Curse the unbearable pressure of tough examinations, and double curse when there are two or more exams in a day. I mean, WHEN are we going to get the time to really prepare well for them? Forget acing them, it’s a miracle some of us remember something that is worth writing in the paper. But sadly, there are moments when we’re at complete loss of knowledge looking at our question papers.
Here are the typical things people do when they don’t know an answer to a question during an exam.
1. Play with their pen/pencil
What else can we use this for now?
2. Doodle on the question paper
It is in times like these we bring out our inner artists.
3. Pretend they’re thinking about the answer
4. Snoop around to see if they can copy from someone
Tsk tsk!
5. Sleep during the entire paper, and wake up at the last minute to write something remotely acceptable
6. Fill up the answer sheet with irrelevant things
Songs, recipes, random stories…just as long as it looks like a long answer.
7. Stare at the question paper endlessly
Secretly hoping that the question magically changes.
8. Look around the classroom to see other victims who don’t know answers
9. And then give them a sympathetic nod
Me too, bro. You’re not alone.
10. Stare at the invigilators
It’s like they can see on our faces that we don’t know anything. *shudder*
11. Mentally promise themselves that they’ll study for sure the next time
12. Drink too much water and go to the bathroom a lot
Ma’am, may I?
13. Check on their best friend to see what they’re doing
And scream internally when they see them writing their butts off while they themselves sit there doing nothing.
14. Arrange their pencil box and everything else around them
Don’t know the answers? Time to clean up desk.
15. Try to avoid eye contact with the invigilator, because they might look into their (empty) paper
16. Feel bad for the entire duration of the paper, and then walk out like nothing happened
New day, new leaf. Kal se pakka padhenge.