It’s Valentine’s Day – love your examiners!

Examiners are a much maligned breed. Along with traffic wardens, and tax inspectors, nobody seems to love them. Well it’s Valentines Day today, so how about giving them a hug?

OK, maybe not literally, but at least metaphorically. When you've struggled to learn your subject, you've revised till you're cross-eyed, and you're sat in front of that awful piece of paper and told to 'Turn over your papers', it's kind of difficult to feel much love, or even charity to the rotten beggars who created the damned thing. However, remember examiners are human (yes, really!), which means that, despite their best efforts, the odd poorly worded question will pop up. But, most exams are designed to be fair, and to give you a chance to show what you know. Examiners are teachers, who by and large, like to see people succeed, not viscous sadists out to torment you.

So, how do you show your love for examiners? Give them a chance to help you out. Follow the instructions on the paper, and answer the right number of questions. Answer the question - there's nothing more frustrating than marking a paper, where it's clear that the student knows about the subject, but you can't award marks because they haven't actually answered the question! Write reasonably legibly, so that a normal human being can read what you've written without an advanced degree in hieroglyphics. And if you're running out of time, write down keywords, phrases or diagrams to show what you know. Give your poor examiners a chance to pass you.

It's Valentine's Day - go on, hug an examiner!