How to prepare for Board Exams?

10 tips to prepare for your Board Exams

Here are some suggestions that surely will help you to overcome the fear of Board Examination.

1. Discover your learning style

The methods others use won’t necessarily be as effective for you — including those used by members of your study group. Are you a visual or an auditory learner? Finding out which style works best for you is something to consider in the early stages of preparing for board exams. If you are a visual learner, try videos (like Youtube, Byjus, Unacademy). If you are an auditory learner, record lectures and play them back.

2. Plan to put in the time

As we mentioned above, mastering the material you need to know for the boards will take some time — perhaps more than you bargained for. Between all of your obligations, it can be hard enough to find the time to get enough sleep, let alone put it in an hour or two of studying every night leading up to the board exam. It’s best to start months, or even from the beginning of the session. The last thing you want to do is resort to cramming.

In a study done by Nate Kornell, spaced repetition of the material you’re learning proved to be more effective than cramming by 20%. Implementing spacing allows you to retain more information than cramming with a higher recall rate.

Bonus tip: Try studying during your morning and evening commutes. All of that time adds up!

3. Start a study group

Preparing for board exams with your friends is a great way to help address each other’s weaknesses. You may have one area completely covered to the point where you can be the teacher in that group, yet struggle immensely in another area. Try to have everyone agree on a set time to meet. Your discussions will go a long way.

4. Avoid burnout

The last thing you want is to be burned out studying. It can be extremely beneficial to take study breaks. Research suggests that doing something you enjoy the day before the exam has a more positive effect than continuing to study up to the last minute.

5. Exercise during your breaks

According to study, those who exercise with moderate intensity 30 minutes per day, every day, have improved memory and concentration. If you feel as though you’re in a fog, start exercising regularly.

6. Take advantage of mobile resources to study for boards

There are numerous apps that can give you the tools to create your own flash cards and exams. This study shows that students who use online studying tools have higher test scores than students who don’t. Reviewing board exam flash cards is a lot easier than trying to search through a textbook for a specific review section.

7. Find a better study environment

Study somewhere that is free from as many distractions as possible. If you’re reviewing notes — or better yet, testing yourself — in front of a TV, chances are you won’t be very productive. Find a quiet corner in your local library that you can rely on for a focused study session.

8. Prioritize challenging subjects

As we noted above, it’s tempting to procrastinate on the harder subjects — but you don’t want to be caught without enough time to master them. Knowing which subjects present the biggest challenge to you allows you to decide how much time you’ll dedicate to them versus reviewing what you’re more comfortable with.

9. Get enough sleep

This study shows that irregular sleep directly affects academic performance. Aim for at least 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep.

10. Test yourself

Testing yourself may just be the best way to study for boards — as we’ve noted, studying by reading over your materials and not testing yourself may be the biggest mistake you can make in preparing for your exam. One effective method of assessing your knowledge is to use practice exams, which simulate the timed environment of the actual board exam you’re taking.

Source: knowledgeplus.nejm.org