How To Prepare For Exams: Tried and Tested Methods From An Ocassional A-Grader

If you’re in ninth, then, the first sentence that you’re greeted with is, “You’re going to have boards next year, get serious.”

If you’re in tenth, the first sentence you are greeted with is, “The NCERT is your Bible. You have boards, get serious.”

If you’re in eleventh, the first sentence you are greeted with is, “You are useless. You have boards next year, do better.”

If you’re in twelfth, the first sentence you are greeted with is, “Jaldi pass ho kar niklo. And iss baar, thodi izzat bacha dena.”

Boards, boards, boards - call it what you want - the constant threat on our heads or the single most profound reason for our insomnia; it won’t change the fact that you still have to go through with it. To deal with it. To sacrifice your beauty sleep for it. To give up your P.E. period for it. So, if you’re already forced to do all of this, then why can’t you take a shot and tackle it, but, in the best way possible?

1. Make running notes

One of the main reasons why students don’t often make running notes is because they think that they can’t concentrate on what the teacher is saying and write at the same time. While that may be true for some amateurs, it’s a hurdle that everyone is qualified enough to get over. But why are running notes so important?

Well, while the NCERT may in fact be our Bible, it does not have the answer to every single twisted, “application- based” question that is seen in papers today. Sometimes, no matter how well you are versed in that concept, YOU NEED TO WRITE. This is much more important in Science-related subjects where memorizing the concept does not help you one little bit. This is also important for Languages because every line has a “hidden meaning” that you, for the life of it, couldn’t even guess in your wildest dreams.

The second reason why students don’t make running notes is because they think that it looks bad. Well, guess what? Running notes are not supposed to be neat. They just need to be decipherable and understandable by YOU. It's not about the presentation; it’s about keeping track of everything that the teacher says because, believe me, it helps. Now, of course, if your notes are like mine with way too many arrows and caveman-ish handwriting interspersed with text language every now and then, then it could pose a slight problem, but nothing you can’t solve with a little bit more attention.

2. Write in your textbook

I know what you’re thinking, how do I expect you to listen, understand, make running notes, and write in the textbook?! Well, sometimes you need to make notes in your textbook. I know a lot of friends who prefer a clean textbook - honestly, it looks like they’ve never opened it! On the other hand, I’m sitting with a textbook that looks like it has been used for generations.

(Confession: It hasn’t.)

Sometimes the teacher talks so fast or gives utterly random pieces of knowledge that you have absolutely no idea how to jot it down - so you ignore it. But then, when two weeks later it shows up in your paper, you regret it. Believe me, if you can just take the small step of taking a pencil and writing down the things related to one particular topic besides the paragraph on it, it’ll do wonders.

Now, I’m not the kind of person who wishes to convert her textbook to rainbow vomit but another trick to “dirty” your textbook is to highlight. By highlight, I don’t mean highlight everything with ten different shades of color. A trick I use is to highlight only those parts which can come as objective questions. So, the next time, you don’t have to study your chapter twice. In the second reading, you can just simply read the points written beside the paragraph as well as the highlighted ones.

3. Don’t just write and study; write questions and study

I know what most people say - “It’s good to write points and study. It helps in increasing your retentivity and of course, increases your writing practice.” Okay, this is a bit out of context but honestly, I think with the amount of question answers and submissions we have, we get more than enough writing practice. But moving on the point, while writing points and studying may be an effective method, it’s a very time-consuming one. And after ninth, the last thing that you have in your schedule is time.

So, another method that I’ve “discovered” which works way better than making points is making questions. Not only can you make as twisted and weird questions as you want but the more questions you make, the more deep you go within the chapter. However, this trick only works if you write the question and then try to answer it. You can either write all your questions on a full scape sheet and staple it at the beginning of the chapter (that’s what I do!) or write it in the textbook itself (I do that too!).

4. Revision is key

Let me clarify one thing - by revision, I don’t mean the five-minute revision where you basically freak out once again (but this time in public) after coming to school on the day of the exam and suddenly have an innate desperation to get the answer of each and every question. I’m talking about the more systematic, organized way of revision which involves reading your notes, your questions, your highlighted points, your written points, and as well as skimming through your textbook one last time. And this is something that should not be done in school. It should be done either the day before, the night before, or in my case, the morning before the exam. This is something that should be done in the quiet and peace of your house. Then, after coming to school, you can answer all those desperate questions and manage to fit in a sort of extra revision. Not only does it give you a last run-through but it also helps increase your confidence, retentivity and helps you point out the things that you might have missed.

5. Never compromise on sleep (the day before the exam)

Let me tell you a story. I have this friend who is in my grade. Last year, before the Social Studies final exam, she stayed up the entire night and studied. For a person who needs at least ten alarms to wake her up, I was surprised! The next morning, when we’re standing at the bus stop, she buys a Red Bull for herself and chugs it. Caffeine, you know. How would you expect an exam to go in such a scenario? You have studied the entire night and you have a can of caffeine in your body - it’s a good predicament, isn’t it?

The exam went awful.

And it’s not because of the fact that she didn’t know anything; she knew everything. But she either kept dozing off (even after so much caffeine) or ended up with muddled thoughts for answers. And I too have flunked a paper before which I slept for three hours and went in with false confidence after being high on black coffee. No matter how much all-nighters are glorified, they are not fun. And they are certainly not worth it because while now you may know the answer to every question, your mind doesn’t have enough energy left to actually formulate those bits and pieces of information into long, drawn out precise answers that the teachers are looking for. You end up making silly mistakes or of course, just falling asleep during the paper.

So, instead of giving up on sleep the day before the exam, give up on the exam itself :)

A better way of framing this is - Instead of giving up on sleep the day before the exam, trust yourself and your preparation, and if you think it’s not enough, then do better next time.