GOT BAD MARK IN EXAM - What should I do? HOW TO IMPROVE?

Even the brightest students have done poorly in an exam before! The difference between being successful in the future or getting the same results again is how you respond to a disappointing result. So, what can you do to better the chances of you're marks improving in the next exam?

Find out what went wrong

Don’t throw the test immediately in the bin or ignore the teacher when they are explaining it after the exams are handed back. Go through the paper bit by bit, and focus on where you lost a mark or in parts you were unsure about. If you still can't decipher the correct solution, try to ask your teacher about it and if possible, book a one on one session with them. If you prefer someone else, don't hesitate to come in and ask us as well!

Redo the questions

The only way for you to truly know whether you understand the concepts behind these questions is to redo them, or better, redo the whole test again under time constraint. If you get it wrong again, it probably is because you still haven't grasped the concepts correctly; it would be a good idea to consult your teacher rather than try to memorise the solutions to this question (as this won't help you as much for questions in future exams).

Practice questions

An even better solution (especially if you're usually tempted to memorise solutions rather than trying to get a grasp of the concepts!) is to do other questions that are of a similar nature or from the same topic to the ones you got wrong; this pushes you to think more creatively (and hence understand the concepts behind the questions) while allowing you to tackle the same errors you made before. 

If you're stuck in the position where you have just done poorly in an exam, give some of these tips a go! As long as put in the effort to find and correct your mistakes, I'm sure you will have a much better chance of improving your marks in the next test!

Jack Zheng | N° 10