!"#$% '(() *+ ,-*.

/
LeL's assume LhaL Lhere ls someone ln your class who ls really clever and answers a loL of quesLlons LhaL
Lhe Leacher asks. Wlll Lhls person geL Lhe besL grades ln exams? noL necessarlly.
8elng lnLelllgenL and good aL a sub[ecL are obvlously advanLageous, buL lf someone doesn'L know how Lo
use Lhelr knowledge and sklll, Lhen lL's a wasLe. WhaL l'm Lrylng Lo say ls, are Lhey any good aL exams?
l've seen so many people ln school and unlverslLy who are greaL aL answerlng quesLlons ln class, whlch
ofLen leads Lo sLudenLs comparlng Lhemselves Lo Lhem.
Comparlng yourself Lo someone ls polnLless. lL doesn'L maLLer whaL someone else does all year or even
whaL Lhey geL ln exams, lL's an lndlvldual exerclse and lL's noL a compeLlLlon. 1here's plenLy room for
everyone Lo geL good grades.
?ou have Lo remember LhaL Lhese seemlngly clever people mlghL be hopeless aL exams, don'L do enough
sLudylng or don'L have Lhe correcL menLal approach and freeze on Lhe day.

0//"//."$+
l waLch a loL of sporL, and for example, lf you go Lo a golf evenL you can waLch Lhe professlonals pracLlse
before Lhey go ouL Lo play. 1hey normally llne up on Lhe pracLlse ground slde by slde, maybe 20 ln a row,
efforLlessly hlLLlng shoLs lnLo Lhe dlsLance. ?ou [usL cannoL Lell who ls Lhe besL golfer Lhere and who ls
golng Lo do well.
LeL's lmaglne LhaL someone who doesn'L know whaL any of Lhe golfers look llke was Lo go Lo Lhe pracLlse
ground and Lry Lo ldenLlfy 1lger Woods. 1hey know LhaL 1lger Woods ls one of Lhe besL golfers of all Llme
buL Lhey would have no ldea who he was versus an unknown sLandlng nexL Lo hlm.
8uL someone has Lo wln and some golfers are wlnnlng mllllons conslsLenLly whlle oLhers are sLruggllng Lo
pay Lhelr bllls. Why?
1he ones who are wlnnlng know how Lo 12*3 %(24 and Lhey know how Lo geL a %(() /5(6". 1hey may noL
necessarlly be Lhe besL aL hlLLlng Lhe ball buL a golfer ls assessed by how many shoLs lL Lakes hlm or her Lo
play 18 holes. 1haL ls all.
AL school or unlverslLy, you are assessed on 7(8 .*$3 9:"/+#($/ 3(: %"+ 5(66"5+ #$ *$ "-*..
;(: 7*<" +( =" %(() *+ "-*./ =:+ 3(: )( $(+ 7*<" +( =" +7" 1"6/($ %"++#$% *22 +7" 9:"/+#($/ 5(66"5+
):6#$% +7" 52*//>
now, Lhls mlghL seem unfalr Lo some people buL LhaL's Lhe way lL ls. MosL of your mark for Lhe year ls
deLermlned by one or Lwo exams. 1hey are noL slmply assesslng how good you are aL a sub[ecL:
?7"3 *6" *//"//#$% 7(8 8"22 3(: 7*<" 16"1*6") 4(6 +7" "-*.>
l belleve LhaL you can learn how Lo do well ln any exam for any sub[ecL, no maLLer lf you are naLurally
good aL lL or noL.

@+:)3 A6(5"//
lf you can learn how Lo do exams Lhen lL almosL Lrumps everyLhlng else. ?ou could slL and daydream ln
class or ln lecLures all year, buL lL doesn'L maLLer, as long as you know how Lo sLudy, Lhlnk well and do
exam quesLlons.
Cne Lhlng l never menLloned ln Lhe golflng analogy was LhaL Lhe besL golfers are also Lhe besL menLally.
1hey know whaL Lo do and when Lo do lL. 1hey know whaL Lhey need Lo work on. 8uL mosL lmporLanLly,
Lhey belleve ln Lhemselves and are noL afrald, Lhey don'L panlc when under pressure, Lhey are
deLermlned, Lhey persevere and Lhey work very hard. All Lhe LralLs you need Lo do well ln exams.
lL all really comes back Lo how you sLudy and even before LhaL, whaL's golng on lnslde your head. 1he
exam ls where you puL all Lhe sLudylng and pracLlse lnLo moLlon, and lf you have done everyLhlng well
beforehand l.e. Lhe preparaLlon, you wlll perform well.