Someone wise once said that, “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.”
Preparing for the Exam is no less than an art. It has become a necessity for all aspirants to be a step ahead of others to beat the cut-throat competition. Candidates who are determined to crack the exam need to start their preparation at the earliest but can achieve the desired results in 60 days with proper planning, dedication, and hard work.
For competitive exams, thousands of candidates compete each year. So, you need to score high to set yourself apart from the competition and pass the exam. For that, you need very good preparation.
A study plan is an important component of your preparation. A study plan is mainly a commitment to yourself to study regularly for the exam so that you can meet your goals.
The First Month:
- Know the details:
“Read the Exam first, before reading for the Exam”
The initial step is to get very well acquainted with the details of the exam i.e. with the
- Syllabus: Go through it and plan your days accordingly.
- Get comfortable with the exam pattern: For this follow the previous year’s papers. This will enable the required clarity about the exam including types of questions, which area should be focussed more on etc.
- Important dates: if there are different parts of the exam which need to be completed on separate days, then knowing the dates is crucial.
- And the duration of the tests.
- Make a time table and strategize the preparation:
- Do smart work and make a realistic study timetable looking at the syllabus and allot appropriate time for each topic.
- Set daily, weekly and monthly realistic targets which will boost your confidence.
- Give equal time to each subject and work upon it to strengthen the concepts and their application.
- Prioritize every section and topic
- Mark out the important topics and then prioritize the concepts which need to be completed considering weak and strong topics.
- Strengthen your weaker subjects by taking help from faculties, friends, and online classes. Allocate extra hours every week for the difficult subjects and doubt-clearing sessions.
- Whilst focusing on weak areas, maintain your focus on the strong areas.
- Make Short Notes:
- Once you have shortlisted important topics, ensure that you make short notes for each of them while studying.
- Jot down important findings, tricks, shortcuts, and formulae you come across while studying a topic or solving a question.
- By making notes, memory retention will also improve, and the same notes can be used at the time of revision.
- Reach out to mentors and peers: If you are stuck on a question or concept don’t waste too many days on it. Reach out to mentors and friends for help.
- Revise:
Revise at the end of each day and allot a day per week for revision only. Consolidate your learnings. Repeated revisions help increase speed and decrease silly mistakes.
- Self Analysis:
Keep one hour a week for self-analysis and correction.
The Second Month:
- Practice:
- This is the time to practice questions from all those topics which have been covered during preparation. So practice different types of questions along with solving various samples and previous years’ question papers to get well versed with the level of questions in the exam.
- Solving more questions will not only act as a revision but more importantly make your concepts clearer. It will drive within you a thought process. Every time you solve a question, your mind gets habituated to the answering patterns.
- Take Mock Tests:
- It is nothing but a sort of trial exam.
- Mock tests serve an excellent purpose by acquainting the candidates with the real exam scenario and helping to solve important questions that aid in preparation.
- It is also a way to gauge your preparedness and identify your current standing.
- After every Mock Test, a Test Analysis will help you plug loopholes in your preparation.
- Revise & Practice:
- The last 10 days will be helpful for you in revising the concepts.
- In the last few days, spend less time studying the topics and more on revision. Make a practice of answering questions.
- Once you are done, go for the repetitive practice. It will be helpful for you in improving your knowledge of the concepts. Also, you will be able to improve your problem-solving speed.
- Avoid any new topic at the end moment which is not of high priority for the exam or difficult topics which are taking a lot of time. Focus on the topics that you have studied earlier.
- Remember the basic formulae and go through the questions asked in the previous year’s exams.
POINTS TO REMEMBER WHILE STUDYING:
- Make sure that you are mentally and physically fit. Focus on the preparation for now and not on the result. Try to follow a healthy routine.
- Discipline- You should make sure that you are sleeping on time and that your schedule matches the schedule of the examination.
- Regular Study with small breaks- Regular study is very important for you to excel. You do not have many days to lose.
- Focus- Preparation has to be your top priority now. Make sure that you are studying regularly without any obstructions. For competitive entrance examinations, especially, one does not count the number of hours he/she is spending in front of books; Rather, you need to measure the amount of focused study you’re doing.
- Direction- Make sure that you are keeping track of your work. It will be helpful for you in identifying your progress.
- Be relaxed and stay motivated.
- Keep the day before the exam as light as possible, and do not practice much. Go out, take a walk, and calm your nerves. Prepare stuff you need for the exam beforehand to avoid last minute rush.
A major issue that students have to deal with is the haphazardness created around a competitive exam. Finding a suitable study plan and working hard with discipline is of utmost importance to maximize one’s chances of clearing it.
We highly recommend you to not follow any Xyz study plan you see online, but rather modify it to fit your own needs. Every student is different with a unique learning pattern, so anything which is not customized to suit you might only leave you confused.
So, ensure that you stick to your custom study plan throughout your preparation which will avoid panic at the last moment and will help improve your efficiency.
We realize how crucial it is for you to ace an exam. But if you want to do well, study smart and not just hard, do your best and good results will show.
If you have a vision, Success is just a few steps away.
Written by Mr. Vikram Soni – Jitin Chawla Team
