Secrets Revealed: Ace your board exam without breaking a sweat

Students, have you studied very hard for your board exam and yet, disappointed with the results? Parents, despite the long study hours, do you still question your child’s efforts and his ability to do well in exams?

Neither of these mean there’s anything wrong with students or parents; it just means students need to adapt some smart and effective study tips for your board exams.

Fortunately, our team of school counselors and psychologists from Fortis Hospital have listed some of the most effective smart study strategies that could be easily incorporated during your revision time.

1. THE ENVIRONMENT

• Study at your table only. Avoid studying in bed
• Avoid watching TV and listening to music while studying
• Step for at least 7-8 hours every night
  

2. IMPROVING YOUR FOCUS AND ATTENTION SPAN  

• For 15 minutes a day, listen to instrumental music and focus on any one instrument.
• Do the ‘e’ exercise. Strikeout all the e’s in a paragraph of a newspaper article.

3. METHOD OF STUDY  

• Duration: Study for 40-45 minutes at a stretch with regular breaks of 5-10 minutes each
• Avoid confusion: Don’t study too many new topics and subjects on a single day
• Skimming: Fast reading and focusing on key words help concentration and learning
• Highlight words and phrases: This helps you remember them as distinct photo memories
• Make connections between points: This groups them together and act as a single memory chunk.
• Use mnemonics: Flow charts and graphics help you with remembering things

4. TAKE A BREAK

• Simple breathing exercises will help you relax and focus better
• Leave the study room. Avoid TV, reading and computer Music, light snacks and walks are more helpful

5. REVISION ROUTINE

• Typically, memory loss takes place within the first 24 hours of studying, and then weekly. For best results
  revise every section on day 12, 7,15 and 30
• Maintain the following revision chart to monitor your progress

Remember, you only need to read your notes and the highlighted sections while revising

6. SELF-EVALUATION

• Take weekly sell-tests: Time yourself and give yourself marks
• Put up a chart in your room and rate yourself on a scale of 0.5 in every subject

This article is written by certified and experienced clinical psychologists from Department of Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences at Fortis Healthcare