2. My examining board does not provide access to past General Knowledge exams. What should I do?

If you have the time and you need the practice, then you can buy the General Knowledge exam past papers from different boards. However, do not buy more than two of these General Knowledge exam past papers because they may be a totally different format and have different General Knowledge topic requirements. The usefulness in doing a General Knowledge exam past paper, even if that General Knowledge exam paper comes from a different board, is simply to give your mind some activation of general knowledge. Also, you can put the good exam techniques that you have learnt from the book "How To Pass Exams In 28 days Or Less! The Smart Learning System" into practice. Click here.

3. I am doing the General Knowledge Exams for teachers. Is this book useful for me?

The book details the latest exam technique study skills, leading-edge learning research and technologies as well as more established techniques of NLP and overcoming limiting beliefs and using more of your mind's potential. See Home Page for fuller details about the book "How To Pass Exams In 28 days Or Less! The Smart Learning System" and why other teachers have found it beneficial. (See the testimonial section.)

4. I have to do the Theory Exam or General Knowledge Exam for my driving test. Will the book help me with the verbal aspects of the General Knowledge test?

Although the book is aimed primarily at passing written exams, it does talk about practical exams. Also, you can benefit from knowing about the memory tips and techniques section as well as having instant states like relaxation, which will help you with exam nerves. Exam anxiety and nerves are a factor for not succeeding in exams, particularly in your driving test. You will always be at a disadvantage if you are too nervous or anxious compared to someone who is relaxed and confident in passing any exams or tests, including the driving test General Knowledge Exam.

Remember, the book "How To Pass Exams In 28 days Or Less! The Smart Learning System" teaches you how to make the most of your brain and have useful life skills and not just for exam success.

The book covers many disciplines and the latest proven technologies. A multi-disciplinary approach and the latest mind tools give you a holistic system for using both sides of your brain. These two factors are also why you will not find most of these techniques being taught in schools, colleges and universities, even if they have a life success course.

It's not just a question of two brains being better than one! Your Unconscious Mind processes and controls the majority of your perceptions, your thinking and your behaviors and habits. It has a vastly superior processing capability and speed than your Conscious Mind and it holds your long-term memories in greater details than you may be consciously aware of.

Anybody who has acquired competence in a skill needs the co-operation of the Unconscious Mind to be really superior compared to someone just learning a skill consciously. With practice - and providing you do not have limiting beliefs and negative unconscious programming - then your Unconscious Mind allows you to react better and quicker than relying solely on your Conscious Mind. Ask someone skilled at driving how to do certain maneuvers and they can't tell you consciously; they have to do it first and then do it slower to be able to tell you all the steps involved.

5. I have to do the A' Level General Knowledge exam but I only have one specimen paper and I feel there is too much to know to be able to learn it all for the exam. What can I do?

The book "How To Pass Exams In 28 days Or Less! The Smart Learning System" does deal specifically with this situation and what you can do about it. Also, remember often it is about the correct exam techniques and knowing which types of questions you score well at, which will make a difference to you. The book also gives advice about the multiple-choice section of General Knowledge exams as well as essay writing tips.

6. I have to do a General Knowledge exam for university entrance. Can the book help students who are not inherently clever?

Yes, the book tells you how I turned the situation around from being a failing student to top of the year for most of my subjects. I even had one of the top marks for Pure Math Exams in my first year at University, even though that module was taken by Math degree students, Actuarial degree students amongst others. Math and English used to be my worst subjects at school! The knowledge I gained from doing my B.Sc. (Hons) Psychology degree helped me to know how to pass final exams in record revision time and I came in the top two for two of my four exam modules.

7. Isn't IQ fixed and there is nothing you can do to improve your intelligence?

This is simply not true. You can improve your scores for entrance exams, IQ tests as well as other exams like General Knowledge exams. Practice does make perfect but what is critical is to know how to use your brain smartly so that you can pass exams easily, quickly and with more fun. In addition, it is essential to have the right beliefs, mindsets and attitudes to pass exams with TOP grades.

The book "How To Pass Exams In 28 days Or Less! The Smart Learning System" has a whole chapter on mindset and beliefs. If you have not got rid of your unconscious programming and negative beliefs, then you risk self-sabotaging every goal you have to be in line with those harmful unconscious beliefs. This is why changing any habit is doomed to failure, even with strong conscious willpower, without the Unconscious Mind's help.

8. I am a mature student who has a General Knowledge exam for university entrance. My brain is not as effective as it used to be for learning and studying. Will this book help someone like me?

See question 6. Also, once I had learnt how to use more of my brain's full potential, I not only passed exams with top grades; but I was able to do so in quicker time. Studying and revision were also more fun and easy. These skills and knowledge helped me with professional exams too. See the Home Page for more details.

Later in life, I was editor of a business magazine after being an Agony Aunt/Personal Development columnist. I also had to cope with two young children. Then I became chronically ill which also affected my brain functioning. However, I recovered from taking all day to fill in a simple form back to my peak brain functioning and my health and energy recovered too. The book explains in fuller details the different things I did to recover more of my mind's full abilities, including knowing how to work through the night. If these techniques and tools can work with my massive brain "shut-down", then it can work for you.

9. How can this book be suitable for someone aged 10 to adults taking even professional exams?

I always believe in providing more information than what others may deem an average 10-year-old may be able to cope with. The reason is if you have high beliefs and expectations of others, then they will start to believe it too. Soon these beliefs will become self-fulfilling prophecies. The reason is simple. If you believe you can do something, you will attempt it. If you give yourself and/or others give you constant positive, encouraging messages, then you will continue if and when the going may become tough. Eventually, you will succeed if you have a big enough belief.

Likewise, if you believe you are a failure, you are stupid or things will always go wrong for you or others will never help you, then you will get exactly this negative prophecy becoming your reality. You may never attempt something or just attempt something half-heartedly. You may constantly see the obstacles and the problems instead of focusing on the vision of success and more importantly, why you want it.

So although the book is comprehensive and practical, it is a book about how to use your brain more effectively and not just for how to pass exams. Therefore, it is aimed at those people who want more from themselves and their abilities. Even if it takes longer to read and digest the material for an average 10 year-old, it is worth it because you are opening your mind to all that is possible rather than limitations. Also, if you want to win scholarship exams for 11 plus exams, then this book will give you the major advantage in preparing your brain to cope with more and to achieve more.

10. I was told the 11 plus entrance exams test true ability rather than knowledge, or even general knowledge, and therefore, there is no point trying to do anything extra. Is this true?

Whilst the exams do test certain abilities like Mathematical ability, Verbal reasoning. Non-verbal reasoning like spatial abilities and sometimes essay writing abilities, these are all skills which can be improved. It has been known for quite some time that you can improve your IQ tests simply by familiarizing yourself with the types of questions asked and the types of answers required. Obviously, the longer you have to practice these types of skills, the better your exam performance. You will also find you are quicker at doing these types of questions because once you know what an examiner is looking for, then you know what to consider first as your answer. You will also know why an answer is wrong and so you can eliminate it quickly.

11. I have to do a General Knowledge exam as part of my job's promotion procedure. There is no sample paper given to us. What is the best thing for me to do?

If your General Knowledge exam is specifically job-related, then you can ask what areas they will be testing. For instance, will it involve English, mathematical abilities and/or job related skills like "how would you handle an irate customer?" If your job involves practical, hands-on skills, then you may be tested on your spatial abilities. Remember, exam techniques and being confident instead of nervous, anxious or fearful, always help you to recall information better and to deal with problem-solving. There are ways to practice or improve your mental abilities without actually needing even a sample paper. The book "How To Pass Exams In 28 days Or Less! The Smart Learning System" supports the idea that a better functioning brain with more knowledge, skills and abilities will always be able to cope with new situations including no sample papers.

12. I have heard that IQ tests and General Knowledge exams may be biased towards males. So will making my girl learn the male-orientated skills like spatial ability be a bad thing or cause her to think in male ways?

Yes, the traditional IQ tests may have a stronger bias in favor of boys, as usually a male type brain can read maps and have greater spatial abilities than female-type brains. Likewise, the Verbal reasoning section favors girls better than boys, unless they have female-type abilities like these. However, girls may traditionally have scored lower in Math because male Math teachers in the past may have taught it in a way more suitable for boys like a competitive situation rather than co-operatively working together and discussing why an answer may be wrong or right. Girls prefer the latter scenario as it uses their strong verbal abilities to really learn something.

However, there is nothing wrong or harmful in all of us discovering and increasing our brain's abilities and skills, regardless of gender. Doing so will not make us more male-like if we are females and vice versa. The latest research shows that the more different parts of the brain are activated and used, the better. We will have greater problem-solving abilities, creativity, social skills as well as a higher intelligence and memory.

I used to be very poor at Math, English and spatial abilities. Now I recently took an IQ test where it said I have a very high spatial ability and that is the type of job I should do. However, I used to find spatial questions to be very difficult and worse than the Math and English sections! I have only trained my brain to think spatially and I know I am stronger with verbal skills naturally in the real world. Although I can do Math like Pure Math and Statistical Math even at degree level, I have done this through my constant questioning and sometimes coming up with my own rules. Thus, my preference and liking is verbal skills jobs rather than more male-orientated jobs involving spatial abilities, Mechanical or Applied Math. Thus, do not use any excuse as to why you think you may not do so well in the General Knowledge Exams, IQ tests or other exams and tests. You just have to know how to improve your brain and your mental abilities and skills. In addition, use proven tools and study and exam techniques as mentioned in the Home Page. You will find more details and other smart study techniques and mind tools in the book "How To Pass Exams In 28 days Or Less! The Smart Learning System".

No. Remember The Smart Learning System is a multi-disciplinary approach using the latest brain research and proven learning tools. Some knowledge has been applied in a unique way which makes The Smart Learning System different and more effective. The Smart Learning System also has wider application for life success and not just exam success! The sooner you find out about the mind techniques for yourself, the more time you have to develop your skills and improve your brain to give you a great advantage in life.