Exam Woes...

What is it with exams that people get so hyped, stressed and panicked about? It is just a paper set to test your ability to memorise, understand, apply or even bullshit (back in school we use to term it as "menggoreng") your way through. However, that particular paper also can drive a person to a certain extend that he would do anything just to aced/pass it.

I never realised that an exam can cause a great impact on a person until I sat for the professional exams. My god it is tough..! I mean, yeah people might say that it is just another set of exam.. "Apa susah sangat?".. Well, to tell you the truth, according to my lecturer, the examiners for most of the professional exam papers are sadistic people. They just love to torture the candidates because they feel that as a professional, you should be able to handle the challenges and the stress that are thrown your way. Hence, if you are able to handle the stress and exam pressure well, you should be able to handle anything that comes your way. Hmm.. really?

And preparing for exams are really taxing as well. First, you need to invest a lot of money (A LOT! Remember the extra RM1k? It's gone now after paying for my revision class fees *sob**sob*). Then you need to put in some extra time to study, that is if you have extra time la. Hence, there goes your "me" time. Every free time needed to be planned and used wisely. You just have to think of it this way... The consequences for pigging out in front of the idiot box is that you will be calling yourself an idiot when you fail (again!). However, you should learn how to balance study and entertainment laa jugak. All work and no play makes you dull and grey..

Once you have nailed the studying part, now comes the most crucial day of your life, THE DAY. You have made sure that you know where the exam was to be held.. You have prepared everything that were needed for the exam (identification - checked!, exam entry slip - checked!, pens - checked!, calculator - errmm.. where's my calculator?!). You woke up extra early to prepare yourself for the battle, ate a healthy breakfast, braved the morning traffic and got yourself to the exam hall on time. Once the announcement was made, you walked into the exam hall, reciting all the doas' that you know and remembered, found a place where you feel was ok (you've checked that there's no psychos or irritating kiasu people sitting in front, at the back and next to you and made sure the the chairs and tables were stable) and took you sit. With the kalimah bismillahirrahmannirrahim you opened the question booklet, took one look at the first question and suddenly everything went BLANK!

Alhamdulillah that situation has never happened to me, yet. And I pray to God that it will never happen. However, that is a true scenario of what has happened to some students. The speaker of the exam technique workshop that I have just attended this evening had shared his experience as an examiner/marker of the professional exam board. According to him, most students goes blank and panicked when they see the examination questions. Some regained their composure and managed to tackle the questions well after pausing for a breather (which should not be more then a minute because every second counts in these exams). Others either walk out of the exam hall without finishing the exam or try to be creative and instead write a "Dear examiner..." note in the answer scripts.


"Dear Examiner,

I am sorry for being 40 minutes late for the exam. I was told to get on the No. 43 bus to get to the exam hall. However, the bus took me to another place instead. Hence, I needed to board another bus and was delayed on the way. I hope you could help me out by not penalising me for not being able to finish answering the required number of questions."


"Dear Examiner,

Please don't fail me. I'll give you GBP100 if you pass me. My number is 777-00-8370. I promise to pay you once I've received my result."


"Dear Examiner,

Please have some mercy on me. I've been sitting for this paper for my forth time. I know I've tried my best to answer all the questions required. However, I never seem to be able to clear this paper. I beg you to pass me this time around. My career progression depends on this. Thank you."




Funny ey.. But it's the truth. Some people would succumbed to the pressure and just do stupid things during exam. Luckily there are no multiple choice questions (MCQs), if not we can definitely see some people throwing out dices during the exams.

I have had my fair share of failures over the past 2 and a half years. I can't really pin down where did it went wrong. I guess it was just not my luck. Hence, I am now determined to overwrite those failures with passes this time around. Insyallah I will try my best to give it all that I have. Pass or fail will be beyond my control. Just knowing that I have given the best that I can will be good enough for now. Praying hard that I will not need to write one of those "Dear Examiner..." note this coming November *winks*.





binx: time to hit the books!