Tips for scoring good marks in English Core

Stress is Temporary and Purely Psychological

It is quite natural to feel nervous and tense before and during the examinations. A little bit of tension is quite helpful as it propels us to put in the very best effort. The origin of stress is purely psychological, so it is best that we don’t let it eat ourselves.

Neat and Systematic Presentation

The way you present your work plays a major role in determining the impact you make on the examiner. Good handwriting, systematic presentation, following of instructions, using proper formats and neatly written answers easily impress the examiner and makes him/her take extra interest to go through the entire booklet more than once. So make sure your work is neat as far as possible.

Stick to the topic

Sometimes it happens that in excitement or as a result of struggling for words and ideas, students tend to divert from the chosen topic and start adding irrelevant details that make the content read out of focus. This makes it more difficult for the examiner to sustain her/ his interest in correcting the rest of the answer booklet. So make sure you stick to the topic and include only those points that are relevant and important for the topic.

Quote from Text

While answering questions, a judicious mix of quoting from the book and using your own expressions, is a must. If you quote too much, this may give the impression that you have just memorized the book without actually understanding. The best balance is quoting from the book and explaining in your own words.

Use of the Correct Vocabulary

It is always better to use every day common words as a part of your content while writing an essay or letter. Remember by using a flowery phrase in a wrong context will only fetch you low marks and not any praise from the examiner. The examiner will mark you only on the correct usage of words that makes sense.

Style

In order to grasp the attention of the examiner, make your content appear fresh and different. Always adopt a different style in writing out the content for essays and letters. Style does not have to include new words and phrases but it must be interesting enough for the examiner.

Dos and Don’ts

1. Write long answers in short paragraphs.
2. Use short and crisp sentences in simple language and avoid diverting from the topic.
3. Underline the key sentences in long answers.
4. Use simple vocabulary and write correct spellings throughout your answers.
5. Write invitation, poster, notice and letter from a new page.
6. Put notice, poster, advertisement and formal invitation in a box.
7. Avoid using multi colours in writing a poster. It will save your time.
8. Write headings in bold letters.
9. Write all the answers using only one recommended ink pen.
10. Write answers within prescribed word limit.
11. Leave proper space between two answers in order to avoid any confusion.
12. Answer all questions in a serial order.
13. Make sure all the sub- parts of the same question are answered together.

Don’t write personal notes

Avoid writing personal notes like ‘Sorry, Please mark my paper leniently,’ ‘Forgive Me I did not get enough time’ and so on to the examiners. Such notes will only infuriate most of the examiners. Remember no examiner will be that heartless to give you low marks without any proper reason. They are all professional experts and understand the problems that might be faced by an examinee inside an examination hall.

Hence it is always better to appear for an exam with fresh and calm mind without bothering much about the results. Give your best effort and try to win over the examiners with a presentable and meaningful answer booklet.

Heavy Meals Just Before Exams Decreases Brain Power

You should not eat any heavy meal for 3 hours before going to an exam. This is because digestion of food requires energy. When you eat food, blood supply and flow of oxygen increases to stomach area. The total blood in the body is constant, so the blood that’s supplied to the brain decreases. This is why you feel lazy or sleepy after eating food. This also means that your IQ or brain power decreases for a few hours (2 or 3 hours) after eating.