Some keys to exam success

When should you get ready for an exam? The obvious answer is the first day of class. You should start studying for the exam on the first day of class even if you do not have a lesson on that day! You cannot skip one single day without studying when you are getting ready for an exam.

Are there any exam secrets? Genuine answer would be ‘No’. Some people make good money fooling the under-prepared students, claiming that they would disclose these secrets enabling them to get through their examinations. All these are myths. There are no secrets in passing exams. All you need is to make a genuine effort with patience.

The following four essentials must be followed in sequence.

1. Goal
2. Necessity
3. Desire
4. Determination

You must have a well set goal. Your goal should be to achieve the excellent results in the exam. Even if you do have the goal, unless you do have the necessity, you will never be able to achieve the expected results. Desire is the most crucial step. The final step is the determination or commitment without which even if you have the first three steps, you will never end up with the anticipated results.

In fact, much of your success in life will depend upon your ability to learn. Learning ‘how to learn’ is one of the greatest investments you can ever make. Here are some principles, techniques and strategies of amazing ‘learners’.

Imagine, you have an exam round the corner that you need to ace. But you may have worries about how much you have studied and not being able to remember what you have studied. Do not beat yourself up. It is a very natural feeling. However you must ensure you have a study plan and strategy in place, because if you do not, you will end up flunking or just an average pass.

1. Reprogram your mindset:

Do you believe you are the best and you deserve to have that excellent grade? News paper articles may appear daily highlighting your results if you could obtain the country’s very best results in the exam. What goes on in your mind is what will determine how serious you take your studies, which will in turn determine your grade. Begin to reprogram your mind that, success is yours for the taking if only you will apply yourself to serious studying.

Deep learning involves asking questions, sharing learned information with others, recording yourself whilst reading your notes and to have these records play over and over again on a Walkman, using mind maps and any learning aid to help you with your revision. Even while driving, a car cassette player could help you listen to the recorded lectures. How your mind is programmed can make you a success, an average person or a failure.

2. Be health conscious:

The truth is that if you are not in good condition health wise, you will never be able to bring yourself to study. Your health is a direct reflection of your ability to study.

A wise man once said, “The wise man should consider that health is the greatest of human blessings. Let your medicine be your food and your food your medicine.”

What kind of food are you constantly putting in your body? Are your meals packed with vegetables, fruits, nuts, white fish and lots of water, or are you a fast food addict, who often consumes fried rice, chicken, pizza and French fries?

This kind of food will eventually suck up all your energy. The reason being that fast foods are cooked with the wrong kinds of oil. Furthermore crisps and fizzy drinks are too salty and too sugary. Just because you cannot see what happens after you eat your meal should not make you abuse your body. As Edward Stanley, Earl of Derby (1826-93) and British statesman put it at ‘The Conduct of Life’, address at Liverpool College, December 20, 1873, “Those who think they have no time for healthy eating will sooner or later have to find time for illness.”

3. Daily exercise:

Emphasis cannot be placed on how a few minutes of exercise will increase your ability to study, by pumping blood to your brain. The simplest of exercises which may just be jogging or climbing stairs would be great. It could also be something more fun, like dancing to your favourite music, whatever form of exercise you can easily do just before you settle down to study.

Ten to 15 minutes of exercise will greatly increase your absorption rate of your study material. Also try and take 15 to 30 minute breaks while studying. All these enhance your concentration level.

4. Make studying fun:

Everybody loves fun. You will discover that a little bit of fun, will keep you wanting to study some more. Studying is something that most people, especially teenagers find boring. Those who have learned to have fun while studying are the students who make excellent grades.

For example if you are a visual learner, keep notes in picture form, brightly and colourfully labelled. Have fun with sketches; link what you are learning to things around you. You could have a pen represent number one in your memory. Likewise the number zero could be represented visually by an orange or an egg. Whatever your studying style is, use it in a fun way to make your studies enjoyable.

5. Stimulate your brain:

When it comes to learning, your mind loves stimulation. Most people can easily remember what happened in their favourite TV show or movie. Many people even have photographic or movie like recollections of their favourite stars acting. Yet these same people cannot always remember what they learned in class.

The reason for this is simple, when things are stimulating, it is remembered them more easily. Think about it - if you saw a good looking red car on the road today, you probably would not remember it. But if you saw a man with a sharpen knife killing another man on the road, you would remember it easily, even years later. If you want to remember something more easily, the first step is to bring it to life in your imagination. Find an exciting, stimulating way of thinking about what you are studying. Make what you are studying into a movie in your mind, which you experience.

For example, if you are studying about a battle in a history lesson...instead of making vague notes about what happened; imagine that you are actually there at the battle. See everything that happened... Imagine that you are the commander of an army or a captain of a boat.

Then when you remember it, when you need to, imagine being back in the battle and see what happened. Make what you study fun and exciting in your imagination. It will help you remember better.