Writing exams can be stressful. With one or two exceptions (no prizes for guessing what they were!) I have systematically managed to avoid writing them pretty much since I left UCT - until last week, when I wrote the Google Analytics Individual Qualification. Oh boy! Sweaty palms, nervous giggling, insomnia… it all came flooding back to me. With that uncharacteristic near-hysteria in mind, I thought perhaps some tips and guidelines for writing the Quirk Accreditation Exam might be helpful – perhaps you can avoid the same fate and save yourself some of the stress. It’s bad for your blood pressure after all.

Exam stress can do starnge things to people, so it's important to study smart. Image Credit: TheJonOakley

At the end of the day, you’re the person who will ultimately pass or fail. Much of what determines this will be based on how much preparation you do, and how you apply what you have learned. There are some small things that will help you though. When you are study and writing this exam, bear the following in mind:

1. Allow yourself enough time to study

If you’re a super duper eMarketing genius, by all means, attempt the exam without picking up a book. I dare you. For the rest of us though, this isn’t the best idea. Register for the exam now and then we recommend spending between 1 – 1.5 hours on each chapter of the book and giving yourself approximately 3 hours to peruse other recommended resources. This way, you can pass and your husband/wife/pet goldfish are more likely to be spared the inevitable emotional breakdown when you realise that your Jedi Mind Power failed you when you needed it the most.

2. Get comfortable with the information at hand

The chances are you won’t know every answer to every question without referring to your textbook or the pretty pink highlighted notes you made when you were studying *cough Sarah Manners cough*. That said, you need to at least know enough that you can understand the question and recognise where it comes from so that if need be, you can check it out. The long and short of it is it’s important that you feel confident and the best way to do this is to know the basics back to front, upside down and inside out. This will ensure that you can answer the majority of the questions speedily, leaving yourself time to go back and think about the ones you couldn’t answer immediately. For the record, sleeping with it under your pillow in the hopes that the information will transfer via osmosis is unlikely be successful. It might give you a neck ache though.

3. Complete the free test

If you weren’t one of those people who pored over past papers before an exam, you should have been. Doing a couple of practice questions is incredibly helpful – it trains your brain to know what to expect when the time to knuckle down and write the real exam. Complete the free test – if nothing else, you will be able to know how much more time you need to spend with your textbook.

4. Aim high

At Quirk, we’re known for our high standards, and this exam is no exception. 50% just won’t cut it. Would you want to be operated on by the brain surgeon who only got 50% for his final exam? I didn’t think so. To pass this exam, you need to answer at least 75% of the questions correctly and there are 300 of them. Basic maths (never a strong point) tells me that you need to 225 of them correct. So bear that in mind and aim high.

5. Answer the questions you know the answers to first

One of the first rules of exam writing is to go back to the answers you didn’t know or weren’t sure of the first time. Scribble the numbers down on a notepad as you go and when you get to the end, revisit the ones that made you doubt your inner genius with your trusty textbook at hand. This will save you time (a scarce commodity in this test) and will grow your confidence. It will reassure you of how you much you do know and help to keep you calm about what you don’t.

6. Choose your exam writing environment carefully

Back in my varsity days, we had an exam venue that was not only 10 degrees in winter but 40 degrees in summer. And regardless of the season, there were always a flock a savage starlings flying around the ceiling. Conducive to writing a paper on the Efficacy of Cost Benefit Analysis in Environmental Impact Assessments? I don’t think so. Much of exam success and failure is dependent on how comfortable and confident you feel when you finally sit down to write. Generally, you require a quiet space without distractions, a reliable internet connection, resources on hand, and maybe something to snack on to keep the old cogs turning. If you also need a stuffed panda on your desk for inspiration, no one’s judging you... The bottom line – make sure you’re comfortable.

Good luck – go forth and find your inner eMarketing genius. If you have any pearls of wisdom to add, please feel free to leave a comment.

Register for the exam now.