7 Methods Used to Cheat in Exams

We are the people on the internet. Our job: provide information to all who access the internet. How that information is used depends entirely on the user.

If you are a student, the use of these means to cheat is entirely up to you. If you are an invigilator, you may be happy to be aware of these methods that students use to cheat in their exams. Also, why are you reading this blog, don't you have exam papers to make, or correct?

Now that that is out of the way. Here are seven methods used to cheat in exams.

1. The Synthesis

Risk:                ★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆

Usefulness:      ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆

Materials needed: Pencil, a good memory.

Here is the situation; do you have an exam, say Maths or Chemistry, on Friday?
Do you have easier exams such as English or IT from Monday to Thursday?

This is what you can do.

In the four earlier examinations (Monday to Thursday), you take some notes for the test on Friday. These can be formulae, methods, processes and all the technical stuff that is expected to be used on that exam. How you take that is up to you. Perhaps you are already using one of the other six methods from Monday through Thursday. Perhaps you are memorizing bits of information at a time. Anyway, the result is that you write down what you have taken for the Friday test on the table in the exam hall. That way, bit by bit, you have a somewhat large amount of information assembled for the Friday test over the four days. All you have to do is refer to the notes written atop your desk when the time comes.

The invigilator: Look for students who are writing on desks. Even if you cannot notice any, check their desks after the day's exams are over. Pencil marks can be difficult to see - but even scribbles which look random may be "useful" to the examinees.

2. The Extra Sheet

Risk:                ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Usefulness:      ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Materials needed: Papers which are same as the ones used for the examination.

For this, you prepare an answer sheet that looks exactly like the ones that the invigilators are handing out. You will have to take that paper into the hall. The only difference is that in your papers (which looks exactly like the one that is used in the exams), you will write down the notes that are related to the exams.

You can also do that with the question paper, as long as you can print out the paper to look similar to the question papers.

“But wait! Isn't taking personal sheets in the hall very risky?”, you say.

Yes, indeed. To avoid that risk, you are going to have to take a small stapler into the hall as well. Use the stapler to attach your cheat notes into the papers you receive from the examiners. That way even if the invigilators check, they may end up missing your cheats.
Just don't forget to remove your cheat notes before leaving the exam hall.

Unless the examiner also read my blog, in which case, sorry – eh.

The invigilator: Look for multiple stapler holes in the answer sheets and question papers. Normally, there should only be one uniform staple in the answer sheet/question paper bundle. Also, the answer bundles of people who are attaching extra sheets to their bundle will be heavier.
Additionally, sign any official extra papers which are handed out to the examinees. Don't let people bring staplers into the hall.

3. The Classic Smartphone

Risk:                ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Usefulness:      ★★★★★★★★★☆

Materials needed: A smartphone.

In this method, you simply take your smartphone into the hall. When the examiners ask you to keep your cell phone outside or hand it to them, you - in a surprise twist - don't.

Make sure that you have all the notes for that exam ready to be referred, and you have some cellular data in case you need to summon the demonic powers of 'Google'. Additionally, you must also make a bunch of shortcuts to the notes in the smartphone on the home screen. Remove the password and dull the brightness also.

This is a high risk, high reward type of method. I see people using this technique to reap high benefits, but the opposite is also true. If you get caught with a cell phone in the hall, there will be grim consequences.

The invigilator: Is someone bending a little bit into their answer sheets - a little bit more than usual? Is someone looking under the table?
Yup. Probably a smartphone user.

4. The Coda.

Risk:                ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Usefulness:      ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Materials needed: Pencil

Make up a code. A code is a secret set of letters which correspond to a character of the English alphabet. When you get the time or opportunity, you will write down all the information necessary for your exam on the table, on the walls, on the chair of the person in front of you, and even on the whiteboard. As long as it is a code that only you understand and no one else, it shouldn't be an issue.


The invigilator: Just don't let people write/scribble anywhere that is not their answer sheet. Clean up whiteboards, and try to have the exam hall fitted with clean, clear tables and desks. This has to be done before letting the examinees into the hall.

5. Exchange papers with the person next to you.

Risk:                ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Usefulness: Only as much as the person next to you knows/is willing to share.
Materials needed: Friends

For this to work, you will need to socialize.
First, find out who the person is in the class who is seated adjacent to you, in the exam hall. And, you will also need to talk to the person sitting directly to your left and/or right. All this has to be done prior to the examination and you have to explain to them about changing papers, during the examination!

This is risky not only to you but also to the people who are involved. But the benefit is that you will be able to exchange information amongst yourselves. 

The invigilators: Did you hear a flipping sound? A paper flipping sound? This sound is not like one student looking at various pages in a question paper. No. This sound is somewhat louder. The reason why you have to pay attention to the sound is that paper exchanges do not happen in front of you. The safest time for a paper exchange to happen is right after you have looked at one student and then,  you turn your back to that student to scan the other students.
The second most common time for this to happen is when you step out of the hall. So, maybe get a colleague to keep an eye on the hall while you attend other matters?

6. Leaking the exams

Risk:                ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Usefulness:      ★★★★★★★★☆☆

Materials needed: Thumb drive

There is no easy way to explain this. You will have to find a way to have a peek at the examination papers before actually attending the exam. Some means are:

a. Getting an extra physical copy of the exam paper, preferably from the exam hall where it is printed.

b. Logging into the examiner's personal computer and downloading a softcopy of the exam paper.

c. Entering a dustbin - if you are lucky - you may find some exam papers there too.

d. Paying an invigilator to leak the paper for you.

The invigilators: Don't leak the exams.

7. The After Exam Switch

Risk:                ★★★★★★★★★★★

Usefulness:      ★★★★★★★★☆☆
Materials needed: Sheets identical to the ones used in the examination.

So, you have completed writing your exam papers. Good job. Did you complete writing your exams before a majority of your friends did? Even better. Now, as anyone who finished writing early knows, the people who finish writing first are A. those intelligent, confident brainiacs and B. people who didn't know much of what was on the examinations, in this case, you.
Now, you will have to discuss the test answers with those confident, smart people. Take out your extra sheet and write down the answers in the same way as you would in the actual exams. You will have to write down everything exactly to make it look authentic. 

Now, the easy part is over.

Next, you will have to intercept the entire bundle of answer sheets out of the hall. Maybe you even go back into the hall unnoticed. Maybe you follow the invigilator back to the office where the papers are kept. When the opportunity arises, you will put the new answer sheet into the bundle AND simultaneously remove the old answer sheet (the one you submitted in the hall).

"But wait! Writing down the entire answer sheet again? In a matter of minutes after exiting the exam hall? That is impossible!", you say.

This is where the hidden Eighth Method comes into play.

8. The Frankensteining

 Risk:               ★★★★★★★★★★★

Usefulness:      ★★★★★★★★★☆

Previously, you wrote down the answers to the exam questions. You have to replace the old answer sheet with the new answer sheet.
This method involves using both parts of the answer sheet. After exiting the hall, you must write down the answers to the objective type questions such as MCQ, True and False.
When you get around to performing the switch, you will keep the old essay type answers and remove the objective type questions from the old sheet. Then, you will replace the old objective type answers with the new, correct objective type answers.

Peaceful Sparta is busy dodging his lecturers and teachers. This is his Facebook. Go say "Hi!".