Lifehacks to score well

I just got done with my semester and it went well. I was waiting for this feeling of fulfilment before writing this post (yeah I had planned this long ago). So soon after the exams I started compiling a list of stuff that helped me studying for the exams and also doing well (at least I’m satisfied). This is written as a guide to surviving in your undergrad or high school or for competitive exams. I’ve had my fair share of exams, experimented and realised a lot about studying for exams. What follows is a tried and tested (although non-exhaustive I suppose) list of things that will help you score better in the next exam that you will appear for.

• Sleep well

By far this is the most important thing that I have realised. Out of all the things that are to follow and no matter what anyone says or how young you feel, pulling up all-nighters is great, just not the day before exams. When you sleep enough, your mind tends to function better in the exams. I’ve been on both sides of this point, I’ve pulled all-nighters for many exams and ended up sleepy during exam time and making silly mistakes like writing 2+2=6 and also I’ve slept without completing the syllabus endless times (ya, it’s scary but you get used to it) the day before exams, woke up with a fresh mind and able to spin beautiful stories (answers) with however much I’ve read.

• Start early

It’s very tempting to try fitting into the general description of students (if you’re not already) to start studying just before the exams and score well. Makes you feel that you did this much by just studying for a night or for two night, what you could have accomplished with a semester worth of studying! But this is not really true (at least it wasn’t for me). It took me sometime but I realised that I need to start early as the amount of information and concepts are just too much in college to complete in a night. Also I realised that if I start early, I don’t have to study too much at a time and can study relatively less amount of things and get some time off to do other stuff (like play the guitar).

• The power of short-term memory

Although you started early (I hope I motivated you enough), you still need to study harder during the days before the exam. Even if you completed the whole syllabus, go over it again and again if you get the time. Wonder why you don’t remember lot of the stuff that you studied the night before the exam but you were able to reproduce everything in the examination? That’s your short term memory and it is a really wonderful thing, use it to the fullest. Also remember, it is the better to revise whatever you have studied rather than learning new things in the last minute before the exams.

• Learn the right way

  I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand. Confucius

It is important to listen in class, but it is more important to derive stuff yourself and also employ visual techniques whenever you can. Flashcards, flowcharts and diagrams are the most effective ways to learn. Read something and then close the book, try to recreate whatever you have learnt as a flowchart or a diagram. You will know how much you remember and what you remember. The next time you see the diagram, it will instantly click somewhere in your mind. For remembering the basic amino acids and their structures in one semester, I drew all of them 5 times in my notebook from memory, but I knew I will forget it soon, so I hanged the last page with all the diagrams just above my study table, this served as a constant reminder throughout the semester and I didn’t have to practice it on the last day but still remembered their structures.

• Old test papers

This point goes mostly for competitive exams (I’ve had my fair share of them, but not enough I guess). If you get previous years papers, given that the instructor has not changed, it’s a good idea to have a look at it. It serves two purposes, first it gives you an idea of what the exam will be like and the second thing is that it prepares you and calms you down a bit if you know most of the questions (yeah, happens to me). But the main thing to remember is to have a look at it few days before the exam so that you can prepare accordingly.

• Group study

As much it is important to study alone, it is also important to have a discussion with other people taking the same course or appearing for the same exam. A discussion is a good exercise that gives you others perspective and it is a nice thing to have. Other people may view the same theories and topics in widely different ways than what you had thought. They may also help you clear your doubts and you may help clear them theirs. The most important thing however is to have a discussion after one has done some individual studying and be focused on the discussion at hand. Starting your study with group discussions is not a good idea and I personally find it very distracting because my friends and I end up meandering and getting entangled in other discussions.

• People in your group study

The benefits of a study group come in from the people in it. Choose people carefully with whom you want to discuss or study. It is good to have a divided bunch of students, some more studious (or intelligent) than you and other less. The more studious people can guide you when you need it and explaining to other not so studious people will provide you with the practice you need to develop confidence in yourself. A highly studious group is also not recommended as they generally won’t like helping you always. That’s what I’ve felt personally, you may have different views, so this point is not so strict as the others.

• Get everything in order beforehand

Before the exam, it is necessary to be prepared for it and have everything in order including admit card, ID proof (they are asking for it in the institute exams nowadays too. I know, it sucks!), calculators (if required and allowed), pen, pencil and other stuff. It saves a lot of stress and anxiety just before the exams if you can’t locate things at the last moment.

• Don’t compare with others

The most toxic thing that I have seen people do is compare themselves and their performance with that of others. Everyone is different, there will be people who read much less than you but score better and there will be people who score less than you but read much more. Some people take less time to understand and remember while others require a lot of time for the same. You need to find your balance and study accordingly. Don’t expect to score the same as everyone who has read as much as you, even the people with whom you have studied in a group will score differently.

• But, do compare…

With your past performance. Life is meant to constantly improve oneself, so one should always strive to improve his/her performance. Take sometime to analyse what you are lacking in terms of preparation and what you can improve on. I started sleeping and stopped pulling all-nighters after I missed an exam due to sleeping at the time of exam, during a semester. I started using visual cues after I had trouble remembering a lot of stuff at the last minute for an exam. I stumbled upon the short-term memory thing is a post somewhere (I don’t remember now from where) and it has helped me since. Earlier I used to stop studying just before exams because I didn’t feel motivated enough and also because I believed it doesn’t help, only after practicing it I realised that yes it does. Look around for inspiration and try to identify your weakness and work on it, don’t wait for someone to help you out or something miraculous to happen. Be the miracle ;)

• Don’t evaluate yourself after exam

The last but a very important point is to not evaluate or check your answers right after the exam. It will bring you nothing except sadness and helplessness. In school, I used to discuss answers after every exam by comparing my answers with other people (for competitive exams I did so by checking my answers with the answer keys released by different institutes). It turned off my mood if I had not done well and I would be sad or angry or irritated for the whole day. Sometimes, in the end of it I would realise that my answer was right all along and the other person had provided me with a wrong answer. Then one day I decided I won’t check my answers as I could not do anything about it even if my answer was wrong and I realised that it is always worth the wait for final results by the concerned body/organisation.

That’s it, I know it was a long read and congratulations for completing it! If you have any other ideas or points that you feel I left out, do mention them in the comments. Also if you tried these out and want to provide any feedback or inspiration for others, do share!