Grade 9 is considered one of the crucial stages in the academic life of a student. It is the foundation that prepares a student to face his/her first-ever board exam just one year later. Thus, scoring well in class 9 is a goal that many set. Even many schools and teachers believe in encouraging students to work even harder in class 9 as they believe their performance here will determine how well they fare in board exams. In general, as well, scoring well in any of the exams boosts self-confidence in students and motivates them to aim for excellence.
Here are a few suggestions that will help students in improving their performance making it the top one among their peers.
- Focus on time management
It is not a new piece of advice for students but a crucial one to focus on managing time while preparing for exams. Having a feasible and realistic schedule in place before embarking on this task is a step that will create a significant difference. Students should allot proportionate time to all major subjects after thoroughly analysing their strengths and weaknesses subject-wise and topic-wise. This will ensure that they have sufficient time to cover the whole syllabus in an organised way before sitting for exams. Needless to say that mugging up concepts will not go a long way. Instead, focus on clarity for each concept and it will require that students start preparing for exams at least 2-3 months before the finals for a stress-free preparation.
- Know your syllabus well
It is always advised that students must make themselves familiar with the syllabus and the questions asked in the exams to increase their chances of scoring better. It allows them to judiciously divide their time as per the importance of each topic. Before diving into preparation, students should put in enough time to carefully go through CBSE Sample Papers for Class 9 PDF or sample papers of their respective boards and understand the trend of questions of past year papers.
- Have a clear strategy
Embarking on any journey towards a particular goal remains futile and unrewarded if not coupled with a smart strategy based on an individual’s abilities and shortcomings. In this case, students are advised to break down their long-term goals into smaller ones which are to be achieved on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Consequently, improvising along the way will also be required. Incorporating the highly recommended formula of studying for 45 minutes on a stretch and then taking a 15 minutes break can also prove beneficial. Although, being flexible in this formula is normal but should be according to an individual’s attention span.
Another important aspect of a good strategy is creating a conducive environment for studying at your home and school alike. Surround yourself with people who encourage you to do hard work and appreciate your little achievements.
- Keep your study material concise
Study materials are an indispensable part of exam preparation. Keeping the list of primary and reference materials concise, cutting out all such material you think is digressive is a must-to-do tip. This will allow students to channel their focus and prevent them from wasting time on unnecessary information. NCERTs for CBSE board students are one such example of concise material which also coherently covers the prescribed syllabus. Students of other boards can take help from their teachers and seniors to decide on such a brief yet sufficient list of books and supplementary materials.
- Start with subjects/topics that you like or perform well in
Students need to maintain their confidence and zeal towards learning during preparation and for this, they need to carefully plan the order of subjects/topics they need to study. Beginning with easier and your favourite topics boosts their enthusiasm to strive for a better score.
- Keep assessing your performance
During the whole period of preparation, students should periodically analyse their performance. In this, they can also take help from their teachers and peers. Knowing your common mistakes will allow you to put special efforts towards the direction of their rectification. Consequently, students can minimise their chance of repeating such mistakes in the final exams.
- Keep practising and revising
Coupling your preparation with regular revision and timely solving of mock tests will supplement students’ performance, making them ready for the final exam. Students can create a schedule for revision on a weekly, fortnightly and monthly basis. After the completion of each topic, it is recommended to solve questions based on it and later on after going through each subject’s concepts, they can go for full-length mock tests. Remember, going into new concepts right before the exam is to be avoided. Instead, focus on multiple revisions for better performance.
- Maintain very short notes for last-minute revision
While studying it is natural for students to create short and summarised notes, however, when it comes to last-minute quick revision, it is advised to maintain very short notes, using abbreviations, flowcharts and flashcards. Remember, these are your notes and they need not be very appealing in terms of handwriting, etc. As long as, they are illegible and sufficient to make you recall the concept, they are good enough.
- Eat a balanced diet and meditate
Last but not the least, it is especially important to maintain a healthy and notorious diet so that students can have maximum energy which they can channel towards their preparation. More often than not, it is observed that students become negligent towards their health in their hustle for exams which sometimes result in them falling ill. In order not to fall prey to the same fate, students must exercise at least for 20 minutes daily. They can also start meditating to enhance their concentration. During study breaks, they should make sure to give proper rest to their eyes and minds. Soft and mellow instrumental music can also be a great help in focusing while studying.
Getting the top score in Class 9 exams is not a humongous task but one that requires consistent efforts and dedication. Tips and tricks mentioned above can come in handy in improving students performance and even preparing them for their later academic engagements. All the best!
