Exams 101: How to Prepare For an Exam?

 

Whether you are in school, professional college, or going to appear in a government competitive exam, effective preparation is essential for success.

I remember one time a parent of my ex-student visited my home (she was my neighbor too) and asked me to scold her child for studying like mad. I was surprised to know that my ex-pupil was missing her lunches, relatives' functions, and even her prayers. The next day in school, I called her separately to discuss her problem.

We face this type of situation when our students are under a lot of pressure or stress. This can be due to changes in exam format, going into higher classes, peer- pressure, or expectations of our parents and teachers.

I know appearing in an exam is stressful, but you can make it easier by preparing with some planning and strategies. But before preparing for any exam you have to know, what it is about, and how can you secure good marks in it.

This article will guide you clearly and concisely about how to prepare for an exam.

 

Know About Your Exam:

 

1. Start early:

 

If you want to ace your exam, you have to start early. Remember the quotation about early risers being healthy, wealthy, and wise. The same goes for students who start preparing early. Studying near exams can be overwhelming; starting early will give you ample time for reviewing and taking practice tests.

You have to know about the following things from the start:

 

Syllabus:

 

What is the syllabus of the exam in which you are appearing? Knowing your syllabus will help you in determining what is important, and what is not.

In my 1^st year of teaching, I was asked to take my students to a city-level quiz program. The topic specified was "Space". So, after selecting participants, I and my students searched through the school library and started preparing for the quiz with the 5 best books available there. On the big day, we arrived at the venue and came to know that all schools were provided with a copy of the “space manual” from the quiz competition administration. Well ignoring the reason why we were not provided with the manual, my students secured 3^rd position (out of five schools).

In short, be clear about your syllabus outline, and focus on preparation for exams with a result-oriented mindset.

 

Example:

 

If you are preparing for a geography test and your syllabus is chapter number 1, and 3. You will be wasting your time if you also prepare for chapter 2 along with chapter number 1, and 3.

 

Exam Date:

 

You must know the exam date, and how much time you have got for preparations.

Figure out your exam date and mark it on your calendar or planner, so you can plan your schedule, revision sessions, test practice, and other activities according to available time for exam preparation.

You have to plan your review session according to the quantity of your syllabus coming in the exam. If you have to prepare for 5 chapters/ topics, plan a review session for 1 to 3 weeks along with test practices. Gradually increase the study timings, rather than doing it one day before the exam.  

 

Official Study material:

 

Ask for help from your teachers, mentor, or seniors, and arrange study materials like books, journals, or notes.

Check the publishing edition of books before buying. Don’t buy old editions, or you will miss the latest changes in content (like figures of population changes with each edition).

   

2. Find Out Exam Format:

 

In most exams, the examiner provides guidelines or paper patterns. If you want good marks while studying smartly, it’s important to know how you will be checked in an exam. The format of an exam dictates the extent of time you will give to any topic for preparation, revision, and test practice.

While teaching, it was my practice to give the syllabus, its objectives, and paper pattern at the start of the term in the same lecture. This sets the mindset and goals of students early on.

Ask the exam format from your teacher or mentor, to find out the structure, and number of questions coming in a test. Find out,

·         Whether it's objective type or subjective type paper.

·         How many questions will come in each section?

·         Which chapters or topics will make which section?

·         What is the mark distribution for each question?

 

The Distribution of Marks for an Exam:

 

Assessment is an essential and crucial part of any education, and marking schemes provide insightful feedback to students. It helps students in targeted learning and measures what and how well they have learned.

If you are preparing for an exam, look at the mark distribution for each section and part of the question.

 

For objective type paper:

 

Read through lines/ text, and highlight important words, figures, and points. Make flow charts, flashcards, tables, or graphs for learning them.

 

For subjective type paper:

 

Prepare according to marks distribution, for subjective paper.

In the short questions section of two marks for definition, quotation, Ayah, or Hadith, write to-the-point answers with reference.

Whereas for long questions ranging from 4 to 10 marks, you will have to write a comprehensive and detailed answer.

For this find out, which topics are important for objectives, and which come in subjective type paper.

 

Which topics are important?

 

Studying for exams can be overwhelming, but you can make it easier by identifying important topics and prioritizing them. Begin with looking at past papers, and noting any repeated questions in them. You will identify a pattern for most exams. Once you have identified which topics are important, prepare them first.

Also take the help of teachers, daily lectures, and seniors to identify important questions for preparing exams. Usually, students overlook practice tests conducted in schools. So, always go through your practice tests for important questions before preparing for the final exam.

 

Learn From Previous Question Papers:

 

After knowing about the syllabus, paper format, marks distribution, and important questions you can start studying comfortably. During studies, arrange past papers from your seniors, and teachers, or you can search through the market or internet for them.

Practicing for exams with past question papers is a great way of preparation. It will help you familiarize yourself with exam format and time management. Time yourself to solve every question according to the exam format and identify your weaknesses.

Discuss your previous question papers with your teacher or mentor to identify the following points:

 

1. What Is Examiner Asking In The Question?

 

Sometimes a simple question becomes tricky with some changes in wording in the question paper. Students know the answer to that question but they become confused due to wordings. Discuss these questions with your teacher, and identify what is the examiner asking from you.

Practice answering questions by relating them to main concepts and topics. Identify and classify information asked in a question, then look at the marks and answer it.

 

Example:

 

If the examiner is asking you about the importance of transportation,

• For a comprehensive question of 6 marks, you will describe the importance with an explanation for each point. But for 2 marks, you will write a to-the-point answer.

• In a comprehensive question, you can write the definition of transportation with importance but not types of transportation.  

 

2. Don't Over Learn:

 

When preparing for exams think of the examiner and decide what will come in exams. Take help from previous papers and focus on important material, rather than getting stuck on topics that don't matter. Identify those topics that never come in the exam and leave them for last.

Then some topics are very important and come in objective and subjective, start preparing these topics first. Some topics have the highest marks in a paper or are frequently asked, prepare for them. Don’t over-learn for exams. If you can’t identify the important topics (for example essay, letter, story, or application, they are usually an unseen portion of the exam), then learn the main theme or concept for that topic instead of over-learning.

 

Take Practice Exams:

 

Review previous papers, tests, and assignments, and practice them. Time yourself while taking practice exams, and improve your answering speed for real exams. Practice test helps you know about your weaknesses, improve them, and learn your weak topics after checking your practice tests.

 

Use Experience Of Others:

 

Your teachers and seniors have passed through all the hurdles that you are facing now. So, ask for their help whenever you need it.

But remember asking about exam format, marks distribution, marking scheme, previous tests, and important questions is okay, but don't ask what’s going to be on the test. So don’t embarrass others and yourself by asking this.

 

Final thoughts:

 

Don't feel stressed due to any exam, but try to work hard and consistently for them. Start studying in small chunks and build up the momentum. Keep working hard using the above-mentioned strategies and don't forget to pray.