How to avoid making silly mistakes when writing an exam essay?

Exam stress happens to everyone. Once you turn the exam paper and see the question, you can't help but panic. Your thoughts begin unfolding rapidly, you make a simple mind map, and in a few minutes time you are already rushing through your writing. Indeed then, you allow yourself to make some silly mistakes unconsciously. The more concentrated you are on the given time frame, the more you make. In my experience as a tutor and a student, I have assessed and made some of those incongruous mistakes. Despite the splendid ideas the essay may contain, or the pretty handwriting a student may have, there is nothing worse than bad presentation. In other words, clearly distinguishing your paragraphs could earn you some extra points. It is easier said than done, mainly because you are aware you have a time limit. Consequently, you could easily just get into another sub-topic without indicating where the previous one finished. This results in a page full of text, lacking any sort of structure. One quick solution to that is to take that mind map you made before you started writing and briefly put it on paper. You only need bullet points or numbers, fast and concise. Thus, not only would you be alarmed when one part is exhausted, but also, you will vastly reduce the chance of excessively expanding it. Similarly, answering the exact essay question seems to hamper a vast number of students. Sometimes a particular topic could be quite broad. What students tend to forget is that they have one specific question they should aim to answer, supporting it with as much evidence as possible. The method of simple planning prior to writing the essay also works as a solution to this problem. Another common mistake my students tend to make a lot when rushing to finish an essay on time, is messing up the vocabulary. The simplest rule that could be applied here, is that if you have any uncertainties about the word, do not use it. Surely, you have put a lot effort in building marvellous vocabulary and you want to prove that. However, when working under pressure, bragging isn’t the best choice. Adhere to the words you understand the meaning of, and do not risk leaving the reader befuddled. In brief, those are just a few of the most common mistakes I’ve seen students make and their swift solutions that I personally have tested to be successful.