by Aliza Samorly
Aliza is an experienced tutor, former university lecturer and head of Psychology, as well as the Developer of the SAFE Method (Structural Analytical Framework for Excellence) for the empowerment of cognitive-analytical skills, detail of which she shares here.
Posted May 2025
This blog post will talk you through the process of analytical structuring and how it can help you in your understanding and management of anxiety, something faced by many students in the exam hall.
The anxiety experienced before and during exams is almost always a symptom, a manifestation of something else. Consequently, no amount of revision or motivational conversations can neutralise the build-up of stress.
A useful definition of stress is, as A-level psychology students know, the gap between perceived demands and perceived abilities to cope and deal with these demands.
Stress and anxiety come about not necessarily when we feel overwhelmed by the scope of demands or tasks we are facing, but when we feel we cannot quite control, successfully address and deliver on what is required by these demands; that we might not have the abilities and resources to successfully meet these demands.
Anxiety and stress do not necessarily emanate from the demands, challenges, or tasks, but from the gap between these demands and the ability to cope with them. This ability is predicated upon many factors, particularly the following:
1. Demands:
Some demands are more taxing than others, and they can also multiply in conjunction with each other. However, the burden of the demands differs between individuals, and for the same person, it may differ at various points in time. People have different resources, abilities, and priorities, which partly explain how they can cope with specific demands. Hence the distinction between a stress level that supports optimal functioning versus a stress level that undermines functioning. For one person a specific demand can be easy and ‘undemanding’, whereas for another the same task can feel extremely threatening.
2. Abilities:
Secondly, it is also self-evident that for any person, not only do demands keep changing, but the abilities to cope with these demands are changing too, even while dealing with them. Therefore, the prospects of stress and anxiety generated by juggling demands can vary considerably from one person to another, and for the same person, depending on the abilities to cope with the demands at any given time.
“If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences” (Thomas theorem)
A crucial element in the definition of stress is ‘perceived’ demands, and how the individual ‘perceives’ their ability to deal with these demands. These perceptions can be entirely subjective. Nevertheless, the mechanism of stress works precisely the same way:
I perceive the demand and I perceive the ability. I perceive and feel the gap, therefore I experience the resulting stress. Whether I am ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ about any of this is irrelevant in practice. The effects are overwhelmingly generated by the perception, not by the ‘reality’ of the matrix regarding demands versus abilities. Paraphrasing on Descartes’s Cogito Ergo Sum – I think therefore I am, we can say, I perceive a gap, therefore I am stressed….. the gap can be imaginary or genuine, but if it is perceived as genuine, it will almost inevitably generate stress and anxiety.
A perception, even if ‘unreal’ or ‘unjustified’, can generate ‘real’ consequences that are based on the skewed perception itself. It is a deeply rooted psychological process.
Two lessons students can learn from this understanding of stress are:
The next challenge is how to close this gap (which we are identifying as accurately as possible), using methods that effectively ‘close’ or ‘minimise’ the gap, rather than perpetuate it.
This is where analytical structuring comes into play.
Many students during revision feel uneasy because they are vaguely aware that their study methods are not effective. They are usually completely accurate about this, because they do understand that they are not in control of the process they are engaged in.
Obviously, students cannot change the nature of exams, they are a given, but they can control the revision process.
Therefore, there is only one relevant question in front of you: how best to revise in ways that empower your ability and therefore minimise the impact of emotions involved?
Study and revision that is not predicated on analytical structuring will work against the closing of the gap between demands and abilities to deal with these demands. The reason is relatively ‘simple’: study and revision must be rooted in analytical structuring otherwise you are not mastering the content. If anything, you are controlled by the content.
Unfortunately, study and revision often turn the student into an anxious slave of the material, rather than making them excited and empowered by how they are structuring every aspect of the content in a way that equips them with control over this structure. This anxiety is not perceived nor imagined, it is a genuine threat to the student’s well-being and goals.
Consequently, many students resort to endless circular revision that is mostly reliant on memory. This ‘strategy’ is doomed to fail when it cannot be applied to complex assignments.
For many, the A-level exams are the first point when they realise that simply memorising subject material, however good they may be at that, will not provide the top grades they require. Already at GCSE exams students begin tasting the bitter taste of memorising not being a good enough strategy.
Reliance on memorisation alone is very limiting. Some students may be able to memorise a large amount of material. But there is an inevitable limit to the number and variety of essays and answers that can be memorised word by word, section by section, topic by topic. Furthermore, students who do not approach questions with an analytical framework are justifiably anxious about experiencing a blackout (or ‘brain-freeze’), because if their memory fails, they have no system to fall back on.
Revision that is based on memorising provides a manufactured sense of ability that has little bearing on the real demands students face before final exams. Students hope that if they work further on memorising the material, they will shrink the gap between demands and their ability to cope with these demands. However, how much memorising can one person do? 10 essays, 15 essays? The whole textbook? And when it is 10 textbooks at university? Then what?
Students can be confident about addressing any subject when they are able to structure their thoughts efficiently within an analytical framework, using proven analytical principles and tools.
Studying with an analytical framework puts the control into the hands of the student. It removes dependency on teachers, essays, source materials, etc.
Amplifying your abilities is anchored in reinforcing your analytical power.
The road to mastery is via analytical structuring, not via memorising. And the analytical structuring is your master key to diffuse anxiety because you ‘shrink’ the gap between demands and abilities. This gap is the source of stress. Shrinking this gap through analytical structuring is the source of confidence associated with the sense of control we are cultivating.
Reconnecting to the core of confidence during exams depends on previous mastery of the skill of analytical structuring.
During revision, analytical structuring assists in minimising the gap between demands and abilities, by amplifying our abilities and our ‘sense of control’, thereby cementing our ‘sense of efficacy’. During exams, anxiety can be experienced at different degrees. The way to manage this anxiety regardless of its intensity is via the reliance back into the cognitive skills associated with analytical structuring that characterised our revision. It begins with step 1 of identifying what is it that we need to outline and/or explain.
When we experience anxiety, what we memorised is bound ‘to fly out of our head’. However, the ability to structure is a skill that cannot ‘fly’ away like memory, nor can it evaporate.
No amount of ‘talking to yourself’ calming your nerves can help, and often it produces the opposite results because ‘it feeds the beast’.
What you can do, however, is to take yourself ‘back to square 1’ of structuring to reignite the sense of mastery that is required. That way you reconnect with your powers of analysis and the confidence in yourself. The anxiety makes you lose sight of your inner cognitive power. Don’t fight the anxiety itself. Fight back to your cognitive power, and the anxiety will dissipate. They cannot coexist together.
Fight anxiety by fighting your way to the one thing that can restore your sense of power: the steps of the analytical structuring.
In its extreme form, anxiety manifests as a blackout or ‘brain-freeze’. The way to handle ‘brain-freeze’ is exactly the same way you would approach your exam questions even without experiencing anxiety. The only difference is, you take it slow until you regain control of your emotions.
Blackouts are something that can happen not only in front of your exam paper but also during revision. However, in the exam, ‘time is money’, there is no time to lose. Blackouts are also not something that ‘weak’ students experience. Often intelligent and well-prepared students can enter the ‘blackout zone’. A blackout is an experience of being overwhelmed, of feeling a complete information burnout, shutdown. It feels like there is nothing there, in the brain. But we know that this is not the case, there is a lot of ‘stuff’ in the brain. The problem is accessing and organising your knowledge and thoughts when you are in a pressured and stressful environment.
So how can you manage when it seems that you ‘cannot think’ no matter how hard you try, like when experiencing a blackout’?
There are two priorities with a blackout: firstly, to try and avoid it from happening in the first place, and secondly, if it is creeping up on you it is important to learn how to manage it quickly, and get yourself out of the fog with as little damage as possible, particularly in exam conditions, when time is a resource that matters.
A blackout is not real, but it is real in its effects:
It is not a real phenomenon because the information and understanding are all still there, they have not escaped your brain. It is just that you feel unable to access and structure them properly, therefore, it is a blackout. The electrical wiring is intact, but it is not being switched on.
If a blackout is materialising, you can learn how to take control of it, and nip it in the bud immediately by using the fundamental anchors in the analytical structuring.
If you revised structurally, reconnecting with the strategy of analytical structuring during exams, acts as a retrieval cue: your anchor.
The first and only question to ask yourself is: ‘What is it that I need to explain, and how do I need to explain it?’ You should never have a blackout over that element because it is not possible to have a blackout on the issue of what is written in front of you, in the exam question. That is your first, and always available anchor. It will chart your pathway to all the other steps.
Sit for a few second and actively ‘block out’ all the demands of the exam, yet look at only one question and ask yourself:
Here in this question, what is the concept I need to describe or explain? Don’t think beyond, for now.
For example: attachment or differential achievement in education.
It is written in front of you, in the question. Circle it, highlight it, make it stands out.
This echoes step 1 in the analytical structuring you used for your revision.
Holding on to this anchor will restore your sense of control.
AO1 questions will focus on description of the concept you circled, on information given to this concept alone: outline what is attachment, or what is meant by differential achievement?
If you handle an essay or any question that involve evaluation or application, you take the first step above, leading you to step 2.
Ask yourself, what is the concept I need to use to explain the concept I just circled in step 1?
For example: they asked me to use genetic theory of attachment, or they asked me to use social class and ethnicity to explain differential achievement.
Next, link the concepts together, this is step 3: how and why one concept can explain the other?
By now you have most likely regained your cognitive control, because you can ‘see’ what you are ‘dealing’ with.
Depending on the type of question, essay or its marking, continue broadening your analysis, by integrating evaluation; that is stage 4.
The whole idea underpinning your analytical structuring is that you can trace your way back at it. It provides you with anchors. You studied structurally and you approach the exam questions with the same analytical structures that were internalised in your mind.
Because you have created them, they belong to you. Hence, you are the solution.
This is the true meaning of becoming a master of your mind.
During exams, the first easily accessible anchor is written in front of you, in the question. But you must understand the process involved.
That is how you hold on to this first anchor. The rest, often, does easily follow.
Because we are grounding ourselves in study and revision through analytical structuring, you replicate the exact same steps for every question, regardless of your emotions. When emotions run high, to a point when you feel ‘frozen’, think about only one thing: what is the question about; that is step 1, leading to step 2, leading to step 3 and 4. Holding on to step 1 is the anchor your mind can rely on to rebalance your sense of control and ability to navigate the demands.
A blackout is likely to be damaging and enduring mostly when you have no tools to fight the darkness it generates, which is how students can be sucked into this feeling of helplessness.
Analytical structuring is a way out of this tunnel. Instead of fighting the darkness a blackout creates, you can enlist step 1 of the structuring. One anchor would help you to stabilise.
Most blackouts occur because of accumulated stress and anxiety in the run up to major exams or during the exam itself. Unfortunately, this is when you need to perform at your best, after long preparation for the challenge.
Since analytical structuring allows you to become your own teacher, it empowers your revision by implanting the necessary navigation tools in your mind.
You will know that you will be able to answer the questions because you know how to do it on your own. The confidence comes from having a robust method to use. There is no need to panic about what you can and cannot remember, or start to question your essay writing skills. All and any questions can be answered when approached in this methodical way.
You are in control.
We hope that you have enjoyed reading our blog on analytical structuring in relation to the understanding and management of anxiety. For top tips on other topics, please visit our main blog page, via the button below. If you would be interested in attending a revision course, please contact us today for further information or apply via our online application forms.
We hope that you have enjoyed reading our blog on The Magic of Analytical Structuring and it’s application for understanding and managing anxiety. To read more on The Magic of Analytical Structuring or exam anxiety, please visit our main blog page on click on the direct links below. If you would be interested in attending a revision course or booking some online subject tuition, please contact us today for further information or apply via our online application forms.
This blog post talks you through the process of analytical structuring, a framework to acquire cognitive skills that can be applied to any assignment you face.
This post considers exam anxiety and aims to help students to make sure that anxiety around exams doesn’t stop them from reaching their full potential.
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