No need to fear exam-stop last minute preparation

This is the time of the year when all schools and colleges are gearing up to conduct their final term exams. It is the time when books, courses and preparations  are much talked about. Fever rages like an epidemic in the student world. But in this age of prophylactics and wonder drugs, cannot this ailment be prevented? Yes, it can be if the right remedies are taken.

The first thing one should do to immunize oneself against the examination is to stop worrying about it. Giving up all your fear about it. It is easier said than done, one may say. But it can be just as easy if one had been preparing for it through the year. It is the frantic eleventh-hour study which sends a chill through one’s spine and gives that down and out feeling. The symptom of the exam, fever.

Only when one gets these symptoms of an ailment does one have to seek the physician’s advice and take the medicines prescribed by him however bitter they may be. If one feels well, the doctor and the drugs are out of one’s thought. Then work and play are both pleasure. For one is healthy and has enough energy to engage oneself in chosen pursuits. And in the right sprits too.

Only when one is in the right spirit—free from all tension and nervousness, does one learn and understand things better. The right frame of mind is necessary for all mental endeavours. When one learns with joy and develops interest, what is learnt proves interesting and the knowledge so acquired gets firmly embedded in one’s memory. If a student had been learning with interest little by little the different subjects, if he had been diligently doing periodical revision of the portions learnt, if he had carefully checked the errors in his work, then examination can never give him any fear. S/he will face it with confidence.

The exam fever attacks one because one lacks confidence in oneself. And for this one has to blame oneself. If one had been steady, even if one is a slow learner, through the year revising one’s lessons and notes now and then, one would stand in a good stead during the examination without any last-minute intensive study. For such a student there is no need to burn the midnight oil. Even if one keeps awake late in the night and hurriedly studies the text-books as exams approach, it is of no avail. By such rapid reading nothing will permanently stay in one’s head. One will not absorb what one reads. And so one’s memory can fail one at the examination hall.

 What I have stated above is no empty theory. It is what I have gathered from the experiences of several students I have observed in their study habits and performance at the examination. Bright students rarely have fear for the examination. On the contrary, they welcome its fast arrival so that they can finish it off early and enjoy their vacation soon. Remember no student is born bright. Only by one’s healthy habits and steady diligence does one become bright. And everyone has a right to be a bright student by dint of one’s effort and methodical study, not otherwise.

There is a saying: “genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.” In other words, no one is born a genius, but becomes one because of one’s hard work and intelligent application. That involves putting one’s heart and soul into what one does. Even if you study for a while let it be with full concentration. If you whole-heartedly devote yourself to learning a little each day but regularly through the year, you will find no need to rush through the text-books towards the end of the year. One can even take it easy as the examination approaches.

You  may ask, “what is the use of these tips now?” and rightly so. Those who have been indulgent in the early months of the year can make amends even now. It is never too late to make a good beginning; it is never too late to learn a good thing. No rush work at present is going to be of any help. Prepare for the next examination methodically and diligently. Make that resolve right now. The result one will reap only in the year following. No make-shift work now can avert the outcome of the neglect of the months that have gone by.

Those who have played too much in the previous months at the cost of their studies would do well by not taxing their brains too much at this late hour. For that will only worsen their performance. It is next to impossible to make up for nine months’ neglect by one month’s effort. All they can do now is to learn at an even pace some of the portions where they have tripped in the previous tests. And that they must do without thinking too much about the exam. What they should avoid most is sitting up late and memorizing answers on the night previous to the exam day. This may make them drowsy and feel tired in the examination hall and even what little they know they would not be able to present properly.

 Brain fag can weaken the performance of even bright students if they sit up late in the night and revise all the portions on the night previous to the examination day. In fact, even brilliant students bring down their rank by such over-zealous study during exam days. The rule for them should be: treat the examination day as any other day. What is stored up in the memory will flow out smoothly through one’s pen only if one’s body and mind are in normal state. And if one has understood what one has read there is no need for anxiety. That knowledge cannot fail one at the opportune hour. In exam week “take It easy” should be the golden rule.

Carelessness can cost the student much in the examination hall despite all the intensive study and preparation in the previous days. Marks are given for what is written in the answer papers. One should not get flustered when the question papers are distributed, nor read through them in haste. That will mean one’s not understanding the questions correctly. And if questions are misunderstood the answers too will be wrong.

Going through the question paper carefully and calmly is a must for every student. Even if this takes some time it is worth it. If you understand the questions correctly your answers too will be right provided you have learnt the text well. When one is given a choice of questions to answer, studying the question paper well will help one in making the right choice. Wise study and choice ensure success.