Cracking exams can and never will be a single study cram session (cram jam) – as many educators, teachers, and academic experts’ opine. It does require a methodical and structured preparation strategy over some time before the final moment of truth dawns.
Here are a few tips to make the most out of the preparation phase and also some handy pointers on how to get cracking on the day of the exam.
1. Get Organized
Disorganization hinders the functioning of a good memory – so, let’s begin with the fundamental point – how to get organized for the exam.
The drill is well known – tidy up your room or whichever space you would use for studying. Get your notes organized neatly into different subjects and in the sequence, you would like to start your preparation with.
Ensure your room is sufficiently bright and your chair is comfortable enough. Pay attention to things that can easily distract you – it would be best to remove them from your direct view of studying.
Physical decluttering and ordering things correctly bring the same effect to your brain – it gets you into a good shape to cope with your learning exercises and brings a positive note, to begin with.
2. Practice old exam papers
This is one of the most effective ways of scoring well – practice with the previous versions of exam papers. You not only get to know the format and formulation of the questions expected in the exams, it can greatly benefit you with the timing aspect as well.
Since every exam is structured to test both content and knowledge in a limited period, it becomes even more important to cover a few practice sessions earlier on to gain that added confidence.
3. Organize study groups with friends
Two heads are always better than one!
Study groups help you in getting the answers you were not able to solve yourself and help with completing your study session faster.
It’s a good idea to organize a group study with an agreed theme – it may be a cross-understanding one where each member of the group gets a chance to put across his/her doubt or talk about niggling issues during the common problem-solving discussion.
4. Take regular breaks
Breaks are essential to have your brain regain its focus. With prolonged hours of studying, our brain tends to tire out and that starts lowering our knowledge retention capacity.
It’s best to plan multiple breaks of short durations. Additionally, it would help to plan a healthy snack routine for your break or take a short nap to recover from the heavy brain-storming sessions that you’ve had.
And do not forget to drink water – remaining properly hydrated is important besides which it helps bring about well-being for the whole body.
5. Get a good night’s sleep
Sleep may sound like a lot of luxury to go with – but it does wonders for your exam success!
Besides warding off the mental tiredness and stress experienced throughout the day, during a good night’s sleep, your brain processes the information you have learned through the day and saves it in long-term memory – which gives you a much higher chance of recalling all you have learned (versus you barely sleeping at all).
6. The D-Day – Tips for the exam day
Finally, a few tips to maximize your performance for the exam day-
– Wake up early so that you’re NOT stressing unnecessarily over your basic morning routines before you head out for the exam.
– Having a balanced breakfast would largely help too – avoid the risky stuff (it’s best to avoid a super-hot curry on this day).
– At the exam venue, it is natural to have people around you panicking. Try to avoid them – they are not doing you any favors by spelling out their disastrous narrations.
– A good start always helps. Begin mentally sizing up the questions you feel most confident about – Remember the order of how you assess the question paper doesn’t matter – what matters is how confident you feel about the answers and then prioritizing them accordingly.
– Don’t spend more time than you planned on a particular section/question or you might run out of time to answer other questions and gain those valuable extra marks. Also, leave any questions that you are unsure about for the very end.
Learners for life
As teachers and educators, we realize that exams can be a pressurizing time for children. While we engage our school’s adolescents by helping them build up prudence and patience, we understand that they need direction and help in dealing with their exams.
This is where the instructors at SSVM School of Excellence step in.
Our teachers and educators regularly conduct academic reiterations sessions, along with interesting, multifaceted learning sessions so students understand concepts clearly and easily. At SSVM School of Excellence, we teach our school-going children techniques that help them with retention of study material and absorption of concepts so that they enjoy a positive interaction with studies rather than be overwhelmed with them.
As the best school in Coimbatore, SSVM School of Excellence believes that positive learning happens when children enjoy what they learn.
