Exam troubles

During exam papers, I tend to get incredibly nervous. Palms sweaty, heart beating faster and hands fidgeting uncontrollably are all quite common but this feeling usually subsides after the first 10 minutes. However, I have another problem even when I’m calm which is that often, I don't read the paper properly.

The damage from this issue has ranged from me misreading a numerical value to skipping entire questions that I could've answered well. In the final question of a test paper, it is possible that someone might do a single subpart, not turn to the next page to see the other parts and miss out on easy marks. In my case, this happened even when all of the questions were put on a single page. For example, in an essay question, I would read the first half of the prompt, make an assumption about the rest of the question, and would start writing. By the time I would realise my mistake, it would either be time to submit the paper or I would only have the time to write an answer of poor quality.

In the Maths papers, I would sometimes do something completely different from what the question asked, giving solutions instead of proofs or giving the value of something other than what the question asked for. More often than not, I would lose easy marks due to misreading or switching the values of two variables.

The worst instance of this was during my physics class 11 half term. In IGCSE papers, you are able to pick between sets of questions to do. This is known as overall choice. My CBSE paper (I switched from IGCSE in the 11th) only had an individual choice, which meant I could only choose between two questions instead of two sets of questions. This was clearly stated, but I read through it, not taking time to process what it meant, and thought the paper had the overall choice. I thought I was done with the paper at the halfway mark and felt very proud of myself. Later I found out I had left half the paper by accident.

I think my impatience and inability to process everything written on the page are linked to my ADHD. So even though I had extra time due to my disabilities, these problems still plagued me. The solution I have implemented is to spend the first 15 minutes of the paper, regardless of whether I lose out on some time, going through the paper carefully and planning out how I will do it. Additionally, I also received medicine for ADHD which helped me stay calm and focus more.

To conclude, if you also have ADHD or are impatient during papers, I urge you to carefully read all the questions before you start writing answers. If the problem persists, please seek out further help in the form of scribes or medicine.