How to Prepare a perfect answer sheet

1. Keep your answers left justified. Don’t leave an inch of space next to the the left margin and then begin writing your answers.

2. Write in points as much as you can, except in English papers. Don’t write a whole paragraph explaining something that either does not need explaining, or that has not even been asked.

3. Read the question very carefully. Re-read the question. Ask yourself what the question is asking. If you know the answer, then write it. If you’re confused, try your best to make sense of what the question may be asking. If you can’t, then use your brains and make a smart guess.

4. Don’t leave any question. Don’t skip any question. Don’t leave the space blank. Examiners are always looking for technical terms or points where they may be able to give you marks. They aren’t always there to eat your heads off! Even if you don’t know the correct answer, make a guess. There is no negative marking so you have nothing to lose.

5. Check your answer sheet. Check it twice. If you have the time, check it thrice. While checking, don’t look at your answers and try to answer the questions again in your mind. Tally your answer script answers with those you just thought of and see whether they are the same or not. If not, make up your mind as to which one is the correct answer.

6. Don’t rush. You will have plenty of time to finish the paper. Don’t be in such a hurry that you overlook any sub-question or forget to write a step. You will lose marks and we don’t want that! Be calm and focused.

7. Don’t panic. You can’t always know everything (though, that’s not at all impossible). You may find that there is a question whose answer you don’t know. At times like those, don’t panic or be afraid. Think wisely and remain calm.

8. Use a black ball pen if you can. They are the best. They don’t leak and they rarely leave an impression on the back of the paper. The black ink will be more pleasing to the examiner’s eye. We want the examiner to be in a good mood while checking our paper. ;)

9. Make sure your words are properly spaced out. Don’t squeeze in ten words in the same line! Your paper should look neat and clean and for that, your sentences shouldn’t be all bunched together.

10. Leave at least 2 to 3 lines before and after each question or sub-question. This is a precautionary measure so that if, later on, you feel you want to add something to your answer, you can easily do so, without making a mess of your answer script.

11. Number your questions correctly! Number them only and exactly as per the numbering given on the question paper. Don’t write Q1(a) instead of Q1(i).

12. Before you number your questions correctly, you must first remember to actually number them! The examiner won’t check your answer if the question number hasn’t been mentioned. Or if the incorrect question number is written, you will most likely lose marks.

13. Always draw a margin on the right side of the paper for your math examination. Always show your rough work in this margin, no matter how insignificant you may think it is. And remember to show the rough work for a question on the same page as your answer for that question.

14. While drawing diagrams, you must always use a pencil! Label your diagrams even if you have not been asked to. There’s no harm in staying on the safe side. Label the diagrams clearly and with legible handwriting. If your handwriting isn’t that good, you may want to label your diagrams in uppercase letters.

We should always avoid these mistakes :

2. Writing the essay you want to write, not the one you’ve been set

3. Panicking Before Or During A Paper