Learning is fun when done in the proper way. Here is a list of DOS and DON’TS, if you follow these simple rules, you will be able to reach your targets with ease and fun.
Throughout the year:
(i) Read in advance, the topics that your teachers are supposed to discuss in the classroom. This helps you to comprehend the lessons better.
(ii) Jot down everything that your teachers write on the blackboard. This is of utmost importance.
(iii) Listen attentively to your teachers and take down running notes of everything that they explain verbally in the class room. While taking down running notes, you may miss certain words or expressions or even some important points. However, don’t let that deter you. Leave some space and continue taking notes. Later, when the class is over, look for the missing links from the notes of your classmates. If you are not satisfied, meet your teachers at a mutually convenient time and tell them where you have missed out.
(iv) Refer to the class notes at home on a regular basis while preparing your lesson.
(v) Always try to answer questions asked by your teacher in the classroom. It will boost your confidence.
(vi)Write down the class notes in the form of questions and answers with the help of relevant textbooks. Then get them checked by your teacher.
(vii) Writing on a regular basis is very important. It develops your thinking power and gives accuracy to your answers. As Bacon has said, “Writing makes an exact man”.
(viii) Writing regularly improves your speed. So, write as much and as often as you can.
(ix) Do not keep anything for tomorrow that you can do today. Do the exercises as and when your teachers assign them to you.
(x) Do not mug up blindly. Try to comprehend the lesson or topic you are reading. To do this, sometimes you may have to read a particular lesson over and over again. Repeated reading of the lesson helps you memorize it properly.
Before the examination :
(i) When you have about two or one and a half months to go before the examination, start revising all your lessons thoroughly. Also, study the exercises that you have done or the answers you have prepared so far.
(ii) Take a break of 15 minutes after you finish a topic or before changing the subject.
(iii) If there is a particular thing that you have trouble memorizing, write it down on a sheet of paper, preferably with a sketch pen and paste it on the wall of your room where it is easily visible, so that you can memorize it later.
(iv) Before the examination, you should rise very early in the morning, and read for at least two hours at a stretch. Reading in the early hours of the morning is believed to be very useful for memorizing lessons.
(v) A week or so before the examination, make a gist or a very brief summary of the topics that you think are important. This helps to refurbish your memory and gives you extra confidence to face the ordeal of examinations.
(vi) Relax yourself in between, as studying continuously for very long hours will exhaust you both physically and mentally.
(vii) Do not lose sleep before examination. Sleep well and eat healthy, it will help you perform well.
(viii) Draw up a schedule. Time management is very important. Try to give equal importance to all your subjects and divide the time accordingly.
Inside the examination hall :
First of all go through the question paper carefully, then start answering the questions one by one. Remember, proper selection of questions is very important for securing higher marks.
(i) While writing your answers in the examination hall, give equal time to all the questions. Many students devote more time to the first few questions and as a result, they run out of time and fail to complete the remaining paper. This should be avoided.
(ii) Write your answers in a way that clearly explains what is being asked for. Remember, much of your character, personality, and of course knowledge is revealed through your presentation, that is, the way you write your answers.
(iii) Take special care of your handwriting, as it matters a lot in the examination. A neat and tidy answer, written in a good handwriting, always helps you score higher marks.
(iv) While answering the questions in the examination hall avoid abbreviated forms (like ‘govt.’ for ‘government’), clippings (like ‘ad’ for ‘advertisement’) and symbolic signs (like ‘&’ for ‘and’).
(v) Avoid colloquial expressions while writing answers in the examination (except quotations from the text).
(vi) Try to keep your cool in the examination hall. Do not give up even if the question paper appears a bit tougher than you had expected. Give your best in order to succeed, as Abraham Lincoln has said, “Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing.”