Exams are right around the corner and students all over India are busy going through last years' question papers or other sample papers to maximise their chances of topping the upcoming exams. There is no doubt that exams like 2 PUC, 12 standard CBSE board exams, Karnataka CET, AIEEE, IIT and many others, like them, are getting very competitive. This competition also brings about tension and pressure but, even now, there are things that can be done to maximise the efficiency of your study pattern.
Follow up:
Here are some points, taken from our talks with previous years CET toppers, that will help you deal with the exam preparation.
Discipline: When writing sample papers or the previous years question papers, students tend to give themselves extra time to finish the paper. Avoid this practice as it only helps to keep you slow at answering. Also remember that keeping any electronic items next to you while taking tests will tempt you to play with them and you will end up wasting time so don't keep video games, TV's, cell phones, mp3 players, iPhone's, iPod's, etc next to you.
Learning: Don't try to manipulate or dwell too much on your performance in the practice tests. If you didn't do well then fine, see what you did wrong and make a note to correct it the next time you sit with a question paper. Learn what you can from the mistakes you made and move on. Always remember to keep a positive attitude.
Breaks: When you go for the actual exam, you will not get brakes in the middle of the exam so don't take any when you are practising either. It just breaks your concentration and wastes time. The best way to avoid breaks is to go to a classroom in your college or coaching center and write the exam over there.
Attention to detail: Many a times students loose marks because they fail to read and understand the questions in the question paper and end up jumping to some very foolish conclusions. This has to be avoided because the loss of a single mark could mean that you could loose as many as 1000 points of rank, especially in exams like Karnataka CET.
Another common mistake born out of a lack of attention to detail is marking wrong answers. Exams like Karnataka CET have OMR sheets on which students are expected to mark the right answer. Many a times students will mark an option under the wrong question number... so once again READ THE QUESTION CAREFULLY AND PAY ATTENTION TO WHERE YOU MARK THE ANSWER!!!
Time management: This is an important skill that students need to cultivate. It teaches you how to answer all the questions correctly and within the given time. When applied correctly it will also give you enough time to review what you have done before you submit the paper. Using the 3 Round Approach<Hyperlink to pavan> is one such way of gaining time.
Analysis: Always get your question papers/ sample papers evaluated by a teacher as they are the best judges of your abilities in academics. They will also be able to provide you with some valuable insights into the "what and why" of the things you are doing wrong.
Group study: This is a very good practice when you start your courses. You learn a lot and understand much more but when it come to exam times, avoid this practice. Studying in groups when revising can lead to confusion about methods and solutions. When exams are close, you need to focus on what you are comfortable with, not what others think is best.
Knowledge: Many competitive exams will not allow you to use calculators so what you must do is to remember certain basic values like logs, pi and square roots. Even if the exams allows for the use of calculators you will end up wasting precious seconds just typing in the numbers on calculators. Use it only when you have no other option.
Short-cuts: An advisable practice is to collect short-cut methods. These are quick ways of dealing with lengthy calculations and will help in saving time
Procrastination: Many students go through the entire year thinking that they still have 8/7/6 months to cover the portion but guess what! The last 3 months before an exam are NOT ENOUGH to cover portions and practice papers. Don't put things off. It forces students into selective study at the end of the year and that again is a set up to a bad situation because exams like IIT, AIPMT, COMED-K, CET, etc, all expect you to know your entire portions from the last two years of high school.
Right perspective: Many students will apply only for one entrance exam at a time. If they don't make it through, then they are stuck because they can't apply for any other exams till the next year and end up loosing the entire year or have to settle for less than what they wanted. Lesson to be learnt; don't apply for just one exam. Apply for as many as you can manage. That way you will have a choice if you clear all the exams you applied for and if you don't clear one then there is always the other to back you up.
Recreation: Sometimes students get so involved in studies that its all they can do. This is also a bad situation since it is one of the causes for exam related stress and can cause black outs during the exam. Your mind also needs a rest and the best way to give it a rest is to get a good nights sleep the night before the exam and not study till the last minute.
So today when you sit down to study keep these tips in mind and help improve your rank by yourself.
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