7 Common Mistakes Students Make in Board Exams (A Teacher’s Advice)

Every year, after the results come out, the same conversation happens in staffrooms. A student who clearly understood the subject ends up with marks that don’t match. Look closely at the answer sheet, and it’s rarely a lack of knowledge. It’s the small, avoidable things: a question read too fast, a diagram left out, the last five questions rushed in the final ten minutes.

The good news is that these mistakes can be fixed in the weeks before the exam. None of them needs extra tuition or another guidebook. They need a little awareness and some practice.

Here are seven of the most common ones, and what to do about each.

1. Wasting the reading time

CBSE gives students 15 minutes before the exam to read the question paper. This has been part of the system since 2005, specifically so students can read and understand the paper before writing. Many state boards give similar reading time. Check what your board allows.

Too many students spend those 15 minutes nervously flipping pages, or reading only the first section. That time is valuable. Use it to:

• read every question once, including the internal choices;
• mark the questions you’re confident about;
• decide which option you’ll pick where there’s a choice;
• notice the key instruction words, such as explain, list, compare, define and justify.

That last point matters more than it seems. “List three causes” and “Explain three causes” need very different answers. Students lose marks every year by writing a short list where an explanation was expected, or a long paragraph where a list would have earned full marks in half the time.

2. Getting stuck on one question

It happens to almost everyone. You reach a question you half know, and you keep at it, sure the answer is about to come back. Ten minutes later, you’ve written six lines and lost time you needed for questions you could have answered easily.

A board paper is a time-management exercise as much as a knowledge test. A simple rule helps: if a question isn’t coming to you within a minute or two, leave enough space, put a small mark in the margin and move on. Come back to it at the end. Often the answer comes back to you while you’re writing something else.

It also helps to roughly plan your time by marks. If a 3-hour paper carries 80 marks, you have a little over two minutes per mark, with time left to check. A 2-mark question shouldn’t take ten minutes.

3. Writing too much (or too little) for the marks

The marks shown against a question tell you roughly how long the answer should be. A one-mark question needs a word or a line; a five-mark question needs a longer answer with several points.

Students often get this the wrong way round. Some write a whole page for a two-mark question because they know the topic well, and then rush through the five-mark questions at the end of the paper. Others write just two lines for a five-mark question and can’t understand why they received only 2 marks.

Practise answering within the marks. For longer answers, a short introduction, several points, usually numbered or underlined, and a single-line conclusion will easily show the examiner everything they need to see.

4. Ignoring the textbook and past papers

Guide books, summaries on YouTube and coaching material can help your preparation. However, CBSE board examinations are based on the syllabus and NCERT books, and state boards follow their own prescribed textbooks. Students who skip the textbook usually miss the precise definitions, terminology and examples that board examinations use.

It is just as important to solve sample papers and previous years’ question papers, along with the marking schemes released by CBSE and several other boards. This will help you get familiar with the format of the paper, the types of questions that usually repeat, and how to earn those marks.

5. Poor presentation

Examiners have to check many answer sheets in a limited time. An answer that is properly arranged is easier to mark and often scores better. If an answer sheet is messy, examiners find it difficult to give marks, and some marks may be lost.

Simple habits that help:

• Use numbering that matches the question paper for both main parts and sub-parts of each question.
• Wherever relevant, draw diagrams in science and geography. Use a pencil and label them correctly. Sometimes part of the marks is only for the diagram.
• In maths, show all the working steps. Marking schemes usually give marks for correct steps even if the final answer is wrong.
• Write units in physics and chemistry answers, as missing them means losing marks.
• Use underlining in moderation to help examiners spot your important points.
• Leave a gap between answers, especially after long answers.

It doesn’t matter if your handwriting is not great, as long as someone else can read it easily.

6. Leaving questions blank

In general, there is no negative marking in board examinations in India. The mark for an empty answer is zero. Any attempt can fetch some marks.

Even if you do not fully know the answer, write whatever you can. It could be a definition, an equation, the first steps of a solution or a labelled diagram. Because of step marking, this can earn some marks. Students are often surprised at how many marks an incomplete answer can get.

Nevertheless, do not fill the sheet with irrelevant matter. Write only what is related to the question asked.

7. Cramming late and skipping sleep

Many students try to cram everything after midnight on the eve of their board exam. Then they enter the examination hall tired, worried and unable to remember things they knew perfectly well just a week earlier.

Studying in small sessions over several weeks works better than one long session the night before. On the last night, revise your notes and formulas; don’t start a new topic. And go to bed on time, because a fresh mind recalls information much better than a tired one.

On the day of your exam, eat something light and reach the examination centre early. Pack your admit card, pens, pencil, eraser, scale and geometry box the night before.

Keep a few minutes to check

This deserves its own note because it’s linked to so many mistakes above. Try to finish writing with 10 to 15 minutes left. Use that time to:

• check that every question is attempted and correctly numbered;
• complete any answers you marked to come back to;
• look for small errors, such as missing units, calculation slips and unlabelled diagrams.

Many students lose marks not because they didn’t know the answer but because they never got the chance to look over what they wrote.

A note for Class 10 CBSE students

From 2026, CBSE has moved to two board exams for Class 10. The first exam, held in February, is compulsory. The second, held in May, is optional and allows students to improve their performance in up to three subjects, including science, mathematics, social science and languages.

This is a helpful safety net, but it isn’t a reason to take the first exam lightly. Prepare for February as if it were your only chance. The second exam is there for a bad day, not as a plan.

When stress gets heavy

Some exam-related anxiety is natural. But if it is affecting your sleep, appetite or studies, please talk to your parents, a teacher you trust or a school counsellor.

CBSE offers free psycho-social counselling to students before board exams. In 2026, it ran from January to June through a toll-free helpline, 1800-11-8004, with recorded guidance available round the clock and trained counsellors on call from Monday to Friday, 9:30 am to 5:30 pm. Check the CBSE website for the dates each year. Students of any board can also call Tele-MANAS (14416), the Government of India’s free, 24-hour mental health helpline.

Scores do matter, but one test does not decide everything.

Conclusion

Many marks are lost through avoidable errors rather than a lack of understanding of the subject. Make use of the reading time, manage your time according to the marks, match each answer to the question, study from the textbook and previous years’ papers, present your answers neatly, attempt every question, and sleep well. Practise these habits with a few mock tests before the exam.