6 Tips To Perform Well With Clarity in ‘O’ Level Exams

It has been found that 66% of students are pressurized by their parents to perform well in examinations and it is particularly noted that parents who are non-graduates pressurize their children more than parents who are graduates or post-graduates; most likely fearing the social stigma and discrimination or due to the struggle that they have experienced.

Source: khaleejtimes.com

Students often struggle in not being able to score well in class tests or mock exams though they have worked hard and studies day and night preparing for the exams. The fear arises from thinking of the possibility that this tragedy could repeat itself for the national examinations as well.

STUDYING HARD OR STUDYING SMART?

The key to performing well is hard work indeed, however, students need to find the balance and understand that just working hard with a purpose is essential. A student needs to realize that just plainly working on practice papers over and over again is useless, one needs to understand what the learning gaps are and find ways to patch it up.

Here, are some useful tips for students to follow to perform the O level examination with clarity...

#1: STUDY SCHEDULE

Study schedules can be challenging to come up with as well as difficult to stick to, however, this is a crucial step. Study schedules should be made before the examination, for example, print out a calendar of the month that you would be planning out for, and be specific about what topics you would like to cover and about what you would do to achieve.

Source: matrix.edu.au

By being specific, we mean that you can write down the methods that you would utilise to get hold of the topics, it may be in the form of making mind maps, or it may even be reviewing topics with your tuition teachers to clarify your doubts. It is important to set yourself targets and set deadlines for them so that you make use of your time effectively.

#2: CONTENT

You cannot master your content using a single method or strategy, but rather its achievable through the conflation of many different strategies that helps you understand, remember and recall important information. Particularly for GCE O level chemistry and O level biology, it is challenging to keep in mind the details, formulas and hence repeated revisiting of the topics is required to register the content in the mind.

Rewriting notes is a good strategy that helps some people to refresh their memory on because, by customizing your notes, you get to craft them in a way that that only you best understand. Everyone processes information differently and hence it will be extremely useful if everyone registers content in their own way.

Creating mind maps is a great way to look at the bigger picture and engage in conceptual linking which enables students to better understand what they are studying and why they are studying them as well. This technique will especially come handy during your examinations when you have to figure out the concepts being tested in a long question.

#3: ADEQUATE SLEEP

Source: sites.psu.edu/

The biggest mistake that students commit is sacrificing their sleep. It is extremely unhealthy and students don’t realise the significance of sleep in memory consolidation and learning. The slow-sleep wave (SWS) is important for forming and retaining memories. During SWS, the hippocampus, which is responsible for quick learning, is in constant communication with the neocortex, to consolidate it for long-term memory.

Without sleep, we over-exhaust our brain and it takes a toll on our health as well. If you burn yourself out, there is no way you could have the capacity to absorb more information, retain it in your mind and recall it when needed.

#4: PAY ATTENTION TO KEY WORDS

Students often make careless mistakes when they miss out important details in the question. It is important to use your pencil during the exam and annotate to draw your attention to important pieces of information that will guide you in answering your questions.

Annotating beside while reading the question and/or underling keywords in the questions or texts will go a great way in helping you answer succinctly. This technique helps answers to be crafted succinctly.

#5: DON’T GET ANXIOUS

During exams, when you blank out and unable to understand the question or recall the concepts, the first thing to do is to not panic, and move on to the next question. Never let emotions get the best of you because that will never help you look for a solution; instead, being practical and doing what you can to the best of your ability is crucial.

#6: PATCH THE LEARNING GAPS

Every test paper and every practice paper count. You need to understand where you went wrong and at the same time, have a clarity on what your strengths are. You would have made errors in that paper and it is essential to take the necessary steps to make sure the mistakes are not repeated once again. Patch those learning gaps and turn your weaknesses into strengths.

BOTTOM LINE

It is not an easy journey and many students find it challenging to keep their head above the water. Hence, following these tips may be a good way to find the light in the darkness of difficulty. With clarity, hard work and persistence, students can reach their targets and accomplish their goals!