The Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) is the main examination to qualify students for admission into secondary and vocational schools in Ghana and Nigeria. This exam is essentially a form of game played more or less in the same way all around West Africa, and you got to learn to be an excellent game player.
First of all, an exam is always a game of PRECISION and SPEED. No matter how you look at it, examiners are only interested in your ability to answer questions PRECISELY and Conveniently, all within the prescribed time limits. They don’t like any fancy stuff from candidates.
So, to beat them in the game, you got to master the technique of doing the exam questions laid at you, no matter how they are phrased.
Here, I like to introduce you to a very powerful technique for reading and answering an exam question.
Read the instructions first, if all the questions are to be attempted, start answering immediately, read the question thoroughly, is better to glance all over the paper quickly to gain confidence of your ability to solve the answers.
If there are sections of questions (Section A or 1) focus on 1st section and read all the questions, if choice is allowed then attempt the simple most first and proceed to harder ones. Likewise attempt other sections also.
Solving simple questions first to harder one will be better processed as more you solve it, more you are confident of gaining marks. First try to solve for passing the examination, then solve to try for better marks, then try for respectable marks and then try for maximum marks.
Leave the spaces there itself while answering, if you have forgotten in between. Do not spend much time on that question as it will shorten your time for answering other questions. Reattempt the left question after answering other questions.
Time management is equally important as your subject period. Because if you are short of time, you may loose answering the questions even if you know it.
And of course, be confident and try to solve some sample papers for practice before attempting at the examination, to judge your writing speed and time management.
