Whenever you or your child work with a tutor, the question can come to mind: "Is this really working?" There are only a few individuals in the equation who can answer the question, and they are those who are immediately affected by the tutoring.

While there is no simple formula to determine whether tutoring was 100% successful (because the goals associated with tutoring can often vary) there are a few simple guidelines that you can look at to see if it may be effective. Let's look at what they are ...

Grades Are Improving

Whether you or your child is the person receiving the tutoring, a good indicator of whether it is working or not is grades. For instance, if your child started the tutoring experience as a C student and now has received multiple Bs and even As on assignments and tests, this is a great sign that tutoring is working. This is especially true for students who did not seek tutoring to improve their grades. For those who simply wanted to maintain their level of understanding, or gain greater insight without the request of an improved grade, this side effect is proof that tutoring is making a difference.

Feeling More Confident as a Student

Another great indicator that tutoring may be working out well is the feeling that you are a better student. In the case of your child being tutored, you may see a decline in anxiety in relation to test taking, giving reports, or completing other major projects that once created a high level of stress. In your own experiences with a tutor, you may recognize some of these same feelings in yourself. For instance, if you always had a fear of participating in a classroom discussion due to a lack of confidence in the specific subject area, you may notice that this fear has slowly reduced. Or you may feel more comfortable communicating with your instructor regarding specific issues in class that maybe you were once too afraid to discuss out of fear that your instructor would think the material was over your head. At some point, of course, it may have been. So a good way to tell that tutoring is working is the fact that the material is now on your level.

Looking Forward to More Tutoring

Probably the greatest sign that tutoring is working is the fact that the student is excited about more tutoring. It may be that you want to connect with the tutor to tell about improvement in class or a test that was passed. Or you may simply want to learn more. Whatever the reason, if the student is eagerly awaiting the next tutoring session, there is a great chance the tutoring is working out well. The tutoring experience is one that many students overlook out of embarrassment or denial that they need assistance. However, if you truly take the initiative to ask for this level of help when you need it, you will likely receive the benefit of knowing it's working by the improvements you see in your schoolwork.



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Making time to revise before exams and important essays during university can become a stressful situation if not done right. And when students don't get the time they need, this can add to the mounting pressure.

However, there are some ways to undertake last minute university revision effectively. For one, making a revision plan is sure to ease some of the stress of studying on short notice. Think through each subject that you'll have to study and make a list of how they should be balanced. Also, it can be a good idea to write out what topics you'll need to cover.

From there, create a timetable and stick to it! You'll find that using a timetable will help you study quicker and more efficiently, as you won't be worrying about other tasks ahead of you. Set a routine for yourself and stick to it, and you'll find your revision could go smoother than you expect.

When you're revising, be sure to take notes as you go along. This can help you remember important dates, events and formulas that you'll need to know later. It will also help you concentrate and remember key points. As well, make sure to answer your own questions as you go along. Generate your ideas and look up answers, and you'll be more likely to remember the answers later on.

Sometimes there's no way around it: if you're going to be taking an important exam or test, you're going to have to memorise material. This can seem daunting for many people, but there are ways to make memorisation easier.

When you're memorising, be sure to review your notes over a few separate occasions instead of all in one go. Before you turn a page, try and predict the material that you expect to read next. In some cases it can be helpful to use word association to help trigger your mind - whether that's through letters or rhyming.

In most cases, planning to cram when you study is never a good idea, but it is sometimes necessary in order to get all your work done on time. If you can't start revising weeks in advance, which is ideal, be sure to study on short notice with smart techniques.

There are also many resources which can help you study up in time for those important moments in your university career. Seek advice from college advisers and be sure to head to the library for all the information you might need. In fact, books are an excellent resource when it comes to finding the information you need quickly.

As you can see, whether you're researching poetry online or reading up in medical books, there are ways to revise at the last minute that won't leave you sweating your next exam.



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As you well know, there are 200 multiple choice questions in the PMP exam. With just four hours allotted to the exam proper, you basically only have a little over a minute to answer each question.

This can be very stressful especially when you consider that in the PMP exam, a question left unanswered is deducted from your total points whereas you will not be penalized for wrong answers! Here then are tips to help you maximize correct answers and minimize penalties for unanswered questions.

Read and Understand the Question

Before reading the alternatives, thoroughly read and understand the question. Otherwise, you will be initially confused by the alternatives, which can only add to your stress. Instead, look for key words in the question that will lead you to the right answer (i.e., principal, major, primary, best, nearest, incorrect).

Refer to Your Stored Knowledge

Quickly, you have to refer to the information you have learned during the course of your PMP exam review. You can call to mind texts, notes, diagrams and headings that can answer the question. If necessary, refer to the formulas that you can write on the piece of scrap paper provided by the examiner for that purpose. This way, you will not conduct a mental ping-pong about the applicable concept.

Anticipate the Correct Answer

Of course, this is not applicable to all situations. However, when you can anticipate the correct answer even before you have analyzed the alternatives, you are less apt to be confused by an incorrect alternative. Also, multiple choice questions can be very straightforward so don't dismiss the most obvious answer just because it is too, well, obvious.

Nevertheless, before answering the question, always analyze the other alternatives just in case these, too, have valid points. Again, refer to the key words especially when two of the four alternatives appear to be the correct answer.

Skip the Hard Parts and Return Later

Don't dawdle in one question just because you are determined to answer it, come what may. You have to remember that you only have 74 seconds to answer each question and wasting more time on one can cost you your PMP exam passing rate.

Instead, go to the next question and answer that one first. This way, you are in a better position to pass the certification exam with more correct answers than unanswered questions.

When you are finished with the relatively easy questions, go back to the unanswered ones. You can guess, if you want to. This is because you will be taking a 50-50% chance that you can get the right answer! And did we mention that you are not penalized for wrong answers?

Refresh and Review

As anyone who has taken the PMP exam can tell you, it can be mentally and physically exhausting answering 200 questions without a break of some sort. Thus, you have to refresh yourself at regular intervals. This can take the form of taking a few deep breaths and stretching your body for a few seconds to keep the oxygen flowing more freely and to kick out the kinks, respectively.

If you still have time, you can review your answers. After all, it does pay to be careful in exams like this one!

Admittedly, you can retake the PMP exam if you don't pass it the first time around. However, who needs to retake when you can do it one burst of glory?


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