Are you ready for final exams?

For many Cebu colleges, final exams are in a couple of weeks and if you're a crammer like I am (but I surely hope you aren't), you'll find that laziness breeds anxiety. The tried-and-tested technique to doing well on any exam is (of course) studying, which unfortunately is not an interchangeable synonym for cramming.

Cramming may let you briefly retain a dizzying spectrum of facts, but there's a tendency you'll overlook the big picture, as well as the simple and elusive concepts that link all the little things together. To put it in an analogy, after a cramming session, you've memorized all the street names in Cebu but you've not the faintest idea how to find your way to the Capitol, much less give directions to anyone else. Personally, what especially worries me are the subjective sorts of exam, like essay questions, wherein one's points scored are also subjected to a variety of factors, like grammar, penmanship and possibly the teacher's mood.

Essay exams can give chills to even the most intrepid writers. And it's no wonder. What could be more intimidating than a test and a booklet rolled into one, aggravated by the merciless ticking of the clock on the back wall? The staring blankness of that blue book demands to be filled up, and filled up quickly.

I used to think that working as a writer would be suitable training ground for essay exams in law school. But I've found that the converse is true - essay exams in school were great training ground for my work as a writer. It taught me that in presenting an answer to a question, conciseness is key. It differentiates a knowledge exam-taker from a clueless one who is just trying to beat around the bush. And the teachers can tell. Thus, it's imperative to answer the question promptly - with a yes or no, if needed - support your answer with the facts and evidence, and conclude in a sentence what you've just said.

Although pre-exam nervousness may never completely disappear, controlling it is half the battle. With studying and heartfelt prayers at your back, what's there to fear? Make every effort to remain focused and cool when the exam is handed out. Slowly, calmly and carefully read the questions. These are the crucial moments in the exam: What is the question really getting at? Moreover, how can you answer it?

Before you start writing, be sure you've got a stronghold on what the main idea of your essay will be. Many students (I'm guilty of this, too!) have made the mistake of skimming the main issue of the question, writing off at 90 kilometers per hour, and then discovering too late that they've missed the whole point of the question. Once your main idea starts to take shape, jot down a quick outline of how you plan to argue. Essay exams can be structured in the same way as typical papers: With an introduction, a body and a conclusion. Avoid the "information dump," a wasteland of mismatched facts splattered across the page. In other words, don't provide streams of irrelevant facts purely because you memorized them.

 If you get lost writing your own answer, don't panic. Go back to the question, and remember your destination. Even if time is running short, stay focused, decide where your time will be best spent and keep going. Remember that in essay questions, ultimately your job is to give an answer and to prove it. Good luck to us all!

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Congratulations to the 5,804 law graduates taking who took this year's Bar examinations for their determination, strength and sheer guts. The final exam day was last Sunday and now the 2007 exam-takers have months to wait till they know each of their possibilities with a legal career. They deserve the long rest. May God bless their efforts!

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