No matter how many exams you have written in your lifetime, the stress of preparing for the matric finals is immense. It might seem natural to want to YouTube videos like “How to get 80% for all my final exams,” but those videos often times won’t work for most learners.
A high school teacher, Johnathan Campher, explains that when preparing for exams learners should steer clear from using the CPF method. CPF stands for “cram, pass, forget.”. This is when you try to learn a lot of information in a short period of time so that you can pass the exam, rather than learning to remember the content for exams.
Other common mistakes students make include procrastinating, not managing their time correctly as well as having a “fixed mindset.” An example of this would be, “I’m not a maths person and I suck at it.” Campher believes that this mindset sets the learner up for failure before they even start.
10 study tips to help matrics
1. Make sure to learn in an environment that is well lit.
2. Study in an environment that has a slight background noise. Places that are too quiet tend to make your mind run away with you and can make you get distracted easily.
3. Make sure to know which studying style works best for you. For example, it could be visual learning or audible learning.
4. Take breaks within your study time.
5. Make sure that the things that distract you aren’t in sight. For example, your phone, laptop or television.
6. Test yourself. Cover the information and see how much of it you know.
7. Find examples that are simple and easy to remember. Such as comparing a theory to a certain experience you had or something you would recognise.
8. Create a study plan and stick to it!
9. Parents and siblings do not have to be annoying around exam time. Use them to your advantage by allowing them to ask you questions or explaining certain theories to them.
10. Be kind to yourself. Doing schoolwork during a pandemic is difficult so show yourself grace.
Campher also shares some in-the-exam-room tips and, says that is important to eat before an exam. Read through the questions carefully, and read the question to understand, not to answer. Have a time allocation for each section to ensure that you do not run out of time before completing the whole paper. Do not rush. Use all the time you have and check your answers when you’re done.
