STUFFING YOUR HEAD with knowledge is one thing. Keeping cool under exam pressure and regurgitating the necessary facts is another.

As to analysing a more demanding question and coming up with a coherent answer, sin sceal eile.

One of the saddest of exam tales is that of the student who has studied hard and is familiar with the curriculum but who panics, only to get far lower marks than he or she might have expected. Panic aside, it is also possible to achieve less than your potential by making simple errors unconnected with your knowledge.

Take some time and remember all those things your teachers have talked about: read the questions fully, answer all of the compulsory sections, use the marking system to guide you in the length of your answers, don't use irrelevant quotations, avoid repetition and include your rough work with your answer book. All obvious, sound advice which you ignore at your peril.

Compulsory questions: An obvious pitfall is to leave out a compulsory question or section. Multiple-part questions often graduate from the simple to the more difficult. There is a temptation to leave the last part of the question alone. Any attempt may gain you some marks whereas a blank space definitely will not yield results.

Not reading the paper correctly: It's the old chestnut, but each year examiners say this is one of the commonest errors. Do read the entire question and don't get carried away because it mentions a poet or poem you know something about. Okay, so you've learned off a few lines, but nothing upsets examiners more than an obviously rehearsed, irrelevant answer.

Misusing charts, graphs and diagrams: These are meant to illustrate your answer, so make sure those diagrams, graphs and charts are large, clear and well labelled. Use graph paper if it is indicated.

Repetition: Make the point once. There are no extra marks for repeating yourself, even if you use different words. In fact, you risk irritating the examiner.

Not including your rough work: Examiners suggest that you include all of your rough work with your exam script. A wrong answer may be partly compensated for by good preparatory work or a statement of the principles involved.

Ignoring the marking system: The length and depth of your answer should be dictated by the marking system. The more marks, the more time you should devote to a particular question or section.

Over-use of calculators: There's something very soothing in pressing buttons and letting the calculator do the work for you in an exam. But, like all machines, they are not infallible. A run-down battery can result in some weird and wonderful answers. Equally, a slip of the finger will not be obvious to an examiner in the same way that rough work can give a clue to where things went wrong.

The safest way is to at least do a rough calculation to satisfy yourself that the answer looks right.

Key Words

There are certain key words that re-appear with predictable regularity on all papers. These words are sign-posts to the type of answer required, so spend a little time figuring out exactly what you have been asked before you put pen to paper. You will always get some marks for straightforward description, but - if the question demands it - it is the analysis, criticism or discussion that will secure you those much sought-after extra marks.

Define: You are being asked to explain the exact meaning of a word or phrase.

Describe: More than a brief outline is required. A useful general rule is to set out the main points first and then expand on them as time allows.

Discuss: More than a simple description is needed. Different aspects of the topic should be teased out.

Explain: Think about the how, why and what.

Compare, contrast: Comparing means looking for similarities between items or ideas. Set things down to see if they agree or disagree, with the emphasis on agreement. To contrast is to look for differences. The emphasis is on setting things down in opposition, in order to demonstrate difference. You may be asked to compare and contrast - both similarities and differences should be clearly set out.

Argument: Here you are trying to bring the examiner around to your point of view. A simple description is not enough - a reasoned description is required.

Criticise: You are being asked for your opinion, but you must support this opinion with analysis.

Summarise: The art of summary is to include all of the main points in the least possible space. The shorter the answer the better, provided you haven't left anything vital out.

Demonstrate, prove: These are usually to found at the beginning of questions in science and maths papers. A standard proof will usually have been covered in class. An experiment, example or diagram may be useful in proving the hypothesis.