TIPS FOR A BETTER PAPER PRESENTATION

Imagine you are reading an article.

The font is distorted, the spacing isn't accurate, the structure of the article is vague, no introduction etc.

Would you be interested to read such an article?

The answer would be a clear NO!

Presentation of any written material is a must as it caters the readers interest and will. 

Similarly a neat answer sheet would impress the examiner as a result the teacher might end up giving better marks than he/she rather would. Students study diligently for the examination, but end up attempting the paper shabbily. This sometimes downgrades the impact of the answer. In all the preparations and studies a very little attention is given towards presentation. A teacher has a bundle of approximate 100 answer sheets to check. These answer sheets contain similar content i.e answers. Checking even a dozen can make a human feel bored and exhausted. But something that can make your answer sheet stand out amongst the others and catch the eye of the examiner is a neat and tidy paper presentation.

Following are some points that may help make a good impression on the examiner with your paper presentation skills.

1. Margins : Drawing margins helps the answer sheet look neat and tidy. Besides it refrains damage to the written content even if the sides of paper gets a cut or is torn.
2. Handwriting : Having a beautiful handwriting will never fail to impress the examiner. Even if you do not feel confident about your handwriting, make sure it looks neat, well spaced and readable.
3. Striking off : Making mistakes must be avoided. If you undo a misspelled word or an incorrect sentence do not scribble instead just strike it off as shown in the picture below. This will make the mistake less spottable and your answers would still look neat.
4. Objective questions : Answers to the Objective questions must be underlined. A line must be left after each question.
5. Question number : Writing the correct question number is of utmost importance. A wrongly written question number shall lead to the answer being considered as incorrect. Which means no marks shall be given for that question.
6. Use bullet points : While writing a long answer, make sure to write it point wise. Doing this will make your answer look presentable and will enable the examiner to check with an ease.
7. Structure of the Answer : An answer must broadly have a basic introduction about the topic on which the question is asked. The body of answer must encompass the reasoning/answer and in the end it must have a concluding line.
8. Inclusion of examples : Include examples in the answer wherever possible. Doing so will add value to your answers.
9. Diagrams : Diagrams should be only drawn in pencil. It should be well labeled. Do not forget to write the name of the diagram below and put the diagram in a box.
10. Highlighting : Important headings, points etc must be well highlighted.
11. Underlining : Underlining Important words would fetch the attention of the examiner. You must only underline the words/points you are confident about.
12. Put the final answer/chemical reaction in a box : When you solve a mathematical problem or a chemical reaction always put it in a box. This makes it easy for the examiner to check the paper.
13. Rough work : Rough work must always be done on the last page of the answer sheet. Do not scribble anything where your main answer is written as doing this will make the paper untidy and leave a bad impression.
14. No blank pages : Avoid leaving any blank pages. This gives an impression thAt either the answer is incomplete or a question has been missed. Always start writing with the questions you are confident about. The tough ones can be attempted in the end.
15. Final check : It is important to check your answer sheet once you are done with it. You must check all the questions attempted, its question numbers, diagrams, formulas etc.

Follow the above mentioned exam paper presentation tips and make a remarkable impression on the examiner with not just your knowledge but also with your presentation.

Gain those extra marks for a good presentation.

All the best!