Are your board exams round the corner? Then I suppose you have exam anxiety and stress. Lack of preparation, time constraints, and parental pressure to perform well may double this anxiety.
You know that this is going to be a landmark event and hence, you wish to save it from becoming a tragedy. So how can you ensure sure shot success in your Board Examination? NIOS A Life Saver For Students Under Academic Pressure.
First of all, there are no shortcuts! You have to commit yourself to studies with dedication. But doing it the right way with some smart tips can guarantee you success. Are you ready to go the extra mile to make it happen? Then take a look at these tips and get going strong with your board exam preparations.
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Prepare a Study Plan
The limited-time you have at hand is precious. Get an overall idea of all the topics to cover and then do the following:
- Prepare a list and tick off those topics you need to allocate more time for.
- Create a timetable by prioritizing subjects you find more difficult. Do not forget to fit in time for revision. Stick it on the wall above your study space.
- Even within each subject use more time to work on complex and heavy concepts.
- You can mix heavy and light concepts to keep you away from feeling exhausted.
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Follow the prescribed textbook
Your syllabus textbooks are the best source to practice with. They will have topics strictly in tune with the type of questions you can expect in your examination. Devoting your time to solve questions from reference books will be of very little use in your boards. Needless to say, you can refer to these books once you are done studying from your main textbook.
Now that you’ve made a study plan and picked your textbooks to hurry with your preparations, proper Schooling on NIOS in Ajman may ease study-time stress:
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Highlight/ Underline important text
Use a highlighter pen to underline a sentence, date, digit or any vital information in your textbook. This will easily strike the eye when you repeatedly flip pages and will stay in your memory. Remember to not make a mess underlining over the whole page and cause confusion.
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Make Short Notes
Get into the habit of preparing short notes as you study. Use a separate notebook for each subject neatly divided for notes from different chapters. Make it a point to keep short notes ‘short’ for easy last-minute reference. You will not want to read through whole long paragraphs to know the keywords or main idea while revising them.
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Prepare Flashcards/ Sticky Notes for Formulas
Flashcards are easy made paper notes. Write the question on one side and the answer on the other. Such flashcards can be used to maintain a list of formulas, especially for your Maths and Physics exams. Sticky notes are another convenient method to grasp and remember formulas. Prepare sticky notes and paste them at places you move around frequently.
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Switch to some Creative Methods
Some exam topics can be really tricky and boring at the same time. In that case, your brain may not actively take part in soaking the necessary information. Trick your brain by finding some techniques to make such concepts easily digestible.
- Draw a Flowchart: To easily remember a process or sequence, a flow chart lets you make boxes and link them to each other.
- Do Mind Mapping: You can create an organized diagram with the main idea at the centre and all other ideas connected to it. Use different colours to make memorizing easy.
- Make a table of similarities and differences: This helps you easily remember the points of comparison.
- Create a story or rhyme: If you find it difficult to memorize something, try picking the first letters of each word and making a story or rhyme. Such information can be easily recalled during your exams.
Including diagrams and flowcharts in your answer sheet can also positively impact your scores.
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Practice with previous year Question Papers
Referring to older question papers can help you in multiple ways. First and foremost, they give you a fair idea of the question pattern. Students tend to find repetitive questions every other year. Check for these questions in papers of the past 5 consecutive years and practice them often. These questions are more likely to get repeated.
You can also use these question papers to time your writing. Try writing a sample test to see if you can complete the paper within 3 hours.
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Revise and Recall
This is one of the key steps in board exam preparation. Use the revision time in your schedule to brush through every bit of what you studied. Make use of short notes and prepared flashcards. It is advisable not to add anything new to your study when you sit down to revise.
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Focus on Presentation
As you know your answer sheet determines your knowledge. The same answer sheet also shows how well you are with your presentation. Examiners will be the least interested in reading answers that are unorganized. While answering questions make sure your paper looks neat and not haphazard. Underline key terms and sentences. You may also use a pencil to mark a divide between two consecutive answers.
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Take casual breaks.
There’s no harm in taking study breaks to refresh your mind with something you like. Give yourself a dose of some healthy food and good music. You can perhaps take a walk in your backyard or do anything to keep your mind away from your studies for a while.
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Go well-rested to your Exams
You’ve done everything to the best of your ability. No amount of preparation the day before the exam can add to your success. Burning the midnight oil can only cause you to look tired and exhausted the next day. Set an alarm for around 8-10 hours of sleep. Wake up fresh and confident to walk into the examination hall.
Ultimately, it’s all about maintaining a perfect balance and not getting crammed up with your preparations. Remember that success in board examination is always achieved the hard way. But, you can include these tips in your study pattern to make it less back-breaking.