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Exams are a crucial part of education and the source of stress for many students. In order to avoid crippling anxiety from these pesky evaluations, it is important to approach them with a clear mind and an understanding of how to deal with stressful situations more broadly. In many cases, exam stress is all in the mind, and mental discipline is a large part of what is needed to succeed.
Know what is expected of you. Be sure to consult your syllabus or ask your instructor what material you will be responsible for. If you have a concrete sense of what you will be tested on, the future test will feel less vague and more like something you can handle.
If you aren't clear on anything, ask your teacher. Teachers would much rather answer questions than have their students proceed without understanding what's expected.
Make sure you have read your syllabus and any information your teacher has given you before asking the question. Your teacher won't be pleased if you send her an email asking when the test is if it's specified on page 1 of the syllabus.Study in conditions similar to your test room. There is a phenomenon in psychology called context-dependent memory. It refers to the idea that we are best able to remember things in environments similar to when the information was encoded. A related phenomenon is called state-dependent memory, which means that our memory is better when we learn and retrieve information in similar bodily states.
If you will be in a quiet room during your exam, try to simulate those conditions while you prepare. This is using context-dependent memory to your advantage.
As an example of state-dependent memory, if you prepare for your exam using caffeine, your memory on test day may be better if you have a similar amount of caffeine then, too.[4] Use this knowledge and know that you are taking evidence-backed steps to maximize your exam score; keep that in mind if you are feeling stressed about your upcoming exam.