Are you scared that on the morning of your HSC trials or actual HSC exam, something might happen that would affect your ability to do the exam? It is not too bad if something's serious enough to warrant an illness / misadventure claim. For example, if your train breaks down and it's verifiable over the news, or you're unable to attend due to some illness that can be documented by a medical certificate.
But what about the little things that won't quite warrant a misadventure claim?
For example, are you one of many students who are scared of getting a stomach ache at the start of your morning exam? How bad would that be, having a stomach ache in the first 5 minutes of your exam? Or getting some sort of cramp, chest pain, headache etc. These 'small' mishaps would be difficult to.
Let's face it, during the HSC year, some students are so dedicated to exam preparation that they don't get much exercise for the whole year, and by the end of the year, they are not exactly in their healthiest shape. Also, the amount of nervousness experienced by HSC students doing an exam that is worth up to 50% of their total HSC assessment can play all sorts of tricks onto our bodies.
There's a few things you can do to minimise the chance of experiencing some sort of mishap:
Tip ONE: sleep early
Sleeping early reduces the chance of getting a headache in the morning. You won't feel drowsy on your way to your exam, and you won't need to drink coffee / Red Bull etc to wake up a second time before you start your early morning exams.
Don't study the night before your exam. Prepare for an early night's rest. Watch some TV, do some recreational reading, drink some milk and go to bed early. If you know you can't fall asleep early, you'll need to prepare starting from a few days beforehand, where you sleep progressively earlier each night.
Tip TWO: don't eat the wrong breakfast
Some foods will make you get stomach aches. For example, for people who are lactose-intolerant, drinking milk in the morning (e.g. with cereal) may cause stomach aches and the need to go to the toilet in the middle of your exam. That's definitely something to be avoided.
It's a good idea to find out early whether you have any issues with certain foods eaten in the morning, and whether they cause you any discomfort shortly afterward. Be sure to avoid those foods on critical days like exam days where you can't afford to have any distractions.
Tip THREE: warm your hands before you start writing
This is a nice little trick. Have you noticed it is hard to write fast when your hands are cold? That is because like all muscles in the body, hand muscles contract slower when cold. The ideal temperature is body temperature, that's when your hands are at the same temperature as your body (37°C) and you can write the fastest.
With Australia's winters getting colder every year, this is becoming more of a problem, especially if you have an early morning exam that starts at 8:45am. So it is a good idea to warm your hands (e.g. rubbing them together, wear gloves, put your hands in your pockets, sit on them if you need to) before you start writing.
George Li is a senior tutor at Dux College. George joined our education team in 2005 and has had years teaching
HSC Chemistry and
Physics at Dux College as well as outside of our organisation. George achieved a UAI of 99.95 in 2004. In terms of motivational techniques and good study habits, George is an avid promoter of best practice when it comes to preparation for the HSC.
