Examinations in an educational institute are conducted to evaluate the knowledge and skills of a student. It is a routine activity where a student’s progress is judged regularly. But sometimes, a student has to appear in non-regular examinations like competitive examinations to compare his knowledge and skill level with his peers outside his institution.
In this latter type of examination, generally, the questions are set differently than in regular exams. These questions judge not only a student’s academic knowledge but also aptitude, conception power, etc. When preparing for such examinations, the past papers help a student familiarize with the standard questions’ style, language, scope, etc.
All conductors of renowned and prominent competitive examinations assist candidates in getting acquainted with the typical nature of the questions by providing a model, sample, or past papers. For instance, assessment past papers for ICAS are specially prepared by experts in the field of education. They repeatedly review and test the selected questions in light of the needs of students.
How The Past Papers Help In Preparation For Examinations
As mentioned above, the past papers help candidates familiarize themselves with the exam format and give them a natural feel of the examination. Some points about how the past papers may help the candidates to prepare better are briefly mentioned below.
Past Papers Help Students To Learn How To Manage Their Time During The Test
In most exams, students must answer a fixed number of problems within a specified time limit. So time management during the test becomes an important priority. Like in the original questionnaire, in past questionnaires also, some problems are difficult to answer while others are easy to answer. Solving them helps one to figure out how much time they should keep for a difficult or an easy question.
By solving the past questionnaires, a candidate can get the experience in deciding which problems to be solved first and which ones to be attempted later.
Past Papers Help To Feel The Test Environment
While solving the past papers, one gets an idea of the environment during an actual test. Today most examinations are computer-based online tests. The formalities like filling in passwords and other protocols become a routine job when students practice with the old questionnaire. Also, returning to an unattempted question and marking a question for attempting later becomes an easy job. It also assists in quickly marking the answer and rectifying a wrong answer.
Old Questions Help In Understanding The Trends Of Questions Set
While studying the previous year’s questionnaire, one can notice how the trend of question setting changes. For instance, the number of questions from a particular topic shows the importance of that topic and how it changes every year. The trend assists candidates in speculating on problems expected in the coming test.
Model Answers Help Candidates In Understanding The Nature Of Answers Expected By The Examiner
In most cases, the assessment past papers made available are provided with the model answers. The questionnaires are meticulously scrutinized to make them genuinely represent the experience that the original questionnaires provide. So by comparing one’s response with those answers, people can learn what mistakes they are making while answering.
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Conclusion
The previously asked questions give a clear idea of the standard and nature of the examination. Solving them helps candidates gauge their level of knowledge. This enables students to focus more on those topics where they have fewer marks or negative marks.
The past papers help in going through the whole syllabus quickly and selectively. Going through old papers is almost equivalent to reading selective portions of the study material multiple times. Thus, multiple revisions of the old questions become as good as numerous revisions of the syllabus.