Page 1 of 4 Effective & Proven Guide to Passing Competitive & Board exams

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Raghunathan KC (Raghu) Psycho Therapist & Student Counselor Bangalore Kethan2212@gmail.com

_______________________________________________________________________ EFFECTIVE GUIDE FOR EXAM PREPARATION & Passing with Flying Colors in Competitive Exams- 2013 Dear Friends, In the last several months, we have watched a lot of video and presentation materials on how to prepare for exams, and how to pass with flying colors in Competitive board exams. Please find below the proven secrets of success to help you.

Preparing for Exams:

If you have less than one month for your final exam, then avoid any kind of Group Study Study at least 4 different subjects a day , one of which should be English, Local Language or Hindi Do not study the same subject like mathematics, science or social science continuously for 3- 4 hours Allocate at least 1 hour or 1 hour 15 minutes to cover one or two lessons in each subject every day. When studying each lesson please ensure you that you cut half sheet of paper from your writing / note book, and make points in your own handwriting, into several slips. Use this for revision before the exam The lesson notes should be like(A) Important points, (B) Beginning, Middle, End of the lesson, (C) Important dates / events to remember (D) Additional and extra points in the lesson. Use different colors for making your notes for different topics in each lesson: Different color pencils for Important points, Important dates, Important events, Key words, Extra notes on lesson Take 5 10 minutes break after studying the lesson, to mentally think and revise the lesson you studied. In this break time you can also hear songs or watch the TV for 5 minutes, or go to shop to buy something Study the important lessons, based on past question papers as advised by your school authorities Study the lesson in the subject that has maximum questions in the Exam and maximum marks allocated in the past question papers. Avoid and do not engage in any fights, disputes, arguments, with your family, parents, friends, neighbors during the study holidays and exam preparation, Particularly do not fight, or argue with parents, brothers, sisters, friends, and relatives on the day before the exam, on the day of the exam for whatever reason Study in quiet place as much as possible , and do not involve in gossip, or worry about the disturbances in the neighborhood and actions of neighbors.

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Physical Exercise:
It is very important to do some physical exercise everyday as part of your exam preparation Do not play time consuming physically competitive games like Cricket, Football, Basket ball, or indulge in Mobile games or TV / Xbox games (makes you physically tired) The physical exercise can be brisk walk for 10 minutes, simple yoga and bending exercises or jogging that do not tire your body and mind. Breathing exercise are great can be done anywhere and anytime. Practice breathing exercise everyday in the morning and evening for 10 minutes before you start studying for your exams

FOOD & Drinks:

Do not go hungry as part of your exam study and preparation Eat your normal breakfast, lunch and dinner as per your practice Do not over-eat, and fill your stomach to the full before studying for exams

Do not consume the following:

Lots of cups of tea, coffee (creates sleeplessness and confusion) Coke, Pepsi, Appy, Fizz, OR any packaged fruit juices and cool drinks (they contain lots of chemicals harmful to the body and brain) - Do not smoke cigarettes or consume any type of tobacco products (they destroy your memory power, do not believe the advertisements!) - Do not consume alcohol in any form (dont think they help your concentration, they cause dehydration, extreme thirst, frequent urination, stomach aches and dysentery apart from contributing to mental confusion. There is nothing called light drink) - Do not consume any drugs, tablets, liquids that promise to improve concentration, memory and deprive sleep (Sleep depriving tablets are very harmful to the brain ) - Do not eat lots of chocolates, sweets (for some students, chocolates can give rise to headaches) - Do not eat fast food, or in hotels, do not eat pizzas, burgers, snacks from public shops - Avoid eating Oily foods, chips, popular snacks like Lays, Kurkure (they contain lot of salt leading to dehydration, animal fats that induce stomach disorders, increase hunger, give rise to acidity) - Drink lot of fresh water, if necessary boil the water and cool (this is more effective than soda, cool drinks, aerated beverages like Fanta, Sprite, Coke, Pepsi etc) Single glass of plain clean water provides more energy than biscuits, chocolates, snacks and cool drinks

SLEEP:
The most important exam preparation is to get normal sleep of 8 hours a day as part of exam preparation, particularly the day and nights before the exam. This the proven method to success in exams, normal and peaceful sleep of 8 hours, before the exam day Depriving sleep, inadequate sleep leads to poor eye sight, mental confusion, inability to recall important things from memory, physical fatigue Good sleep in the night goes a long a way in memory, concentration and feeling fresh (The benzene ring and discovery of hydro-carbons happened in the snake dream by the scientist!)

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Television, Cell Phones, Video/ Internet- Computer:

Television and cell phones emits lots of laser beams and electro-magnetic radiation harmful to the brain Do not watch TV before studying for the exams, before going to the bed Restrict your TV watching to less than 30 minutes a day as part of exam preparation Do not use cell phones / SMS for more than 10 minutes a day maximum Do not surf the internet, emails, games. If you must use computer/ internet do not use for more than 30 minutes a day If you get lots of SMS and calls on your cell phones, learn to SAY NO to your friends and everybody; send them an SMS that you are busy!!!! Do not worry- you will not lose real friends by sending this message. Do Not listen to IPad / IPod music with ear phones, all the time Do not engage on online chatting, get into to new relationship, make new friends during the exam study and preparation

On the Day of the Exam:

Stop studying 2 hours before the actual exam time Before leaving home check that you have taken your Hall Ticket (memorize your hall ticket number), pens, pencils, geometry box, and all the things required to write your exam Reach the Exam Hall destination 30 minutes before the actual time Once you reach the Examination School, do not engage in any conversation with anybody, or seek clarifications at the last minute with other students Use this time to revise what you have studied until now, remember the key points from the lessons

In the Examination Hall:

Follow all the rules and regulations specified in the Hall Ticket Do not carry forbidden items into the exam hall such as Cell Phone, copy of notes, textbooks and all those items you are not supposed to carry into the exam hall Do not try to copy (We have never come across anybody who passed because they copied effectively and did not see any distinction or 1 st class student who achieved success by copying) Copying wastes your mental energy, creates guilt feeling (makes you forget even things that you know very well), this also leads to debarment from exams for at least 7 years Once you receive the question paper, take 10 minutes to just study the question paper Divide the question paper into three parts: (1)Questions for which you know the answer 100% (2) Questions for which you know the answer 50-75%, (3) Questions for which you know the answer partially 0-25 % Answer the questions for which you know answers completely first (100%) Then answer questions in category (2) 50 -75% Attempt answers for category (3) 0 25% in the end. For this category do not write pages after pages wasting your time, to cover up the fact that you do not know the answer.

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This will not fetch you more marks, most importantly you will lose a lot time in this activity, giving you lesser time to answer the questions for which you know the answer very well If you are allowed, please carry a bottle of drinking water, and drink a little water when you feel tired or unable to remember something FIRSTLY, ensure that you have answered questions to get you the minimum pass marks. If you are allowed to carry color pencils / sketch pens, after writing your answer, UNDERLINE in color the important part of your answer . This makes it easy for the teacher correcting the paper to award you the marks easily. Write Clearly, Legibly and in bigger fonts or sizes to make it easy for the evaluator

AFTER WRITING THE EXAM:

Avoid any discussion about the right and wrong answers with your class mates and friends. This only creates confusion, fear and anxiety and nervousness in your mind, reducing your confidence and ability to prepare for the next exam subject. Whatever right or wrong is DONE, it cannot be undone, no matter how much you discuss and worry If you must review your exam answers, go back home, refer to the text book for 20 minutes and check out the answers you have done correctly, and stop worrying about the wrong answers you have written Start preparing for the next exam paper and subject following all the guidance given this note

FAILURE IS THE STEPPING STONE TO SUCCESS:

For any unfortunate reason, you happen to Fail in any subject or in the exam, do not worry, get anxious, fearful, frustrated, depressed and feel any guilt Remember the greatest scientists, inventors, discoverers failed in school/ competitive exams (Albert Einstein), many of them did not even go to school (Thomas Alva Edison). Life is a long journey there are lot of opportunities, do not lose heart If you want comfort, care, counseling contact me or get in touch with me through your school Head Master and teachers. You can also write to my email ID. You can continue your education; pass the subject in 1st class, by enrolling yourself in the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), the largest open education system in the world run by the Government of India. Visit website: http://www.nos.org/. You can register for the subject you failed (in any medium Kannada, English, Hindi), and write the exam and pass when you are ready the exam. This is useful even if you life/ family situation demands that you need to do some work and earn money while studying for your failed subject. Do not discontinue your education even if you are 50 years Old . The 17 registered local Bangalore centers of NIOS can be found at website: http://www.niosrcben.org/.

The Head office of Bangalore NIOS is located at : National Institute of Open Schooling, Regional Centre Bengaluru, Office of the Director-(Vocational Education),3rd floor, PUE Bhavan,18th Cross Sampige Road, Malleswaram, Bengaluru,Karnataka-560 012. Tel (o) : 080-23464223, Fax : 08023464222, e-mail : rcbengaluru@nios.ac.in. The nearest NIOS center to Indiranagar is located at: No 31, 5th Cross, Off 5th Main Indira Nagar, Bangalore, 560 038 Karnataka, Phone:080-4074 5900 (Behind 100 Feet Road Indiranagar) Wishing each one of you every success in your exam, Praying for the best in your life always! Raghu, Bangalore