How do I take mock tests in real exam conditions?

The closer your mock is to the exam room, the more your mock score predicts the real one. Small differences, like solving on a phone or pausing for a call, add up to a false sense of speed.

Set up

• Screen: laptop or desktop, like the exam centre. Reading a passage on a phone is a different skill.
• Rough work: plain A4 sheets and a pen. The centre provides rough sheets and collects them after the test.
• No calculator, no notes, no phone. These are not allowed in the exam.
• Quiet room and a fixed 60 minutes (Prelims) or 160 minutes (Mains) without breaks.

During the mock

1. Keep each section's timer. When it ends, move on even if you were in the middle of a puzzle.
2. Use mark for review the way you will in the exam.
3. Do not check answers during the test.

Match your exam slot

Your call letter gives the reporting time. In the last two weeks, take mocks at that time of day so that your concentration peak matches the exam.

Know the exam screen

The SBI information handout describes how the online test works: one question on screen at a time, "Save & Next" to save an answer, "Clear Response" to remove it, "Mark for Review & Next" to come back, and a question palette to move between questions within a section. It also warns not to press keyboard keys once the exam starts. Practise on an interface that works the same way.