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M. J. Kim
THERE IS NOTHING I LOVE MORE than relearning all of the year’s material for one exam. In light of the Year 12 Trials and Year 11 Yearly Examinations, I want to share my tips so that when Term 4 rolls around, you can feel just as prepared and confident as I do going into the exam room, and enjoy the preparation process as much as me.
You want to start your exam preparations by thinking about how inefficient you’ve been in the past. Really, you’re probably just feeling a bit lazy at the moment – but surely there’s a way to get top marks without studying? You can either get started early and aim to pace yourself, but I personally think it’s better to spend the weeks leading up to an exam watching videos on how to prepare for exams. That way, you can realise that it’s too late to implement any of the strategies the self-proclaimed ‘study gurus’ offer, and then tell yourself that you’ll 100% do them next time. But don’t fall into the trap of actually listening to those videos.
When preparing for exams, you want to make sure you aren’t burning yourself out. Mental health is very important. That’s why I try to offset all work for future me, so that present me can focus on enjoying the moment. At the end of the Term, you want to get into the habit of telling yourself that you’ll do most of the work during the holidays to get ahead. But obviously, holidays are for rest and recuperation. Don’t worry, there are still around six weeks until you get back to School to prepare for exams.
Wait, it’s Week 6 already, and you’ve still done no preparation! You thought you were still in Week 5? Don’t worry, because at least you’re winning the obligatory “I’m less prepared than you are” bragging competition between you and your mates.
In all seriousness, from here on out, you want to establish a rigid schedule according to the order of your exams. On Monday, you have English. Great, so you can start reading the text on Sunday. On Tuesday, there’s math, so you can work on that Monday night, etc. If you’re feeling really determined, you can organise a group cram session final revision session with your classmates, so that you can all distract each other even more.
It’s 12am, and you’re starting to realise why the teachers tell you to start working early, and work consistently. But it’s too late for that, isn’t it?
If you’ve read this far, you’ll now realise the pain of leaving things to the last minute. While we can laugh at the irony of watching youtube videos about studying rather than studying for examinations, I think you’ll realise that the best preparation is practice. You can understand why the adage is ‘practice makes perfect’.
As challenging as it is to put aside youtube or any other procrastination tools, my advice is don’t leave things to the last minute. Year 7, 8, 9 and 10 will all have examinations coming next term. Listen to your teachers, don’t leave things to the last minute.