Danish Education: 10 tips and tricks for your exam

The exam.

You have now reached the end of your Danish Education and are ready for the exam. An exam that could decide part of your future . That is why the exam is very important and you might need some tips and tricks to calm down and be ready.

An exam can be a piece of cake for someone and a nightmare for others. We have collected some good advices for you to get through the written and the oral exam in the best way.

READ: TO-DO LIST FOR YOUR EXAM 

The written exam

• Breaks. You are placed at your table for several hours, so it is important to have breaks during the exam. You may visit the toilet – even if you don’t have to. The time you spend away from writing can provide you with some new ideas and solutions so what may seemed unmanageable, can be fixed.
• Use assistive devices. Check which devices and books you are allowed to bring so you are prepared.
  
• Read the exam paper description very thoroughly, so you are sure that you haven’t misunderstood the content or question.
  
• Use the time. If you are finished before time remember to use extra time to read the assignment thoroughly through – even though you have read it four times then make it five. Take a break, visit the toilet and read it again.
• Information videos. Take a look at our information videos a youtube for the specific exam. For PD1, PD2, PD3 and Studieprøven 

When the written exam is (well) done, it is time to prepare for the oral exam where focus is on presentation of a topic. It is important to practice the language, the presentation and pronunciation before.

The oral exam

• Make a good entrance. Take a deep breath and smile. Shake hands or say hi to both teacher and censor. That will make a good first impression and ease the atmosphere and contribute to a good exam.
• Ask questions: “Undskyld, kan du stille spørgsmålet igen?” or “vil du være sød at uddybe dit spørgsmål?”.  These are useful sentences, if you are unsure of the question and want to get it repeated or if you need a couple of seconds to rethink the answer.
• Eye contact. Keep a good eye contact with both your teacher and censor. That leaves a good impression of you being confident and present. On the other hand, if you have a flickering gaze and avoid eye contact, it makes an impression of uncertainty.
• Start with an outline of your presentation. To your teacher and censor, it shows, that you are safe in your topic, and you know, what you are doing. If you get stuck in the middle of the exam, you have a guideline to support you, and both your teacher and censor can help you too.
• Manage the conversation. If there is a topic you are uncertain of, or a question you cannot answer, it means a lot to take control of the conversation. It shows sufficient mental resources and self-confidence.

For the written and oral exam there are some common factors that applies. It is all about preparation. If you aren’t prepared you will seem more insecure and nervous. Take the control and be confident.