Simple tips to Excel in Examinations

We are entering the last quarter of the Academic Session. With examinations just around the corner, I am sure all of us are carrying a mixed bag of Stress, Excitement, and Anxieties!!

So, first and foremost- Let’s be Positive and Futuristic!

It’s most important to understand that Examination is NOT our enemy, it’s our biggest friend, facilitator which adds fuel to our engine of life to reach our desired destination in the most enriched way.

EXAMINATION is “Self Analysis of One's own Abilities”. It is an efficient way to understand one’s level of Performance and Knowledge. Exams, as a package, find out the real skills, talents, and knowledge of the individuals. They ensure that one has understood and absorbed all the information necessary to move on to the next level of academic growth.

So, here we are with 9 Golden Rules to Score well in the examination:

1. Re-Organize your Study Space: An organized atmosphere helps us to create a friendly and a pleasant ambience to concentrate well. Some of us need complete order to focus, while others like to study in a more cluttered environment. But it is best to have enough space on your desk to spread your textbooks and notes. The room should be sufficiently bright and your chair restful enough. Create a colorful study space with lot of new and favorite stationery loaded and properly placed on the table. It helps us to avoid distractions and keep our focus on the study table. To give an exciting start to your preparations, it would be best if we can add a pin board in our study room with some motivating flash cards for the right and fresh start. 

2. Prepare a Study Schedule: “Time management is the key to Success”. Making a timetable or a plan helps to develop an achievable goal. Starting early is the first correct step towards reaching the desired results on time. Set up a timetable for your study. Write down how many exams you have and the days in which you have to complete and organize your study time accordingly. Making a schedule helps us to work out how much time we need for each subject.

We should emphasize on making a study schedule that fits our way of studying and do not leave anything for the last minute. While some students do seem to thrive on last-minute studying, often this way of partial studying is not the best approach for exam preparation.  You may want to give some exams more study time than others, so set your priorities and find a balance that you feel comfortable with. Download latest CBSE Sample Papers here.

3 Create Milestones: Milestones literally refer to “a roadside marker that lists the distance to a particular destination.” Conceptually, they are decision points or gateways which include soft target dates that break up a long series of tasks into small achievable goals. For scoring well in exams this is the best way, wherein we can divide the workload into small targets which motivates us to move forward in a more positive way throughout. We can also add some incentives on touching milestones, like our favorite snack or our favorite song, etc. This works as stepping stones, which will help us in achieving our targets in a more exciting and thrilled way. Moreover, it will keep us happy throughout the learning journey.

4 Understand the Concepts: The idea of understanding the concepts is a kind of mental shorthand which allows the students to organize the study topics in a broad way. Concepts are groupings of facts, attributes and structuring the subject in steps or ideas that commonly go together. These instructions are driven by “big ideas” rather than chapter-specific content. We should try to focus on terms and concepts that we struggle remembering or have identified as our weak points.

If we understand the concepts rather than mugging, we can easily answer the tricky questions designed by the strict teachers to knock us down. Therefore, Concept-based learning encourages the students to gain better understanding of the subject which helps to keep the topic live within us lifelong. Do free mock tests for all students here.

5 Sleep well and drink plenty of water: The two main factors to win the examinations are memory and alertness. Studying and memorizing our subject is one part and to be able to deliver it on the exam day is another, yet more important. Recent studies have shown that adequate sleep and sufficient amount of water intake are the key components to improve upon the brain cells. It has been found that sleep deprivation makes it difficult for brain cells to communicate effectively, which, in turn lead to temporary mental lapses that affect memory and visual perception. Moreover, while studying for exams and even during an exam, it is advisable to drink lot of water. Human body contains 80% water, so remaining hydrated is vital, as it keeps our body and mind fresh and in turn results in an overall positive mood and peak performance.

6 Take regular breaks: It is a very old saying, relevant in most cases, which says, “Too much of everything is bad” Thus, it is very important to give yourself small breaks in between the hectic study routines. These breaks can come up in the form of a healthy snack, a refreshing song, a happy conversation with a friend or relative, your favorite desert, a small session of yoga or just a small stroll in the fresh air. These regular breaks press the refresh button and help us to organize the fundamental building blocks of our curriculum in a better way. They result in improved mood, increased alertness, sharpened concentration and ultimately a timely completion of decided study stock.

7 Eating for cognitive power: Eating healthy food is good for the brain. We can keep our body and mind fit by choosing natural, fresh and vitamins rich food that is good for us and would improve our concentration and memory. Oranges and other fruits that are high in vitamin C can help defend our brain against damage from free radicals. Nuts contain a host of brain-boosting nutrients, including vitamin E, healthy fats and plant compounds which align our brain cells and give them immense strength.

Fatty fish is a rich source of omega-3s, a major building block of the brain. Whereas, eggs are a rich source of several B vitamins and choline, which are important for proper brain functioning and development. Most interestingly, studies have suggested that eating chocolate could boost both memory and mood. Also, the flavonoids in chocolates help protect the brain. So, we can help support our brain health and boost our alertness, memory and mood by strategically including these foods in our diet.

8 Block out any distractions: Every individual has his or her strengths as well as weaknesses. And examination is used to measure learning progress and also our ability to deal with our distractions and reach to the desired goal. To study effectively, we should first create a distraction free zone in our study space. This may mean keeping our doors and windows closed to block out any distracting noises reaching our study zone. If we are studying in a public place, like the library or café, we may use noise-canceling headphones to stay focused.

There are some soft distractions that one can easily become the victim of while we are studying, like cell phone games and social media. To protect our study time, we can put our cell phones on silent mode and also switch off our Wi-Fi connection. Doing this can help us to focus on our study notes instead of wasting our precious time on cell phones and social media.

9 Deal with your Stress: First and foremost, we need to understand that - Exam stress is perfectly normal. The Key Word is “Don’t Panic!!” In fact, a little bit of stress can be a positive motivator that can give that necessary push to us, which facilitates us to focus on the necessary preparations required for the desired results. However, too much of it can negatively affect our performance. So, we must regulate it accordingly to keep it on the positive side. There are a few points which we can keep in mind to keep away from the negative stress.

Firstly, if you begin to feel frustrated or overwhelmed, step away from the books for a while and take a break. Secondly, once you are clear with the concepts, prepare an outline that can be used as a last-minute referral. Thirdly, don't evaluate post examination.

Once you are done with one exam, don’t check your answers because as it is at that point we will not be able to do anything or change our score. So, it is better to stay focused on the next exam instead of wasting time on what is gone. Fourthly and most importantly, it is advisable not to compare your study style and speed with that of the other students because there is NO One Way to Success, so it is best to carve a path suitable to one’s own abilities and priorities.

Always remember, “Impossible itself says, I M Possible” We just need to have the right intend and the right direction to move towards the best ways of preparations.

So, go ahead and give it your Best Shot. All the very Best!!

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