I’ll be honest, I’m not particularly good at pep talks. But I do genuinely want you to have a good exam experience. With that in mind, here are some thoughts.
If you’re reading this, it probably means you have exams.
By now much of the heavy lifting – attending classes, wrestling with weekly quizzes, catching up on missed lectures – has already happened.
Still, with two full weeks of exams on the timetable, what you do today can still make a real difference to the papers you face next week.
Study strategies
I actually started writing down all the exam preparation strategies that I know about and then realised, someone has already done this better! The Student Learning Support Service (SLSS) (which by the way, houses some of my favourite people in the world), has an excellent exam prep guide.
The SLSS Exam Strategies guide boils everything down to the basics: first, it spells out exactly what will be in the exam and what equipment you’re allowed, so there are no nasty surprises on the day.
➡️ It then nudges you to start revising early and sprinkle short study bursts across several weeks, so facts have time to stick (and you still sleep). Admittedly this is advice you probably needed a few weeks back 🤔
➡️ Next comes the “active stuff”: tidy-up notes, turn them into flashcards or quick write-from-memory drills, and keep testing yourself because pulling information out of your head is what really strengthens memory. For exams that are coming up later in the exam period, these are still very much open to you.
➡️ The guide also suggests practising under exam-like conditions and even picturing your study space once you sit down to trigger recall. Again, you could still try this.
➡️ Finally, it offers walk-through tips for pacing, tackling multiple-choice vs essay questions, simple breathing tricks, and where to seek help if nerves hit hard.
In a few pages, you get smart study habits, on-the-day tactics, and wellbeing reminders all rolled into one.
Gareth, you are a psychologist, surely you have some stress management advice as well?
Thanks for asking, yes I do!
In the lead-up to an exam, your best stress management is studying hard (preparing) and trying to keep as many positive lifestyle practices in place that you can (time permitting). The usual suspects such as good sleep, eating OK, some exercise, connecting with people you care about, limiting drugs and alcohol. Accepting that the combo of these won’t be perfect is half the battle. But do your best.
On the day itself.
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Breathe on purpose. Slow exhale for four, hold for two, gentle inhale for four. Repeat for around 5 minutes while waiting outside the venue. Breathing is one of the simplest tools we have to tell our body to relax.
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Name the noise. “Ah, there’s the ‘I’m going to fail’ story again.” Acknowledge it, but don’t give it the steering wheel. Remember some thoughts take the form of disaster predicting to keep us safe but in this case, they’re not helpful.
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Choose your vibe. Some people ground themselves by joking with friends; others need headphones and solitude. Pick what genuinely settles you.
- You are not aiming for perfectly relaxed. An exam is a challenge, so our body and mind rev up to take it on. You want some of that energy and drive and focus, so use relaxing and calming strategies to just take off the edge. For those of you that need more stimulation to focus, you might need to do some brisk walking beforehand.
Gareth, I know you use AI for everything, what did it recommend?
You know me well. O3 (chatGPT’s very thoughtful offspring) suggested the following:
“On exam day, set yourself up before you even arrive: pack a couple of spare pens, a bottle of water and a light snack, get to the venue early enough to breathe rather than panic, and give your notes a swift once-over by flipping through practice questions instead of rereading whole chapters. Once the clock starts, skim the paper to spot the easiest marks first; if your mind blanks, scribble a few trigger words in the margin to jog your memory, and if a question still won’t budge, mark it and keep moving so momentum stays on your side. When it’s all over, give yourself a quick reset—stretch, take a short walk or chat with a friend—then let it go, grab a decent sleep so your brain can finish filing away what you learned, and reward yourself (yes, Netflix or noodles absolutely count).”
A Word from the Other Side of the Wall
From my office/cupboard in the Student Centre, I can hear the PA announcements. When you hear that voice in these coming weeks, know someone in that building is silently cheering for you to have full, friction-free access to that brilliant noggin of yours.
Good luck out there, and remember—an exam measures knowledge on a day, not your worth as a human. You’ve prepared more than you think. Now breathe, trust your process, and show that paper what you know. 🚀