Taking any kind of exam comes with some sort of fear and anxiety which is totally natural. You will have certain kinds of tensions, such as the fear of the exam not going well, especially when it’s your first time taking a specific exam. If you have 1 week left before the EA exam, then you are in safe hands, as this article introduces you to 5 useful EA exam tips that will help you overcome the fear and ace the test.
1. Take Practice Tests
You are all prepared and have 1 week left to take the EA exam. With all the preparation, do you still fear the exam? The most possible way to fight your fear is to practice. Go for the EA practice test. Keep practicing as it is said that practice makes perfect. In a research done by John A. Tures, it has been shown that those who take the practice test outperform those who do not by an average of approximately 15 percentage points. You don’t want to lose that 15%. The practice tests do not give you the exact questions included in the actual exam, but they surely introduce you to the format of the questions. They give you a clue on how the questions might be. Plus, experience also eliminates fear. If you keep practicing, you get to experience the whole exam procedure which diminishes your fear and levels up your confidence on the actual day of the exam. But try not to overuse the practice exams because you don’t want to overwhelm yourself.
2. Work on Your Time Management Skills
It is much more likely to lose the track of time during the exam. Sometimes we get so obsessed with finding a solution for one question that we forget other questions which have higher points. This stubbornness is not of any help. So, it is important to try to devote a fair amount of time for each of the questions. To this end, you need to manage your time. So, the 1 week that you have is more than enough for you to improve your time management. This could help you to have an idea about the amount of time you need for each question that appears on the EA exam. Overall, there are 40 questions and you are given 90 minutes to solve them. It means that you have 2.25 minutes for each question. During this 1 week, adapt yourself to this timing. Of course, you can have your preference to set the timing based on your knowledge of the three parts. You might want to spend more of your time on one part of the test than on the other. Knowing the level of your knowledge that you have about each part of the exam helps you not lose the track of time. Set a timer and keep practicing to manage your time.
3. Familiarize Yourself With the Exam
Sometimes not having enough information about the structure of an exam itself is a factor of anxiety or fear so make sure you know everything about the exam. Plus, having information about the exam in handy saves you from all those ‘I didn’t know this’ moments. Digging into some research a week before your EA exam will make you feel more confident and aware. Here is everything you need to know about the EA exam.
4. Learn From Others’ Mistakes
There is a saying “Don’t go to the doctor, but go to the one who has experienced.” Those who know everything about the exam (such as the test centers) still know less than those who have experienced taking the exam. Therefore, search for those who have already taken the EA exam. Learn from their mistakes. Consider the tips they offer. Ask them to share their experience with you and what they wished they had done differently. Another option could be reading the testimonials on our website where the students write about their experiences. They give an insight on how to get prepare for the exam especially when you like to be tutored individually.
5. Feed Your Brain
You don’t want to go to the exam without fully charging your brain. Along with your hands, you will be using your brain the most during the exam so make sure you feed your brain well. Make a good schedule for your sleep as it improves your brain performance. Plus, the Healthline website introduces us to the nine foods (berries, citrus fruits, dark chocolates, nuts, eggs, avocados, fish, beets, red/green/orange vegetables) you need to take to make your brain ready for an exam. If the exam is a battle for you then your brain will be your only weapon. Make sure you reload this weapon.
If you consider all these tips a week before your exam, you will feel much better and readier about the important day that’s coming up. Just don’t demoralize yourself with fear, but rather boost up your confidence by following the above mentioned tips.
Good luck on your test!
Contributor: Zuhal Qaderdan