Step one: Never take an exam for the benefit or esteem of any one except yourself. You should be taking exams so that you can progress in your metier or to make some money to be independent. Either way you do not have to please anyone except you. Never take exams to impress anyone except yourself.
Step two: Work hard to do as well as you are capable in a sensible and straightforward way. Ask your teachers if you do not understand something, if you do not understand their answers ask someone else, badger people so you understand the salient points and terminology of what you are studying. sometimes it is just a matter of learning the meanings of the terms and words used.
Step three: Try and understand the point of view and thoughts of the setters of the exams and the markers, what is in their minds, look at old exam papers, see if you can solve them, get into their mind sets and fashions.
Step four: Know your stuff! If you neither know it nor understand it then you deserve to fail! No worry! That's how it should be, it is no good getting promoted beyond your ability.
Step five: If you find it difficult to learn something one way try another. Brains vary as to how they understand things and remember them, some people remember best in an auditory way, others in a visual way and others in a practical way etc. The last group have to actually do things and experience them in order to learn. Some people find it easy to learn things by rote others find this impossible [Charles Darwin was one of these!]
Step six: Never blame yourself!!!!!! Blame your teachers, your parents, your grandparents, your fellow trouble making students leading you astray, the circumstances of your life making it difficult to study, the lack of praise you have received from whoever but never ever yourself. Blame the examiner, if appropriate, for setting the wrong paper or failing to see what an excellent candidate you really are [or were!], it is his job to discover you not to find fault. That is not a joke, I mean it. Blaming yourself just leads to a negative and pointless spiral of helplessness, no purpose is being served by being there.
