Seven Golden Tips to Train Well Ahead of Baccalaureate Exams

In the month of June of each school year, second year baccalaureate students (K-12) across Morocco take a final exam in various school subjects to assess their knowledge therein. This year’s national exam will take place from June 6 to 10. The English language is one of the subjects in which the test takers will see their skills be assessed in reading, vocabulary, grammar, and writing.

Upon completion of the school baccalaureate curriculum and hopefully succeeding with a minimum grade point average of 10 out of 20, the students qualify to study in higher education institutions such as universities, specialized institutes, and the prestigious and much-coveted Grandes Ecoles.

Naturally, the large majority of students go through hard times in preparation for these national exams, which involve not only English but also other subjects, depending on their majors. In addition, each subject includes more than 10 lesson plans covered throughout the school year.

One of the most popular techniques baccalaureate students have long adopted when preparing for national exams is working on previous years’ exams to have a general idea of the type of questions asked. In addition, many students also make sure to train well to acclimatize themselves to the exam’s atmosphere and eventually manage the stress most of the students feel during exam days.

However, if preparations are not done the right way, the students’ performance will lack efficiency on the exam day. Below are seven golden tips that will prepare you mentally for your final exam.

Isolate yourself in a quiet place

Choose a place that will isolate you from any physical noise. It is preferable to enter a room and lock yourself in after informing your family about your intention to study. At this moment, you need a high level of concentration that must not be interrupted by anyone or anything.

Keep away any object that will distract you

Leave your smartphone or tablet out of your room and switch off the TV if it is on. You will only need the hard copy of the exam sheet, a pen, and a draft paper. The only digital item you can keep is your watch, in order to glance at the time you have left once in a while.

You need a high level of concentration

Set the time duration relative to the exam

Depending on your stream, set the time allowed for the baccalaureate English exam. The classical letters or social sciences majors are allotted 3 hours while the rest of the majors are allotted 2 hours. The more realistic the exam atmosphere is, the better you are likely to score in the real exam.

Do not look at the key answers

At a certain moment during the exam, you may be curious to know the key answers to an exercise. Since the idea is to create an atmosphere as realistic as that of the real exam, it is advisable to not look at the key answers when you have not yet finished the exam.

Keep track of your working pace

Keep track of your working pace

From time to time, take a look at the time left so as to know if you have to maintain your working pace or increase it. Answer the questions you know and skip the ones that challenge you, but do not forget to come back to them later on

Grade yourself when finished

When you have finished answering all the questions, you can take the key answers and start correcting your mistakes. You can grade yourself by following the marking scheme featured on the exam sheet.

The English language exam is graded out of 40, and the points are distributed as follows: 15 points for both the Comprehension and Language sections and 10 points for the Writing section. To get a score out of 20, divide the total score you obtained by 2.

Positive results come with enough practice

Learn from your mistakes and keep training

Even if you get a low grade in the first exam, do not despair. Keep training because positive results come with enough practice. You need to accustom yourself to the question types and the exam’s atmosphere.

One crucial thing is to learn from previous mistakes. From time to time, go back to your previous mistakes in order to keep them in mind and not repeat them in other exams. Repeating the same mistakes will slow your progress.

And remember: the key element for this training process to be successful is to try creating an atmosphere as realistic as that of the real exam.