#test-taking

by bailor (@littlegreengrimoire)

Intent: The purpose of this spell is to assure that the person who carries the bag has a stress-free test-taking experience, and is able to finish their test on time, and without worrying too much while they take their test.

Ingredients:

Aquamarine (for memory, and to promote verbal self-expression)

Amber (emotional ailments cured, unlocks inner wisdom)

Selenite (memory, illumination, healing)

Clear Quartz (amplifier)

Lemon Essential Oil

Cedarwood Essential Oil

Ylang Ylang Essential Oil

A small glass vial.

Any sigils that you think you’ll need (I used a sigil for productivity and one for being free from stress. You can design them yourself or find pre-made designs online.)

A small watch or stopwatch (represents having enough time to take the test)

An old key (This represents unlocking goals, and is also a physical representation of the witch in the spell. Remember to find a key that vibes with you.)

A small bag or pouch

Instructions:

Prepare your sigils by drawing them on pieces of slips of paper. Make sure that the pieces of paper are small enough to fit into the bag without being folded. One the backside of each piece of paper, write the purpose of the sigil so as to remember/restate your intent when making them.

Prepare the essential oil mixture. Combine three drops of each of the above essential oils in a small glass vial, and seal the vial. This mixture is for clarity and focus.

Open the bag. First, place each crystal inside. Channel your energy into them. As you set each crystal inside of the bag, fill them with your intent and remember what each one is meant to do. The crystals do not have to be placed in any specific order. Do what feels right for you.

Next, place within the bag the watch/stopwatch. This watch will represent your ability to keep track of and utilize your testing time limits.

Add each of the sigils into the bag, in a way similar to that of the crystals. Remember what each sigil is there to do as you place them inside the bag.

Add the vial of essential oils.

Finally, add the key. This key is the representation of you, the witch and the test-taker, in the spell. It also symbolizes your ability to unlock and achieve your goals.

Close the bag firmly.

Make sure to keep this bag with you while you take the test, preferably in your pant or jacket pocket. I find it best to keep it in a jacket pocket, near the center of your body.

The bag can only be opened once the test is finished, at which point the spell is no longer in use. Crystals should be cleansed and recharged, as well as the other materials (if you plan on reusing them). Sigils can be torn up and recycled.

Hi! I generally think I’m good at taking tests, the way other people are good at playing instruments, reading social situations, or balancing on tiptoes (none of which I am good at). However, just as you can increase your skill in these areas, I believe you can also learn how to be a better test-taker. Although practice does play a role, I think a bigger part is identifying the cognitive processes going on while you’re testing. Once you’re aware of your thoughts, you have the power to change them because your thinking is the one thing you can control. I don’t know that my thought process is the optimal one for test-taking and this honestly may differ from person to person, but here I’ll list some things I try to consciously keep in mind that seem to work for me.

Before we begin, a note that this post will only help you be a better tester. It will not help you be more knowledgable, learn better, be wiser, or intelligent. This advice really applies best to multiple-choice tests in the vein of the SAT, ACT, and AP exams.

1. Know the material - All the test-taking tips in the world can’t help you if you don’t know what it is you’re doing. The higher-order cognitive processes described here only work by building upon your conception of the facts for evaluating what makes an answer “right” or “wrong.” 

2. Trust your gut - Usually, you will have an intuitive pull towards a certain answer before your mind steps in to rationalize that it might be something else. Don’t listen to your wavering mind! This is really important, because if your intuition is pointing you to something it is often right. Rather than being a blind guess, intuition is often based on memory you can’t quite retrieve that has unconsciously clicked into place based on context clues from the problem. Even though you haven’t internally verbalized the information, your intuition communicates it to you without your knowledge. That feeling in your gut? It doesn’t come from nowhere. I’d wager you might receive tests back and chide yourself for erasing your first guess, which was the right answer. Trust your instincts instead! Although intuition isn’t always perfect, in a testing scenario it is accurate more often than not. The only situation in which I advise going against intuition is if you can recall a specific, verbalized fact that disproves the answer your gut tells you -- not something that might prove another answer, but something that directly contradicts your first-guess answer.

3. Guilty until proven innocent - Basically, your approach to any answer should be that if it’s a little bit wrong, it’s all wrong. Instead of looking for reasons why an answer might be right, look for information that makes it wrong. It could be a single word that doesn’t quite fit in, but it’s still absolutely damning. This isn’t innocent until proven guilty; this is the Reign of Terror where you should send every possible answer to the guillotine.

4. Answer the question - An answer may be accurate, but it’s not correct if it doesn’t answer the question. Ask yourself, does the answer leave any room for doubt? Does it dance in circles? If you’re asked to analyze a chart, diagram, or passage, does the answer logically follow from the information you’re given? What specific data could you pull to support this reasoning? Are you making any underlying assumptions? If so, you probably want to pick a different answer.

5. Think like the devil - If I were a diabolical schemer rubbing my hands together, how would I design this test to ensnare unsuspecting students? This helps you identify the traps that test-makers have laid out for you, so that when you encounter one you think, “Aha! You thought you could get me, but I’m onto your plans!”

6. Pick the least common denominator - This is more often useful for teacher-written tests than standardized tests. Basically, pick the option that has the most in common with the others. For example, if the answers were

A) 2L + 6

B) 4L + 6

C) 4L + 3

D) 4L - 6

I would pick B.

7. Take a break - Honestly, standardized tests are long and tortuous. Look at the clock, the ceiling, the floor. Notice the space around you. Stretch your arms and your legs to get your blood pumping again. If this is a long (2+ hours test), honestly take two minutes every hour or so to just concentrate on your breathing. Your body was not made for sitting in a desk for hours. This helps you avoid the mid-exam slump where you feel like giving up by reenergizing your body a little instead.

8. Work for flow - You want to get in the zone. You are a test-taking beast, and nothing can stop you. Maintaining flow is important not only because it makes sure you have time to complete everything, but it also makes you feel more motivated and energized as you’re taking the test. If you give into frustration, your concentration will decline, as will your performance. Keep flow by trying to maintain a constant, steady pace. Look at the clock every 10 questions or so. If a question is too hard, skip it -- I usually bubble in an answer anyway but mark the question as one to come back to, because just seeing an empty space there throws me off. But try not to skip too many questions. This is where your intuition comes in: if you intuitively sense the answer but you’re still unsure, mark the question but bubble in your gut-check guess and keep moving. Something else that maintains flow is to answer a page of questions in the exam booklet and then transferring your responses to the answer sheet. The reasoning behind this is if you’re constantly toggling focus between the question paper and the answer sheet, you are unable to really give your attention to either. This throws you off. Instead, answer a set or page of questions first so you have a sense of logical completion and then start bubbling your answers.

-bring earplugs. they probably don't work for everybody, but for me the elimination of tiny noises like pencils scratching on paper or shuffling feet makes me much less stressed.

-pull your hair back if it's long. not too tight, because you don't want that to be distracting. just make it secure enough that it'll be out of your face and stay that way.

-ask for extra time if you need it. people who have been diagnosed with adhd are entitled to certain accommodations, and that includes being given more time to take your exam.

-lay off the caffeine. for at least 24 hours before your test, don't drink a lot of caffeinated beverages because they can dramatically increase your anxiety going in.

-make yourself as comfortable as possible. layer up, so you can wear more or less as the room temperature dictates. for me at least, one of the most distracting things while I'm taking a test is when the room is too cold or too hot.

Hello Studyblr! Friendly reminder that there is an SAT on Saturday. Here are some test-taking tips for you all! 

The following items will be discussed in more detail below the jump: a packing list, guessing penalties, test anxiety, and what to do with breaks. 

Send me asks! I’d love to answer some of your SAT/ACT questions :)

Good luck!