The time has come. You’ve studied all you can study. Your brain is bursting with information. Now comes the hard part: actually writing the exam. As you walk into the exam venue, chances are you’re nervous and terrified. What if you don’t understand the questions? What if you don’t finish? Worst of all, what if you actually fail?

But you can’t think like that when you walk into the exam room. So here are six quick tips to help you write exams.

Walk in with a positive attitude

Before you enter the venue, tell yourself you’ve got this. Give yourself a pep talk (even if you have to do it out loud). Don’t let any negative thoughts enter your head. If you start stressing, you’re going to panic when they hand out the papers and you’ll waste precious time trying to calm yourself down.

Dn’t discuss the exam beforehand

You’ll likely meet up with your classmates outside the venue and they’ll want to talk about what they’ve studied and what they haven’t. Don’t get involved in the conversation. Their idea of what the exam is going to be about may be wrong and you don’t want to end up confused.

Have enough stationery

This may seem like a silly tip until your only pen runs out of ink halfway through your first answer. Be overly prepared. If you need to use a calculator, double check that it’s working before you leave for the exam.

Read through the questions first

Don’t just jump right in. Take your time to go through each question before you even pick up a pen. Many exam invigilators will give you time to read through the paper before you’re allowed to start writing. Use this time wisely.

Start with the questions you can answer best

Whether it’s an exam for English Literature or your small business training courses, it’s likely you’ll know some sections better than the others. Start with what you know the most about. You’ll get through that quickly and then you can spend more time on the difficult areas. At least then you’ll have your guaranteed marks sorted.

If you have time left over, use it

You may want to get out of the venue as soon as you’ve written your last full stop. It’s pretty common to feel that way. But rather spend the time you have left over to go through your answers as many times as you can. When you’re rushing to finish, you’re likely to miss one or two things. Rather be safe than sorry.