# Post-Exam Reflection Questions

> Post-Exam Reflection Questions

- Canonical: https://neurohackingly.com/post-exam-reflection-questions/
- Published: 2022-12-31
- Updated: 2023-10-24
- Author: Lukas Zangerl
- Tags: study-techniques, life-design

A few days ago, I asked **6 top performing students** one simple question:

“_Which reflection questions do you ask yourself after an exam?”_

What I ended up walking away with was a notepad full of notes and 8 profound questions everyone (from high-school students to Ph.D. students should ask themselves after having taken an exam.)

## Post-Exam Reflection Questions Top Performing Students ask themselves

## 🔬 Question #1: Focus on the right topics to study

What topics did the teacher emphasize on? Did he ask questions on the topics he said he would?

## 🤢 Question #2: Unexpected questions that came up

What unexpected things/topics/questions came up? How can I anticipate this in the future?

## 🗻 Question #3: Laying the foundation to start next time

What are the first 3 steps I will take next time (when studying for a similar subject or a subject with the same teacher)?

## 🥰 Question #4: What I did well is as important as what didn't

What did I do well in preparing for the exam? What will I continue doing?

## 📊 Question #5: The Pareto Principle: Minimum investment with the maximum outcome.

What has been the 20% investment that yielded 80% of the result? What can I eliminate next time?

## 📚 Question #6: Material to bring to the exam.

Could my preparation for writing the exam have been improved? E.g., print out a summary, bring more pencils, and have a better internet connection.

## 🧠 Question #7: Mindset and how to give answers to questions.

Should I focus more on answering questions by feeling next time? Or write more memorized answers? Keep my answers shorter?

## 🚩 Question #8: Look at how the teacher grades and gives points.

How did the teacher evaluate me? What did she pay special attention to?

**The next time you take a test with the same teacher or for a similar subject, you already know what to focus on. This saves a lot of energy and time.**

![Exam reflection worksheet with questions and answers](../../assets/content-images/post-exam-reflection-questions/image-25.png)

https://www.stonehenge.wilts.sch.uk/uploads/Exam-reflection\_002.pdf

Look at the [studying section](/studying/) for more powerful questions when studying for an exam.

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