GUIDANCE PLUS
Think before you ink
B. S. WARRIER
|
This concluding part of the series on tackling competitive examinations offers tips on how to prioritise the answering process and ensure that you get it right. Understand the risks associated with taking a gamble, and how to do it intelligently in case you decide to do so.
|
CORRECT ENTRY MATTERS: Once you make a wrong marking in the OMR sheet, it is difficult and time consuming to make a correction. Photo: Mohammed_Yousuf
The usual pattern of tests will have the following characteristics: All questions are compulsory. There is no `choice.' All questions carry equal marks, irrespective of difficulty levels. There will be time constraint. Even the best-prepared candidate may not be able to clear all the questions correctly in the allotted time.
There may or may not be negative marks. Wherever there is negative marking, a wrong answer would invoke marks that are only a fraction of those for a right answer. For example, if a right answer fetches four marks, a wrong response may lead to `negative one' mark only.
Giving a wrong answer or giving two different answers simultaneously for the same question will be taken as an error, leading to the award of negative marks. However, if you do not answer a question, it will not invite punishment.
Strategies
The following strategies may be adopted for ensuring one's best performance:
Read the instructions in the question booklet and the answer sheet carefully, and underline those you feel are significant. There can be changes in the instructions, so do not assume anything. Do not waste time by reading all the questions, since all questions are compulsory.
Start from the first question, and go ahead answering the questions in the normal sequence. However, if you find a question to be tough, skip it. Do not waste time on it. While proceeding further, whenever you come across a difficult question, skip it. After you reach the last question thereby finishing your first round, return to the starting point and try to tackle the tough ones you had skipped in the first round.
Here again, do not waste too much time on any question. The usual pitfall is the ambition to answer all the questions correctly within the limited time. If we try to do that we may not get time, even to read some of the questions that follow. Perhaps they are easier questions. The wrong strategy may make you repent after the test, as you lost precious time on the difficult questions, instead of skipping them to tackle the relatively easier ones.
Correct marking
When you skip one or more questions and answer another that follows, make sure that you are marking the answer against the correct question number. Since you are deviating from the serial order, there is a likelihood of making a mistake at this stage.
Once you make an error, it is difficult and time consuming to make a correction. If the OMR sheet is to be marked in ink, it would be practically impossible to make a correction. That is why some organisations advise: "Think before you ink." If the marking is in pencil, you may erase the wrong entry first and then blacken the right oval or rectangle.
Remember that you will get no extra credit for answering difficult questions. Questions are not arranged in the order of their difficulty levels. They are arranged at random. That is why it is emphasised that one should not waste time on tough questions.
Instead, you should go ahead and try your hand at the questions that follow; they may be relatively easy for you. In fact, there is no such thing as difficult questions or easy questions. What is difficult for you may be easy for your neighbour and vice-versa.
You must have estimated the time for each question in each section of the question paper. Measure your time and follow your schedule. Keep in mind that the schedule has to be taken only as a guide; allow some flexibility to meet the immediate requirements.
Cool head
Never allow your mind to go astray. Maintain full concentration throughout the test. Do not waste even a second. This is not the time for analysing whether you will win or lose. You try your best. The intensity of your effort is in your control. The rest of it depends on circumstances that are beyond your control.
Never be tense or anxious. Tell yourself that you have prepared well, and that you know how to handle the questions. After all, you are not going to do better than your possible best. If, however, you succumb to tension, you will lose your logical ability and fail in giving your best shot. If you get some time after answering all the questions, do not leave the examination hall in a hurry. The time can be gainfully utilised for checking your answers.
Do not gamble
In tests where there is negative marking, it is advisable that you do not gamble. In other words, if you are not sure of the answer, just leave the question unanswered. If you give wrong answers, you will lose the marks you gained elsewhere. But some candidates are very keen on gambling. However much they are enlightened on the futility of attempting to secure marks banking on chance, they take the risk of gambling. They trust Dame Luck to favour them. If you fall in this category of `gamblers,' do that with some common sense and the support of the mathematical theory of probability. What is suggested is that you choose the same option for all answers you try to speculate. If there are four options a, b, c, and d, you choose your favourite letter. Suppose it is `b'. Wherever you speculate, choose `b' as the answer. When you do this four times, there is good possibility that one of the answers is correct. A lesser degree of gambling is involved when you are sure that two answers, say `a' and `c', are definitely wrong, and you choose `b' or `d'. In tests where there is no negative marking, you may resort to some gambling, if you are so inclined.
At all stages in the test, let the flag of your confidence flutter at the highest level. The attitude should be that you are doing your best for achieving success. When the time is up, do stop working. If you exceed the time limit, you may be penalised. Even during the training rehearsals, you should strictly follow the time limits.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Education Plus
Karnataka
Chennai
Coimbatore
Hyderabad
Madurai
Tiruchirapalli
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
