Best Tips to Prepare for Board Examinations

Board exams are a pivotal point in the academic life of a student. The grade that student scores stay with him/her for the rest of their life. While preparing for these exams, the dilemma that most students face is in deciding the right way to start preparing, the right study material, and the right study plan. The students are under tremendous pressure to perform. This constant pressure leads to anxiety and stress. This article has effective tips for an organized and effective preparation strategy for Board examinations.

Ø  Devise a Study Plan– An effective study plan goes a long way to help with board exam preparations. Without proper planning, efforts can’t be directed to yield a fruitful result. So, to kickstart their preparation, students must develop the habit to prepare a customized study plan with the subjects, their topics, and dates. They should also schedule weekly tests or dates for solving sample and previous year papers. Making a master schedule for the entire syllabus and making small weekly schedules and sticking to it is the best way to go. This will not only give a sense of direction but also help the students to effectively cover the huge syllabus within the stipulated time frame.

Ø  Self-Study is essential– After the students have covered certain topics in the classroom or coaching, they should revise them and try to solve questions from those topics on their own. Self-study is an important step for board exam preparation. The student can reflect on whatever he/she has studied and can absorb the concepts. Setting targets and achieving them gives a major boost to confidence.

Ø  Practice from a Huge Question Bank– Practice is the backbone of your preparation. However deeply you study a topic unless you practice the same, you are sure to forget it slowly. Solving or going through several questions related to a particular topic clears the concept and helps the student to tackle any kind of question that the exam throws at him/her. A variety of questions should include long and short answer types, fill-in-the-blanks, match-the-following, label-the-diagram, and many more. Different kinds of questions test the student’s knowledge from every angle and at every depth and prepare them for the worst which is exactly how it should be. NCERT books also offer a plethora of questions at the end of each section for this reason only.

Ø  Take Enough Tests- Develop the habit of taking regular mock tests and solving previous years’ questions for getting acquainted with the paper pattern and the nature of the question. Timing yourself while solving the papers helps to simulate the test conditions and atmosphere and enhances your confidence. CBSE sample papers and NCERT Exemplar are the best sources for solving papers and practising questions.

Ø  Go for the Right Study Materials – National Council of Education, Research and Training (NCERT) has been playing godmother to board-appearing students in developing and distributing the right content materials and books to them, both at the primary and secondary level. For CBSE students, these NCERT books are godsent as they cover every important topic that is needed for their board examination. The best part about these books is that they focus on the crux of the concept and elaborate so clearly that all the doubts of the student are eradicated.

Besides this, NCERT has also developed ‘Exemplar Problems’ in science and mathematics that cover only the most important questions that are crucial to board examination patterns. Practising these questions not only helps the students to save their precious time but also helps them to focus on the most important fundamental concepts that will help them score excellent grades. These Exemplar Problems are the essence of Smart Study which is needed when the syllabus is huge and time is limited. The two major benefits of NCERT Books Class 10 Maths for board preparation are-

•       In-depth knowledge– One of the USP of the NCERT books is their ease of understanding. The easy language used in them helps the students to grasp the concepts easily and effectively. These books offer knowledge in depth, to the very core of the concepts that help students to understand and memorize easily. The most impressive thing about NCERT books is that they are designed for every student, irrespective of their IQ. The concepts and information in them are specified from the grassroots level.
•       CBSE Recommended– If you look at the previous years’ CBSE Board examination papers, you will find that bulk of the questions in them are directly or indirectly from the NCERT books. Talking about facts, the last two years’ mathematics board exam paper which was claimed to be the toughest each year, had maximum questions from NCERT Exemplar problems. On various occasions, CBSE asks twisted questions in the exam, especially in science subjects. A student who has diligently covered all the concepts from the NCERT books and understood and memorized everything, instead of simply mugging it all up, is 100% sure to tackle every single question in the board exam.

Ø  Strictly adhere to the CBSE Curriculum– Books and sources that strictly follow the CBSE curriculum and are sufficient for CBSE board exam preparations. The students should analyze the syllabus carefully at the start and aim to build concepts in the subjects. Building crystal-clear concepts not only forms the base for board exams but also for competitive examinations like IIT-JEE and NEET. These exams also follow the CBSE syllabus blindly and recommend the use of NCERT books for preparations.

Ø  Take necessary breaks– The experts advise to not sit continuously for more than two hours in a go. Follow the 45/15 rule. This rule calls for hardcore studying for 45 minutes followed by a 15-minutes break. During those 45 minutes of intense studying, the student should concentrate completely on studying and avoid getting distracted. The next 15 minutes can be used as wanted. Take a walk, play games, talk to a friend. Regular breaks in-between give time for the mind to replenish and absorb whatever is studied and are very important.

Ø  Adopt Good Study habits– Healthy studying habits are equally important during preparations. Punctuality, discipline, and time management are the key good habits. Preparing an effective study plan is not enough. Sticking to it and diligently following it is the real hard part. Avoid making frequent changes to the study schedule for personal reasons. Losing even a day can make a huge difference to the entire plan. Time management is equally important. Managing time effectively is the only thing that will help you cover the humongous Board exam syllabus.