Tuesday, September 24, 2013

LEARN AND LIVE ITEM: PREPARE FOR EXAMS (ITEM 1)



LEARN AND LIVE ITEM: PREPARE FOR EXAMS (SEPT 4 ITEM: THE FIRST OF FIVE ITEMS) … These items should help those of you preparing for exams.)

WHEN you are in school, college or university, you are usually assessed in a number of ways.

You can be given assignments which could be done over a week or even longer. You have the benefit of sharing ideas with friends as well as researching as many textbooks or other sources to complete the assignment, which could include short answer questions or writing an essay on a topic.

In assessing you, teachers or lecturers can also give tests – the most common assessment tool.

Another way you can be assessed is to be given a project to do. In Science or Engineering and related subjects, it could be to build something, produce something such as a coconut soap or another chemical.

And then, there are examinations (exams).

Exams usually carry a lot more weight and can determine whether you get an A, B or fail a subject that you are studying. 

Most of you - students in schools, colleges and universities - should be getting ready for exams at this time of the year.

Therefore, I will be writing on that theme to remind you on the need to prepare for the exams.

Writing exams at the Grade 8, 10, 12 or university is a different kind of exercise. It is not like the tests that you do on a regular basis or the projects you work on to complete.

An exam is one in which you are to be examined on a term’s, semester’s or even two-years’ work over a period of two or three hours.

Many students who do well in their assignments and tests do poorly in their exams because they do not prepare properly for their examinations.

Here are some pointers that you should take note of to do well in your exams.

Plan ahead. Study for your exams four weeks (or more) ahead of the exam time. Trying to do last minute cramming is not good. It is a bad habit to develop.

Write your exam dates and stick them over/on your study table. That should remind you to start on your preparations early.

If you are studying four subjects, divide your time in the week to study each of the four.

Of course, studying would be different from your homework, which would still be given to you as you approach exam time.

If the subjects are English, Maths, Science or Social Science, you could start with English for one hour on Monday, Maths on Tuesday, Science on Wednesday and so on.

You might have to spend more time in one subject than others because it is the more challenging one. Do not neglect any subject though. Try to do well in all of them.

Your night study time could be divided into two parts – homework time and study time, with homework time going from 7.30 to 9.30 in the night and you study from 9.30 to 10.30.  

Or, you might want to study first before doing homework because it is better to concentrate on some subjects when your mind is still fresh.

    

Next: What do you to prepare for your exams   

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