EXAM 101 – Panicking before exams

There’s no way to prevent panic before exams. We all suffer from anxiety and it’s commonly known that certain levels of anxiety create the perfect exam conditions. This is known as your ‘peak arousal.’ However, there are times in which too much anxiety can be devastating to your performance and mental health.

There are two times when anxiety can impact you. The first is the most commonly, which is immediately before the exam. This is generally a useless type of anxiety that only serves to make you uncomfortable and cause your grades to suffer. I have three ways to combat this type of stress.

1.      Chewing and drinking

There is a clear link between eating and the temporary reduction of anxiety. Using comfort foods can be an effective way to reduce anxiety prior to an exam. While your go to comfort foods may be a packet of hot chips or a chocolate milk shake, it is easy to stuff some dark chocolate and sultanas into a clear zip lock bag. I recommend putting in a mix of high sugar, sweetened foods along with maybe some salt pretzels because they are foods that are high energy and dopamine encouraging. Lesser amounts shouldn’t cause a sugar rush later and can make you feel good, reducing anxiety.

Similarly, don’t forget to pack your water bottle. There is a link between dehydration and the onset of panic attacks – while this is not the trigger for every anxiety attack there is evidence to suggest it is a factor. So, pack in a clear water bottle and slurp away!

2.      Music and lectures

If you’re a music fan you’re probably familiar with the psychological impact of music. Music is a way to impose structure and order in an environment where none may immediately appear. It can manipulate your emotions and draw you to a new mental state. Creating a playlist that makes you feel powerful, focused or calm (depending on what you feel works for you best) can help you to control your mental state at the time. A good place to get some playlist inspiration is through 8tracks.

However, if you’re like me and music doesn’t really help you focus you may find that listening to lecturers from tedtalks or other speech platforms helps you to calm down. I find that listening to other people talk either giving motivational speeches, or talking on a topic that I am interested in distracts me before the exam and gives me the opportunity to rest my mind before I launch into an exam. As a teacher once told me, there’s nothing you can do in the last five minutes that will destroy your exam. Any information you forget isn’t useful. Allow your mind to breath and process information without the added anxiety.

3.      Talking to others/social media

Talking to people around you before an exam can form a strange kind of kinship. It’s the kind where you’re all reasonably frightened of what might happen, but the shared experience makes you feel more positive. This kind of event can be good to make you feel like you’re working towards something that is bigger and better than just this one little exam. Although some people find it makes them more worried if you’re a bit extroverted this may just be the tip that helps you reach that little bit of calm you need before an exam.

If you’re worried that you might psyche yourself out another good thing to do is to scroll through social media. Pick a tag that you like (my personal favorites are cake decorating and summer clothes) and scroll through the pictures. They’re upbeat, well-lit and pretty – just the kind of thing you need to look at to get yourself in a better mental state.

While you’re doing these tasks relax yourself slowly. There are smaller physical things you can do to control the psychological tricks of anxiety.

a)      Pace and move your body

Movement is a great distraction technique and when it comes to beating anxiety distraction is exactly what you’re looking for. Walk around the room or building. If you need more of a distraction try looking for things in the room; for example, while you’re walking around you must name;

-        5 things that are making a noise

-        2 different things that you can smell

-        1 thing you’re going to do after the exam

-        3 people that you know (either in the room or out)

-        1 person wearing blue

-        1 person listening to music

Etc. this is part of a process called ‘grounding’. You can read the hand out to find more of these techniques. This is a very good tactic to use because it encourages you to interact with your environment and can adapt to whatever environment you’re in.

b)     Tell yourself that you can do it.

Visualization is a critical component to any de-stress routine, whether it’s days before the exam or in the moments just before it. Try repeating in your head ‘I can do this, I’m going to do well.’ This simple action can reduce your anxiety and bring you to the right mental state.

If, however, you’re suffering the stress a few weeks before the exam begins, there are some other methods you can add to your plans to help conquer these fears. They are a little more proactive because you have more time.

1.      Set up a plan so you can visualize how much time you have and what you’re going to do with it

Some people may consider this to be like setting up a timer until the end of the world. However, if you’re a fan of routines and planning this can be a wonderful way to remind yourself you have plenty of time to act. My biggest weakness is that I always panic and underestimate the amount of time I have left. Just last semester I finished my exam review four weeks early because I messed up the timing and panicked that I was going to run out of time. The result was that I burned out way faster than normal and way exhausted by the end of the exam season – so learn from me and use a planner!

2.      Assess the amount that you have on and see if you can trim anything from this

Sometimes we add a lot of ‘little things’ into our schedule that add up. Try to write a list of all your extracurricular and see if there are some things you can drop to give yourself some more time to split between relaxation and studying. It is critical in the final weeks of your study to maintain a healthy balance between your personal life and your study life.

3.      Speak with an academic advisor

Exam planning pack

Sometimes early onset test anxiety can be an indicator that there is something wrong. Try speaking with an academic advisor to get their opinion on whether you need some extra helping the class or if there is a way you can offload some of the academic burden. I know there are a lot of advisors who are experts at helping students create flexible study plans that leaves a student working productively and not overloading themselves. While it may be a little frightening to admit to someone that you’re struggling with your academic commitments, remember that it is the peak of maturity to know your limits and to get help to move past them.

Overall your anxiety over exams is purely a mental block. Prepare to deal with it, but don’t let it prevent you from showing off all your hard work over the semester. Use your time well to prevent over reacting and do your best on the exam!  

High Court under the microscope ; Kable v DPP

This case arose in response to an act made by the NSW parliament called the community protection act 1994. It worked to allow the government to make an order to contain any individual for a period up to 6 months after the end of their prison sentence – if a court was satisfied upon a reasonable grounds that they were more likely than not to commit a serious act of violence. This was then justified on the condition that it was for the safety of the community.

However, the plaintiff, Kable argued that the Act was breaching the separation of papers doctrine because it gave the NSW court powers that were incompatible with Chapter III of the Federal Constitution.

This was important as it rose the question of whether or not the separation of powers doctrine arises at state level. The separation of powers doctrine refers to the principle by which no arm of government can rely on or have influence over another arm of government. This separation is not followed properly in Australia as the legislature and the executive arms of government are one and the same and often intermix with each other. However, the judiciary is very firmly kept separate from the other two arms of government as they are the arm of government that reviews all actions and decisions. This independence is considered to be imperative for the democratic future of Australia. These cases which refer to the separation of powers are very important and should be given close attention as they refer to the founding features of Australia

The majority of the court were satisfied by the argument that the act in question gave the Supreme Court of NSW a non-judicial power that is against the Chapter III of the federal constitution. That meant that any exercise of that power was unconstitutional and the act which confers said power has to be invalid. This meant that the parliament’s act could not be used to detain anyone.

However, it is not an argument that relied upon the separation of powers under the NSW constitution but it relief on the separation of powers of the Federal constitution. This was because the supreme court falls under the jurisdiction of Ch III of the federal constitution as it is a Ch Iii court. Other state courts in NSW do not come under Ch III (unless there are other specific characteristics of them that would require them to be included as such) therefore the NSW constitution would need to be used in the argument.

It is important to remember, however, that unless it is specifically created there is no separation of powers at the state level of government, only at the federal level of government. This is because of the historical creation of the colonies and for administrative purposes.

Negotiations and managing the tightrope

Sometimes in university you’ll be stuck in an award situation with someone who has a higher authority than you. That is a very awkward situation and knowing what to do can be next to impossible. I’ve run through some scenarios below that will hopefully help you out of your next tight spot!

1.      You get a bad grade

Of course this will happen to every university student at some point and the important thing is how you handle it.

The first step should always be to take some time out. This can be a very emotional result for someone, especially if you worked really hard on the project. Try to give yourself some time to process the result and calm down. It is always best to be well rested and level headed when you consider a bad grade. If you can invite over someone supportive to help you with the next step.

The second step is to evaluate yourself. Self evaluation is critical to ensuring that the mistake won’t occur again. Overall this step can be very difficult but if you’ve followed through with the planning methods and tracking your progress it may be easy to see if there was a lapse in your preparation. Another important thing is to get ahold of the markers scheme and rubric and run through the project to see what errors you have missed.

The markers feedback can be a great tool for understanding and interpreting the rubric. Some examiners will point out where you went wrong – and the best ones will supply tips for where you can improve. Don’t be worried about how they think about you, this is a highly automated task and rarely will the examiner have applied any kind individualistic application.

Some critical questions to ask yourself are;

-        Was this explained in the course?

-        Is this information readily available?

-        Is this a subjective opinion?

Planning is essential to surviving a busy
period at work

It is important to consider whether or not the criticism is subjective because if it is that the marker has interpreted an answer or argument the wrong way you may be able to initiate a remark process that would allow you to negotiate for a better result.

However, don’t use this process as a reason to get a remark, that should never be a goal. Always assume that the grade is a fair indication of the work and move forward from there.

The third step is to run through the document and highlight the points where you went wrong. List them out clearly with paragraph or question number references and either rewrite them correctly or write out the question that you would like to ask about them.

Some good questions to ask conveners about a marker’s determination include;

è Source A suggested this, was there another more valid source that disagreed?

è Was it the application of the information that was incorrect or was the basis of the argument wrong?

è How would you improve this answer?

I would strongly advise that you do the majority of planning before you go in to interview with an academic professor or teacher. This is because it is easily to become overwhelmed when teachers begin discussing things with you – especially when they relate to things like your personal grades. The more organized you are the easier it will be to set the boundaries and expectations of the discussion.

Other ways that you can make sure you remain professional and level headed throughout the interview is to bring in a general guide of the things that you want to say.

The best way to do this is to create a simple list flow chart with off shoots;

Example:

Page one issues;

è Para 4, grammar point – how much did this reduce?

è Para 9 – The readings agreed with marker but recent research supported argument (Which valid?)

Page two;

è Spelling is correct Australia – USA marking?

è Why is the diagram wrong? (markers guide not available)

If you run through this it is easy for you to avoid feeling upset about your mark and instead make sure that you get the best possible feedback. After all, it’s very difficult for anyone to help you if you can’t tell them how to help!

Printable available online

To help with the general value of the meeting you can download this printable from fee by following the link, here. This printable will allow you to work with the pace of the speaker – son long as you write in relevant phrases and not everything that they say. The download is not a pdf so you and type it into your laptop for those who struggle to write quickly. But try to fill in the extra questions along the side as this assist your analysis.

If you get through this stage and you still feel that you haven’t had an appropriate redress you can feel very upset, but don’t be perturbed! There is still more that can be done. Check out your student union and ask them about the mark evaluation policy. Take the feedback sheet, your questions and the original assignment with the feedback with it. Ask them if you can have someone else to assess the paper and perhaps help you to understand it. These officers are generally very experienced and will be able to help guide you through the process.

Best of luck – and remember that your grades don’t reflect on you!

Lulu Hensman