Being at the entrance door of a challenging banking exam such as IBPS PO, SBI Clerk, or RBI Grade B after months of intensive preparation can be very motivating.  It is because you know that you have mastered all the shortcuts for current affairs, attempted numerous data interpretations, and solved many reasoning puzzles. But every experienced candidate knows how much boards love surprising candidates. You click the quantitative aptitude or reasoning section, open it on your computer screen, and find yourself facing a completely different kind of question pattern, an exceptionally long puzzle, or a calculation that takes away a lot of your time.  You panic, your heartbeat goes up, and doubt enters your mind.

With proper mentoring from Bank Coaching, the aspirant would be able to remain calm, manage his/her time and also modify his/her strategy when facing a tough question paper.

Handling surprises in the exam hall: how to adapt when the paper is tough 

Read the following pointers to learn about handling surprises in the exam hall and how to adapt when the paper is tough:

The psychology of the exam hall surprise

In the face of a very challenging paper, man’s natural instinct brings about a fight-or-flight reaction. During a computer-based test, the reaction takes form as cognitive lock, whereby one stares aimlessly at a very complex set of data for three minutes without doing anything. What is dangerous about a tough paper is not only the actual difficulty level of the questions in the paper; the most dangerous thing about a tough paper is its psychological effect on aspirants. Most aspirants find themselves trapped in perfectionism and the notion that they need to get all answers right to make the cut-off.

Immediate coping mechanisms: regaining control 

In case of being shocked while sitting in an examination, a proper plan of execution should be shifted forthwith. Adopting some well-structured methods for coping with stress can help in refocusing:

• Stop and Start Again: In case you get stuck somewhere, spend ten seconds closing your eyes, breathing in deeply, and resetting your stance. Don’t allow any single tough question to decide the whole mood of your exam.

• Skipping Ruthlessly: The golden key to survival in a tough paper is learning how to skip. Any puzzle or math question that takes you over forty seconds to figure out the right way should be skipped instantly.

• Switch to Low-Hanging Fruit: Redirect your efforts towards solving those areas where you don’t have to put in much brain power, such as vocabulary questions in English or simple quadratic equations in quant.

• Manage Your Exam Expectations: Remember that the cut-off varies inversely with the difficulty level of the paper. When the paper is too difficult, then the cut-off decreases for all students. Now you have to maximise accuracy, not marks.

Strategic adaptability across sections 

In different sections, one must make a tactical change based on the problem unexpectedly. For instance, in the reasoning section, if the conventional puzzles are replaced by a non-conventional logical statement, then don't waste time trying to fit them into any conventional pattern. Rather, start fresh with the new parameters or switch to other types of questions such as inequality, syllogism, and coding-decoding. Moreover, for the Quantitative Aptitude section, in case there are difficult sets in data interpretation owing to lengthy calculations involved, immediately change to arithmetic problems or speed math.

The aspirant would be able to develop problem-solving skills, cope with examination pressure and even confidently adapt to any difficulties faced in the examination hall, due to good mentoring by SSC coaching.

Conclusion 

To win a competitive exam is not about knowing all the answers; To win a competitive exam is more often about coping with failures and surprises. Surprises during exams are common, but panicking is not necessary at all. You can make use of a hard paper by taking advantage of your flexibility and making intelligent choices rather than being too stubborn to face the situation. Stay calm and composed in case of any adversity because then you will be turning a weakness into strength.