JOIN USAs the exams approach, give priority to study time over domestic chores and social activities, advises Akash Chaudhry.
The Board Exams lay a solid foundation for your future. Their results to a certain extent determine your career ahead. Hence, it becomes crucial to give the Board Exams your best shot.
The key to board exam preparation is to devise a strategy that suits your daily schedule, individual studying capacity and concentration levels. Most students tend to blindly follow the study routine set by other brighter students in class and end up lagging behind when they cannot keep up with the demanding schedules thereby leading to stress and last minute tension. If you don’t wish to fall into the same rut, be realistic and analyse your weaknesses, then plan your preparatory schedule step by step.
- Use the time in hand to focus on issues like the size of your syllabus, the specific time you need to tackle each subject, one by one, and the skills you need to develop to take on the examination. The first step is to inculcate a positive attitude in you and be confident of achieving your goals by the end of the preparation.
- Make a time table to devote adequate time to every subject in the course. Make a list of testable materials for the exam. Keep room for revision.
- Identify the difficult topics of each subject that you find challenging. Design strategies that can be used to improvise on them. Mark out those topics and chapters that provide maximum scoring opportunity and practice those without fail, with due concentration.
- If you plan to study selectively, do it smartly so as to ensure you don’t end up missing out on significant chunks of your portion. Pay special attention to the required readings that the subject teachers recommend and the recurring topics in exam papers to prepare accordingly.
- Make an objective review of your preparation. See which portion is consuming maximum time and analyse if it is worth it. Get rid of distracting factors and make sure your preparation is upto mark with frequent follow-ups.
-Set realistic deadlines for yourself so that you can balance your classes, extra tuitions as well as study time at home, leaving some time for recreational activities so that you are not overwhelmed by it all.
- Make sure you leave enough time for regular activities like sleep, meals and exercise as these will go a long way in maintaining a healthy body and mind. As the exams approach, increase your study time prioritising it over domestic chores and social activities.
- Get question papers from previous years and solve them on a regular basis. These will give you a fair insight of the marks distribution, no. of questions and time management during exam.
- There are three well-tested feasible sources you can tap while preparing for the exam:
a) THE NCERT textbook contains understanding based questions on every concept dealt in the book. It encourages systematic learning and assessment of the sub topics so that you gain in depth knowledge and do not indulge in surface learning. Sharpen your skill sets as per the mistakes you make while solving questions, and rework on them, with the help of experts.
b) A question bank offers a topic wise or concept wise index. It helps you scour the syllabus for relevant questions listed that you must prepare for and also makes you aware of the concepts that you need to practice harder in tandem.
c) Solving previous years’ question papers, specifically last year’s papers and thoroughly reviewing class notes also help in preparing for the pre-boards.
n Sort out the time taken to solve questions as per their importance and length. Leave time for the revision of the paper at the end of the exam. If you think you are stuck with one question, leave it for a while, attempt at others and come back to it later. Keep a check on time so that you don’t end up running out of it at the last minute.
Taking mock tests can bring to the fore the areas you need to focus on. Don’t hesitate to take help from your teachers, peers and experts who can help you clarify your subject related doubts and queries.
It is imperative to keep in mind the mistakes you did in pre-board exams so that you do not repeat them and score higher than what you did in the pre-boards.
Last but not the least; keep your mind free from distress, fears and anxiety about your preparation.
Make sure the place you study at home is brightly lit, silent and clutter free to make it a favourable environment to increase your concentration. Let your loved ones and teachers serve as moral support as well as dependable anchors to help you sail through this ordeal of your life, because excelling here will embellish your destiny paving the path for a bright future.