Preparing for your Matric final exam and finishing on time

Exam season is highly stressful for students, and handing in incomplete papers will prevent you from showcasing your fullest potential. Many students struggle to manage their time during examinations, which only adds to their stress. If this is you, do not worry! In this article we will discuss tips on how to finish your exam in time and reach your study goals.

Download the Matric Final Exam Timetable 2023 here

Before the exam:

Before entering the exam hall, there is obviously a great deal of preparation that must be done (i.e. studies, mental preparation, etc.) When you add in the challenge of not completing your exams in the allocated time constraint, you may then need to do a bit more preparation beforehand.

• Use past papers to practice: Past papers are a great way to see where the majority of your time needs to be spent during an exam. By continuously practicing past papers, you will be exposing your brain to the potential stresses of an exam environment, thus training yourself on how to complete the entire test.
• Take care of your health: Completing your exam may prove troublesome if you are not feeling well. During exam season, be sure to recharge with healthy food and get ample sleep. During your study sessions, be sure to take regular breaks and ensure that your body has a chance to rest.
• Allocate a decent amount of time to studying: Contrary to the previous point, ensure that you set aside enough time to study. Knowing your study material is the fool-proof way to ensure that you get through your entire paper. By knowing your study material, you won’t waste any time thinking about what the correct answer is (as you will be able to write it down instantly).
• Practice your writing: Writing long exam papers (such as a History essay) can leave you with sore cramping hands, and result in you writing your final section untidily and/or slowly. To avoid this, try building up your writing skills by doing online exam writing courses and practicing various essay questions. This will allow you to write your final exam with ease, as you won’t be wasting time on aspects such as structure.

Your Matric results will be used to determine whether you gain entrance into university or college – find out how to calculate your Admission Point Score (APS) here

During the exam:

You’ve put in the preparation and now it’s time for the exam! The steps during the exam are just as important as preparation and will ultimately determine if you complete the test or not.

• Read through your question paper: With Matric final exams, you will get a section before your exam called “reading time.” Use this time to read each question carefully so that you can avoid rushing the exam and misunderstanding questions. By rushing an exam, you will waste unnecessary time, as you will need to go back to redo questions.
• Plan your time: Have a watch with you/ look for a clock in the examination hall during your test to keep an eye on the examination time. You should be spending one minute on one mark (i.e. if a section is worth 30 marks, then 30 minutes.) Use this method to plan and map out your answer time effectively.
• Plan out your long answers: This is mostly applicable on essays. Before you start writing your essay, make a mind map or bullet points on aspects you want to cover; this will allow you to know what topics you will need to discuss in each paragraph. Setting aside five minutes to do a mind map will help you plan your essays and easily get through a rather tedious exam.
• Ask for extra paper before you need it: Do not wait for the last minute to ask the examiner for an extra sheet of paper. When you are beginning your final page, ask for additional paper to write on. This will save you time as often, in large venues, invigilators will take some time to reach you. Should you have any extra pages leftover, you can always return them once your exam is complete.
• Do not set unrealistic expectations for yourself: Your main goal of examinations is to answer as many correct questions as you can. If a question needs only a one word answer, do not write full sentences. If you are unsure of the answer, leave some space and come back to it later once you have answered the questions you already know. Ensure that you answer to the best of your ability and try to put an answer down for each question.

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