don’t be Scared of Exams

It is easy to be scared of exams when you are tense and do not know your subject matter well. Knowledge of your subject matter should be thorough so that you are confident of facing any test. Many students become ill before an exam because the brain, which controls the body, knows that the knowledge it has acquired is not enough for the exam. To avoid this, follow Vastu rules wisely and be free of tension before your exam. Sleep and rest are important before the night of your exam. Learn and revise all your lessons in advance so that you don’t have to strain your body and its functions before the night of the exam. When you sit down for an exam, read the questions slowly so that you understand the specific things that are asked and answer accordingly. Physical health is extremely important during your exams. Eat well at regular intervals and do not eat any junk food that might disturb your stomach. Do not strain your body with physical exercises that are too strenuous for it. Avoid eating a heavy meal just before an exam as this can dull the senses and make you unresponsive. In addition, surround yourself with objects that release positive Vastu 1 energies that will help you during your exams. 

 Self Help is the Best Help

It is essential for you to work diligently and sincerely in order to succeed. Other people may help you and offer you guidance but they cannot work for you. Ultimately, you yourself will have to face the test of your knowledge. Accept the fact that no one can help you more than you can help yourself and acknowledge that self-help is the best help. Abraham Lincoln, the President of the United States of America who ended slavery, was a man who clearly understood this. He came from a family, which could not even give him a decent education, and his formal education was very meager. In spite of such unfavourable circumstances that he underwent, Lincoln managed to get the highest office in the land because of his diligence. There is one story that tells how a foreign dignitary who visited Lincoln found him polishing his own shoes and haughtily said that he never polished his own shoes. At this, Lincoln stared at him and said, ‘Then whose shoes do you polish?’ The nature of self-help was so deeply rooted in Lincoln that he never thought of getting his personal work done for him, even when he became the most powerful man in the USA. There is a valuable lesson that we can learn from this great man.

Improve Your Handwriting and Impress the Examiner

The need to impress the examiner cannot be emphasized enough for it is of the utmost importance. The following studies will clearly show the importance of this need. The studies will look at some possibilities of circumstances particularly when, and the manner in which answer papers may be examined.

Some answer sheets are sent to the teachers’ homes and the teacher corrects the papers at his own convenience. An irresponsible teacher will ignore the task for a long time before he realizes that the time assigned is almost over. One fine day, he brings out all the answer books and starts correcting them at a single instance. In such a situation, the examiner is frustrated and sees the correction of answers as a heavy duty, which he is obliged to finish. This is more so since answers are usually corrected during vacations when the teacher also feels that he is entitled to more free time. In such a situation, the examiner does not feel inclined to give more marks because he is not in a good mood. He reads the answers only partially and marks them according to the portions that he reads. An illegible handwriting and answers which are not marked clearly, will worsen his mood and he will allot even lesser marks.

Another situation in which answer sheets are marked is the collective checking session. In such a case, examiners are called together at one place and asked to sit together and check the answers. This also takes place during the vacations when the weather is considered to be either too hot or too cold for the school sessions. Some 20 teachers may be called together to sit and correct the answer books, and each teacher is paid according to the number of books he corrects. The teacher who corrects more answer books will be paid more money so they are in a competition between themselves to correct more. Each teacher also wants to look more efficient than the others and checks the answer books in a hurry. The examiners do not really feel responsible to the students whose answers they are correcting. Answer books are sometimes marked only with roll numbers so that \ examiners do not know whose answers they are checking. This is a measure to make sure that no partiality is shown to any student. Their concern in cases like these is more on the time that they spend in checking the papers and the amount of money they will be given in doing so. To counter such an obstacle, the answer books have to be neat and the important points clearly marked. Only such answer books will gain enough attention and will be awarded better marks.

For the lucky ones, extremely responsible teachers who take care to do justice to the students may check their answers. Teachers who check term and final exam papers in an institution are usually responsible and can be trusted to give answers the marks that they deserve. A responsible teacher regularly spends a specific time everyday to correct answer books. He follows a systematic method and is not in a big hurry to finish checking. He will read all the answers carefully and will not leave out any portions even if the student’s handwriting is not neat. Responsible teachers are the best a student can get because there is a guarantee that he will be given the marks that his answers deserve. Such examiners, however, are few and far in between. This is particularly true of competitive exams, where the answers are centrally checked. Students who face internal exams are more likely to get such responsible teachers but this is again not an assured fact.

The cases mentioned above are all extreme cases and the situations are exaggerated. The most common examiner will have traits of all the three examiners. On an average, the examiner is in a hurry to finish his checking work. He does not spend much thought in doing justice to the students even though he may believe that he is doing the best work that he possibly can. It is important for the student to be completely thorough about his answers, improve his handwriting, and learn to clarify his points to impress the average examiner.