Studying the ‘Right’ Way
Studying is an inevitable part of your IGCSEs and A Levels. Common opinion describes studying as a hateable exercise, and rightly so for many. Without finding what works best for you, you are bound to dislike learning. I feel that you fully define your study experience, and doing it the ‘right’ way means you make it a whole lot easier for yourself, and possibly more enjoyable. In this article, I’ve curated tips from my experience with my exams, and my experience with other learners as well. Find what works best for you, and nail those exams.
Purposeful Learning
A principal exercise. Define your purpose. Your purpose of studying – is it to satisfy some curiosities, score XYZ target grades, a mix of the two, or something else entirely. This isn’t an immediate exercise. Self-reflection takes time, and your purposes can also evolve over time.
The point of defining a purpose is that you set a direction for yourself. You know why you’re doing what you’re doing, and there becomes little reason to doubt yourself or give up when it gets tougher. Decision-making becomes a whole lot easier, and you’re able to prioritise
even better.
When deciding my IGCSE subjects, I chose to do the three Sciences so that I could narrow down my career choices. I wanted to delve deeper into Biology, Chemistry, and Physics to learn if they were for me. I did have some interest in the subjects too. But with time, I learned that none of the Sciences were for me – especially Physics. I crossed medicine and architecture off my career options list. Now what purpose did the Sciences leave me with? If they left me with no purpose whatsoever, I would have dropped them. However, I discovered an evolved set of purposes. I appreciated the challenge in the subjects, I enjoyed some lessons with some wonderful teachers, and I knew I wanted a figuratively stronger academic profile with ten subjects rather than seven. Defining these alternate purposes helped me stay motivated to still achieve those A* grades because I knew why I was doing it.
Defining your purposes is a rather simple task, but not doing it leaves the possibility of you being lost in the middle of the year. Experiencing the IGCSEs for the first time makes it likely that you find it difficult at some point, and that’s when the “lost feeling” becomes especially strong.
During your AS and A Levels, your purpose becomes more important. You need to achieve target grades to attend the universities you’ve applied to. You’ve picked subjects you’re particularly interested in and will likely continue in the future, so you have a purpose of developing your interests and forming a strong foundation in the subject(s) to make university an easier experience.
Discovering your Style
Okay. You’ve defined your purposes. How do you actually study though? This is something that varies from person to person, and that’s when discovering your style becomes imperative.
The one thing I can say for certain is reading the textbook, highlighting here and there, and doing a couple worksheets, is not studying. There’s a plethora of methods out there, and when you are able to discover the niche ways that work for you, you can say you’re studying smarter, not harder. Go you!
A preliminary exercise here is to do an online test about your learning style. You usually get categorised into either an auditory learner, a visual learner, or a kinesthetic learner. Each of these styles have different ways of processing, remembering, and applying information.
Figuring out your learning style means you can use specific methods that work more effectively for you.
Auditory learners benefit most from aural information, such as podcasts or lectures. Typically, the use of mnemonics, rhymes, and songs are preferred; along with a habit of reading notes out loud; converting visuals to verbal descriptions; studying in quiet spaces; and the list goes on.
Visual learners, which is the most common learning style, rely on visual information such as text, diagrams, illustrations, mind maps, and so on. The use of colours and highlighters aids the retention of information.
Finally, kinesthetic learners have a preference for tactical activities and practical experiments. They have a liking for building and constructing and using their senses to learn and remember information.
I am primarily a visual learner; and so I use a lot of text (reading/writing), diagrams, and colours to retain information. I complement this with other methods, such as mnemonics, active recall, flashcards, and so on.
This is only possible after you’ve experimented with what works for you and what doesn’t. Note-taking is a popular method in my class, but I find it particularly inefficient. It’s the same with creating posters and charts for me – but it may work perfectly well for someone else.
You have the entire time and freedom to test out what works for you, and then stick to it until you get bored. Then try something new. There isn’t a shortage of studying methods. In fact, being in school meant my teachers were always trying new methods with us, and that helped me choose what works for me and what doesn’t.
Engage with other People
Engaging with your teachers or tutors is a fundamental part of studying. The IGCSEs and A Levels are structured so that there’s a particular way to write your answers or essays. Repeatedly practising and asking teachers for feedback is a formidable way to continually improve the quality of your answers. Understand the most-specific ways in which your answers can be improved, re-do your answer, and ask for feedback again. And again. And again. Your educators are experienced and they’ve seen a range of student answers throughout their careers, allowing them to draw a framework for an ideal answer.
There are times when studying with friends or classmates can be very rewarding. For example, teaching someone else the content is a tried-and-tested method of studying. Being able to teach a concept reflects a sound understanding. This can be complemented by using a whiteboard – gives the full teacher experience.
Otherwise, you can also use flashcards with a friend. It’s mutually beneficial and a break from the monotony of studying alone.
If you can find innovative ways to study with a peer, go ahead. It’s always about finding what’s best for you.
Proper Planning and Scheduling
The one thing I know would have made studying a lot easier had I done it would be revising content as and when I was learning it. I made the mistake of skipping that – but you shouldn’t. The periods where you’re not doing your mocks or your exams are relatively light, and it’s best to make use of that time to revise. Even if it’s for as short of a time as 15 minutes.
This distributes the weight of studying, away from the already-heavy periods close to exams, to the lightweight periods far from examinations. Eliminates a lot of the stress, if any.
Secondly, it always helps to have a study schedule before a set of mock exams or final exams. I always make it a point to include some leeway in my schedule – I feel like if it’s too rigid, it can become demotivating if you lose track at any point (which happens way too often). Instead, I offer myself some flexibility by leaving a free Friday in a week. This way, I can move over tasks I haven’t completed on XYZ days to the free Friday. And it follows that I’m always on track.
You also have the option to either finish one subject at a time (for example, 5 days of Biology followed by 5 days of Chemistry); or, if you like more variety in your day, combine two or three subjects into one day (10 days of Biology and Chemistry together).
There are some subjects, mostly the technical ones that require practice, that you could do daily. For example, practice a Maths past paper everyday.
By outlining a plan and schedule that works for you, you’re staying ahead of yourself and ensuring you’re doing sufficient work for your exams.
Eat. Sleep. Rest
You’re not gaining anything by pulling all-nighters and overworking yourself with coffee and what not. It’s probably fashionable, and makes for good small talk. But it’s not worth it. Consequences of being burned out include weaker memory retention, a weaker ability to comprehend concepts, and to study altogether.
Prioritise a sufficient diet. Prioritise your sleep – remember you have those free Fridays you can move incomplete tasks to. And prioritise some rest. Studying intensively for short periods of time has proved to be more effective than studying for long drawn out periods.
Cumulatively, it’s about learning what’s best for you. You’re unlikely to know this before you begin your IGCSEs, but with an intention of finding out what works for you, you’ll be able to discover it soon enough. Discipline is important, especially when it gets closer to the exams, and I feel that discipline comes along with understanding and remembering your purpose for learning. Find what works best for you, and nail those exams.
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