How to Prepare for Examination –

An examination is an important and indispensable part of an academic program. Success in it leads to promotion and graduation while failure will lead to the opposite. Passing an examination is not by chance but by deliberate efforts.

Smart Tips For Exam Preparation.

1. Prepare a Daily Study Time Table: This is very crucial as well as understanding your best study time. These are some steps you will follow in designing your personal daily time table:

• Write out each working hour of the day of the week.
• Make a chart of time periods of one hour interval. Each interval will be for one subject. It is advisable that a brief time of (about 5- 15minutes) be allowed for a break in-between each period for break (for walking around, stretching out and taking in fresh air).
• Fill out the spaces of the time block that you cannot control. For example, Lesson time, manual labour, family chores, etc.
• Fill the remaining blocks with your subjects for personal studies.
• Go through your chart and schedule again and separate subjects that are similar that appear close enough in your chart. For example subjects like Government and Civic Education, Maths and Further Maths, English and English Literature, etc. Such subjects should not appear one after the other on your time table.
• Review your time table schedule with your counsellor.

 

 

 

Example of Personal study timetable

6-7am

7-8am

8-9am

9-10am

10-11am

11-12am

1-2pm

2-3pm

3-4pm

4-5pm

5-6pm

MON

TUE

WED

THURS

FRI

SAT

SUN

 

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”(Abraham Franklin)

 

2. Set Goals for Each Study Section: Know what you want to achieve or complete at each study time otherwise you can study for hours without achieving anything. Remember to reward yourself when your goal is achieved (give yourself a good treat) for motivational purposes. No one can motivate you until you motivate yourself.
3. Remove Distractors: Anything that will not help in realizing your set goal is a distractor and must be removed from your study area. Such things include mobile phones, pictures, mirror, and the likes. Stay focused and you will achieve your goal faster.
4. Have a Dedicated Study Area: People get influenced by their environment and there are environments that are not conducive for studying. Form a habit of studying in a dedicated place,   well ventilated with a reading table and seat. It is wrong to stay on your bed to read or stay in the living room where there are many distractions.
5. Study Actively and Effectively: To study actively and effectively involves doing meaningful learning activities and thinking about what you are reading. Highlight important words and points, summarize what you have read, answer questions related to the topic you are reading either from past question papers or from your textbooks. Draw and label diagrams, do practical work where necessary.
6. Revision: Our brain has the tendency of forgetting so easily, and so we must revise very often to retain what we have studied. Revisions can be done at intervals, 24hours after studying, one week after and one month after. At the final revision before the exam, you pay attention to the highlighted points and keywords. These highlighted words and points will help to link you up with your previous studies. So know what to focus on, not everything written in a book is important.
7. Be Consistent: Consistency and hard work yield success. Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson opined that:

“Success isn’t always about ‘Greatness’, it’s about consistency. Consistent, hard work gain success. Greatness will come. Success isn’t overnight. It’s when every day you get a little better than the day before. It all adds up”

Tony Robbins also added that “It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives. It’s what we do consistently.”

Do you want to be successful in your academic pursuit? You must be consistent with your studies.

In addition to the above tips, the following are bonus tips that will be of great help to you in few days to examination:

• Put up a positive attitude. Don’t panic because you just have few days left before the examination, having prepared yourself. Aim high, remain positive, and stay calm.
• Take frequent breaks, rest, sleep and exercise yourself.
• Hang-out with toppers and hardworking students and their dedication and enthusiasm will rub off on you.
• Eat well and drink a lot of water.
• Keep away from distractions.
• Finally, remember always to pray and rely on God.

Remember your school counsellor is always available to attend to you always.

References

1. How To Prepare For Exam in Short Time/chetChat.

Retrieved Jan.17, 2020, from, https://youtu.be/Glmw1nOUvZE

2. How to prepare for your exam – Smart Study/ Swapnil Patni.

Retrieved July 27, 2018, from, https://youtu.be/bALqPM31rA

3. Iwuama B.C and Ekwe.A. (2014), Guidance and Counselling in Nigerian Secondary Schools. Owerri: Mercy Divine Publishers.

 

 

Guidance Counsellor, LOGISS

Guidance.counsellor@logiss.org