1. The most obvious thing to do in the exam is to Read The Question Carefully (RTFQ!)

I once trained a group of police officers for three weeks on a Crammer Course where every day started with an exam. On the final mock exam one of them still read a question wrongly. It is an easy mistake to make, especially when you're under pressure, - but it is not a good thing to do. Make sure you take your time to read the question carefully.

2. Read the last line of the question first

That way you are reading the question the way the question writer was thinking. Sometimes you can read the question right to the end and the writer springs a surprise and you have to read it all over again. So, start by reading the question and you will know how to answer the question when you get to the end.

3. Try to work out your answer without checking the options

Cover the answer options before you read the question. Work out what you think is the correct answer, and then look for it. If you find the answer you were hoping for once you look at the answer options then that is a good indicator that you are right. If not then you will need to think again.

4. If you don't know the answer

You might want to think about guessing, but only if you really do not have a clue. If you do then you could guess either B or C - statistically they appear more often than A or D.

If you decide to leave the answer until later mark your answer sheet so you can come back to the right place. If you don't, I have known people who have forgotten they missed a question, and have then carried on marking the answer sheet from where they left off. That meant the whole answer sheet was one question adrift, and consequently wrong all the way down. Not very helpful.

5. Be clear about which answer you are indicating

Your answer sheet is marked by a computer which reads the pencil marks you leave on your paper. If you change your mind and alter an answer, make sure you remove all trace of your previous answer. If not the computer will not be able to make its mind up and may select the wrong choice. Thankfully it is more likely that the answer sheet will be rejected by the reader, and will have to be marked by hand.

I marked an exam once where one candidate changed their mind so many times they marked three of the four answer options in 75% of the questions. They then crossed out most of the answers indicated and then just to be sure the examiner knew which answer they had selected, they wrote the answer letter in the margin of the answer paper.

6. Plan Carefully

You have to answer 150 questions in 3 hours, that is 1 minute 12 seconds per question. You need to have answered 50 questions at the end of each hour. What are you going to do if at the end of the first hour you have only answered 30? If you carry on at that speed you will be 60 questions short at the end. It is important that you practice answering questions so you can do 150 in 3 hours. There are a number of websites where you can practice the exam on line (see the OSPRE Assistance page). These practice exams are marked on-line and you get an instant score, plus the opportunity to review each question to see how you did.

Several external companies now run full 150 question exam written by trained OSPRE question writers. These are held throughout England and Wales and are taken under exam conditions and then marked on the spot. You will often leave these sessions with a score and a study guide for the last month's study of areas you still need to focus on.

If you do get to the end of the time without answering all the questions one of the great exam sins is to leave questions unanswered. If you select answer option B for all the outstanding questions you at the very worst have a one in four chance of getting a mark. If you leave it blank you are assured of no marks at all. If you have to do that do my advice is not to spread your answers across the range of options. I would pick one letter and stick to it. That way you should hit one or two correct answers.

This is not to be recommended unless you really do run out of time and you have a number of questions still to be answered.

7. Be Prepared

Being properly prepared is about making sure you have everything you need for the day; documentation supplied to you, pencils erasers, bottle of water etc.

You may find to that you need to use the toilet during the exam, if so, that is very valuable time you are not using to answer questions. However when you get back, do not be tempted to rush at a few questions to catch up. That is how you will misread the questions and get things wrong.

Clearly it would be advantageous not to need to use the toilet at all, so don't drink too much of that water you have taken in with you.

8. Think Carefully Before You Change Your Mind

Over the years, I have marked a lot of exams, and it never ceases to surprise me the number of times I see the correct answer changed to an incorrect one. If you are going to change an answer make sure you are 100% sure you are changing the wrong answer to the right one. Otherwise leave well alone, that first instinct is often the right one.