Jack and Jill used similar quills and wrote the same answer. Jill bagged an A+, while Jack got a B. He wondered what was the discriminating factor.

How many times has this happened that you studied all you could? Expressed your knowledge in the best way possible, yet the scorecard slid into your hand it was a disappointment.

Grades are no real indicators of one’s talent and knowledge. They are mere representatives of the apparent progress of a learner at the time of evaluation. However, societal pressure has crowned it to be the supreme benchmark. So, you, the learners, your teachers and parents, all strive for good grades.

You might have watched several YouTube videos and read a handful of self-help books. They might have said good handwriting is the key. So you spent an entire summer practicing strokes. Some said to write as per marks. 2 lines (20 words) for 2-mark questions, and 10 pages for 10 marks. Use small sentences. Write in bullet points etc, etc. There was nothing you didn't try. Yet it was of no help.

Here are 3 simple ways, that will make your answer way better and your scorecards brighter

1. The ABC of what the examiner wants to see!

A. The Good Handwriting - A Myth

People often say better the handwriting, better the marks, which is a complete myth. Good handwriting which is beautiful on paper, but gives a headache when trying to read, does the complete opposite job.

A page filled with good strokes, and cursive handwriting, that one has mastered over practising the whole summer is great. But only for handwriting competitions. In reality, no examiner wants to see it. A half page with mesmerising handwriting is the most an examiner can tolerate. After that, it is just beautiful letters, dancing randomly on the sheet.

For the answer sheet, try to tone the strokes down. Too much beauty is also distracting. Keep it simple. Keep your writing clean. Give spaces between the words, leave spaces between two answers and that’s it. That’s all you need.

How to know if your answer is clean? Simple. Write two paragraphs, 10 lines each, in medium-sized letters. Then keep it on the desk. Step back, 2 feet. If it looks clean from that much distance, it’s clean.

B. Size Matters!

Fat or thin shaming are completely outdated concepts, but while writing an answer, the size of the letters does make a difference.

If letters are too small or big, the examiner will get a headache reading them. Unfortunately, we can't zoom in and out on physical answer sheets, yet.

How to know if they are the right size? Again, go back to the paragraphs you wrote. If you can read the sentence from 2 feet, it means the letters are medium-sized.

If you are typing the answers, use the most preferred style, i.e. Times New Roman, Font Size 12.

C. Treat for the Eyes

The next thing is to add diagrams and flow charts. Even if not asked. Even if the questions are for very low marks, a visual representation never hurts (even in a subject like Maths). It also draws away the monotony.

But remember not going over the top. Don't use multiple colours, as it is distracting and also time-consuming. When making a diagram, (even while writing the answer) stick to a maximum of two colours. Anything more than that is too much.

2. All that glitters isn't gold - Answers aren't puzzles 

Consider this situation. You studied a lot for the exam. Jotted some interesting facts. So your head made you plead, that you should try to somehow squeeze, whatever you read, in the answer sheet. Or worse.

When you didn't know the answer to the question, you went ahead to write whatever your mind found the nearest match.

Never do that. It might fetch you a mark or two in that very answer. But it will mess with the examiner’s head. You seem like a person who thrives on guesswork. That will decrease your score in the subsequent answers.

Don't write everything you know. Answers are not puzzles and the examiner has no interest in finding the answer from the sea of words.

To-the-point answers are the best answers. If you don't have much to write, write whatever is relevant or just skip. Better to score a zero, by skipping to write some useless information, and decreasing 1 mark each in the next 10 questions.

3. Read in between the lines

This one is near sin. But it works like magic.

Works mostly, if you know who is going to be the examiner. If your examiner, is the one who taught you, it will be the icing on the cake.

Listen very carefully to what they teach. Remember that everything can not be blatantly stated. No teacher will tell you directly that the ‘so and so’ question will come in the exam. But it will definitely be implied.

The things often emphasised during teaching, are the once they want to see on the paper. If they repeat a line twice, make sure it ends up in your answer.

Examiner is also a human, and thus a bundle of emotions. Knowing the examiner's interests, favourite author (to mimic the author’s way of writing), their political orientation and cleverly incorporating them in answers, give a personal touch. Wrap their feelings in words, trigger nostalgia and see the magic. You may think it to be an intrusion in someone’s life, but well that’s why I called it near sin.

If you do not know the teacher, don't worry. Assume that they are an adult and most adult lives have similar challenges. If you are smart enough, you will figure something out. Yes, even in subjects like Maths.

Conclusion

The art of writing answers is more of an acquired-over-time process than a fix-and-fly. It will require precision and focus. And of course, a ton of smartness. It might come off as a waste of time initially, but once you get a hang of it, it will be like a cakewalk. And answering questions shouldn't be laborious. It should be fun. Mastering the art of writing answers is way easier and fun than you perceive. Think it to be a game. Once you start enjoying the process, it will automatically upgrade. And so will your marks.

But always remember, marks are not an indicator of one’s success. 

It’s a mere mirror of what the evaluation system designed by humans thinks of you. And just like humans, their evaluation system is deeply flawed. Thus, your bad marks only show the flaws of the system you are in, not the flaws in you.

So chill and answer that question without any fear. Happy answer writing.

.    .    .