Overcoming Examination Jitters Laurie Lumsden Student Counselling Service Trinity College Dublin Last modified August 2003

The focus of this workshop is: Control and confidence Staying focused Overcoming distractions Recovering focus and control Your personal reactions to examinations

Control and confidence Do everything you can to prepare for the exam Regular sleep and balanced diet Manage your time and situations to control the things you can Positive self-thought Hang out with positive people

Staying focused Plan and monitor your time Equal time for equal marks Use dot points if you remember something important in another question If you “get stuck” go onto another question – you can go back later Develop concentration tricks – rubber band

Overcoming distractions Avoid negative thoughts Don’t dwell on: past performance What you don’t know Jot down what you know you will need to use Avoid comparing notes, etc with classmates Have a plan about how you will run your race Pay attention to the exam not to yourself or what others are doing

Recovering focus and control Rehearsal W-A-SP Develop and practice positive affirmations and body language Anchoring techniques Visualisation Overcoming “blanks” Dot points Next question and go back Focus on breathing and relax tension in your body

Your personal reactions to examinations Identify the specific things about exams that cause you stress Develop and rehearse strategies to counter your stress reaction Become aware when a stress reaction is developing

Best wishes from your Lecturers Tutors Family and friends Other support services at TCD all the staff of TCD’s Student Services and ME