The good old practice of intently staring at an exam question until an answer resurrects from a dead corner of the brain is the most popular way of answering difficult questions. However, experts have now warned that the practice is more harmful than good because it actually reduces the chances of remembering the answer.
In the study published in the Journal of College Survival Tactics, examinologists said that many students were in the habit of staring at a difficult question for too long and it is not helping. “By doing so, some hope that the answer will show up from their largely unused academic faculties, while others hope that the question will evolve into a simpler one. All of these are mistaken. It does not happen.”
Instead, the brain has been shown to flee from the question and this makes it even harder to remember the answer. This is the reason why many people continue to perform poorly even after spending most of the exam time staring angrily at the questions.
What is the remedy?
There is no simple answer. Experts suggest that one could quickly skip the difficult question and answer the easy ones, in the hope that an appropriate answer will show up. However, the most effective remedy is just to study for that question in advance.
But we know that’s not gonna happen.
