In a previous post, we took a look at tips on How to Pass Exams With Dyslexia – You can find that here: Passing Exams With Dyslexia.
Here, we’re going to take a look at even more tips for how to pass exams with dyslexia.
Answer the Easiest Questions First – How to Pass Exams with Dyslexia
This tip is absolutely key for the tougher exams you come across, since it’s an excellent way to use your time in the exam hall effectively. Say you’re about to sit an exam. You sit down and have the examination instructions read out to you. The invigilator instructs you to start your exam, and then you begin. You open the question booklet to find that the first question seems almost impossible. Before you panic, take a flick through the booklet and take a look at some of the other questions.
Top Tip for Answering the Easiest Questions First- How to Pass Exams with Dyslexia
If possible, pick the question that looks the easiest to you and start with that. This is a good technique for two reasons. Firstly, it’s a great boost to your confidence when you’re feeling unsure about the exam. There’s not much worse in an exam than sitting there, becoming more and more demoralised by a question that you don’t think you can answer. Starting with more manageable questions will help you ease into the exam, and hopefully you’ll recall some information while doing it.Sometimes, exams can fit together like a puzzle. At first, it seems impossible. But, once you start to put pieces in (answer the questions), the more difficult bits start to make sense. All of a sudden, you’re on a roll of answering questions, and then the tough ones don’t seem so bad!
The other reason that this is a good technique, is that it represents a good use of your time. There’s no point sitting and staring blankly at a question that you can’t solve, when there are others that you could be getting on with. Forget about the tough questions for now, bank as many marks as you can with the easier ones, then go back to the hard ones at the end if you have time. This way, you can secure as many marks as possible. In the worst-case scenario, you won’t be able to complete the tough questions, but you’ll still have earned a few points for all of the others.
Answer the Question – How to Pass Exams with Dyslexia
One of the biggest mistakes that students make throughout their academic lives is failing to answer the question that they’ve actually been asked. This is particularly the case for essay-based exams such as English Literature, but applies to all of your exams.
Double-Check the Question – How to Pass Exams with Dyslexia
In the next section, we’ll be talking about double-checking answers, but it’s just as important to double-check the question that you’re answering, before you begin to answer it. Say you’re doing a maths question:
8.93 x 9.54 = ?
Before you start answering the question, take note of everything about it. Where are the decimal points? What operation needs to be performed? Sometimes, people make silly mistakes and misread the question, getting things mixed up.
It’s not pleasant finding out that you’ve answered a question incorrectly just as you get to the end of it, so it pays to look over the question multiple times. In the case of maths questions, it might help to re-write the question in the answer box if there’s space. This means you can look back at it quickly, without making any mistakes.
Conclusion – How to Pass Exams With Dyslexia
Want more tips for how to pass exams with dyslexia? Check out our guide: How to Study With Dyslexia.
If you’d rather listen to this book than read it, check out the How to Study with Dyslexia Audiobook.
