The Christmas Holidays are a time to spend with family and friends, relaxing and unwinding. For students sitting their mock leaving certificates exams in January and Febuary, the holidays can also offer the ideal opportunity to catch up on some study.If you are feeling under pressure, you might not know where to start. Below we have provided some tips for you to help you to get started and make the most of the time you have.
Remember - the earlier you start to plan, the more free time you’ll have in the run up to the exams and the less stress you will feel.
1. Put your study plan together
Even if you havent done already, there is still plenty of time for you to put a study plan and timetable together! When you do this you will feel much more at ease and you will feel that you have time to get everything done before the exams. You will also become more and more motivated as you tick things off your list.
2. Stay Organised
Organisation is key to studying effectively. If you have an allocated time on your study plan to cover certain topics, you need to ensure that you are not spending the first 20 minutes trying to get your text books, notes and stationary together. You can stay on top of things by ensuring that you tidy up after each session and also by ensuring that you keep the notes for each topic together in folders where possible. It also means that you won't lose anything!
3. Make Notes
In order to ensure that you are staying engaged and to prevent boredom it is important that you make notes as you go along. Unfortunately, it is not enough to read your text book - this won’t help you. Reading a chapter and then summarising and making notes (in your own words) will reaffirm that you understand what you have just read and will help you to retain the information. And dont forget to make important things stand out by using highlighters and coloured pens!
4. Make sure you have somewhere suitable to study
We do not recommend that you study in groups unless you are very disciplined - remember, you are only kidding yourself! We recommend that you study without music and televisions in the background and that you sit at a desk. It can be quite difficult to read and write lying out on a bed. And turn off Facebook and Twitter...these will not help your study!
5. Get past exam papers as early as possible
Past exam papers are key to your success. They allow you to familiarise yourself with the layout of the papers, the marking schemes, time allocation and topics that come up. It is really important that you get prepared as early as possible, and stay prepared!
