10 Ways to Success in Competitive Examinations

How to Prepare for a Competitive Exam

Do you plan to take a competitive exam in the near future?

If so, this article will help you make a good strategic plan to prepare for your exam.

Governments, agencies, colleges, and other entities deluged with millions of candidates use examinations to find a way to pick from among them in a way that at least seems fair and objective. There's always a fair amount of luck involved in a mass examination, but there is also always plenty of preparation you can do.

In various countries and contexts, competitive written exams may test for reasoning ability; mathematical ability; reading and comprehension; writing ability; or the fundamental knowledge of a subject area. Interviews may test for knowledge of current events, general knowledge about the job or qualification one is applying for, the ability to give an account of one's past or future or talents, or the ability to say something sensible about a controversial or complicated issue.

Ten Tips on Preparing for an Examination

1. Make Sure This Test Is for You

Before investing time in preparing for an exam, decide whether the work is worth it. Study the exam announcement and ask questions if necessary. Make sure you meet requirements like:

• Educational level or experience needed to qualify to take the exam;
• Percentage of marks, or grade point average;
• Any maximum or minimum age limit that applies to your exam.

2. Go Back to Your Fundamentals

Once you know you qualify for your exam, your next step should be to decide how to brush up on fundamentals you haven't practiced recently. Depending on the test, this may be math fundamentals you last looked at in grade school, principles of grammar, or the fundamentals of your science or engineering discipline. Dig out your old textbooks and put them where you can see them.

3. Get Up to Date

If it's applicable to your test, as it is in the Indian Civil Service, work on your general knowledge and keep it updated. You will want to be ready to discuss the current events that affect the government, school, or bureaucracy you aim to join. If you don't already, take a daily look at news media on current events.

4. Consider Paying for Coaching ("Joint Coaching Institutes")

You don't have to pay a company or institute for competitive examination preparation. Many do well without such coaching. But the right test preparation agency can offer you:

• counseling
• reassurance
• study materials with which to structure your time

Do investigate your chosen agency, and make sure it's not a scam; there are scammers out there.

5. Set Realistic Goals

Consider how much time you have until the test date, and how many other things you want to do in life—including fun things. Consider your level of ability, and the resources you have. Then set realistic, modest, and achievable goals and deadlines for finishing the different steps of your preparation. Manage your time so that your preparation includes each section of the test, with more time allotted to sections where you think you may be weaker.

6. Create a Support Group

Create a circle of friends who are interested in preparing for the same or similar examination. It will be very helpful in keeping up your morale. It will remind you that you are not struggling alone with an arbitrary, zero-sum world; many other people long for success, just like you do (see the numerous comments below). Though you may not all succeed the first time, you can at least support each other without hurting your own chances.

7. Be Positive

You should be positive and have faith in yourself. There is no guarantee that you will pass any exam on the first attempt, though there is no reason to assume you will fail. Be patient and support yourself over the long haul.

8. Take Mock Tests

It may not be difficult to answer all the questions on a test, but it's generally very difficult to answer them all in the allotted time. Obtain sample written tests from previous test occasions and time yourself as you take them. Understand how they are scored: whether it's to your advantage to guess at answers you aren't sure of, or whether you should skip these questions. Understand how fast you have to work to answer every question that has a chance of increasing your score. This kind of practice is very helpful.

9. Do Mock Interviews

Find sample interview questions (for example, in the library, in magazines, on the web) and write them down on cards, along with any other questions you can think of. Get your family or study group together, hand them the cards, and have them ask you the questions. It feels reassuring to be able to come up with something to say, even though it may not be perfect. Remember that it's quite likely you may be asked a question you don't know the answer to. If so, you can admit it; it's better not to guess or make something up. No one knows everything and there is no need to pretend to.

10. Go Easy on Yourself

Stay healthy while you prepare. Regular exercise and yoga boost your mental as well as physical strength. Do fun things during your study period, including on the night before the test. By that point, your preparation will be done--all except for showing up at the test, which is important in itself. Instead of trying to cram more information into your brain that night, why not watch a silly movie, or walk somewhere? Then, after arranging for your transportation and your breakfast, gathering up any documents or tools you need to bring, and laying out the clothes you plan to wear, go to sleep with a clear conscience. The result of the test will be out of your hands; you will have done all that you can do.

9 Scientific Study Skills to Ace Competitive Entrance Exams

It is Surprising that during 14 years of school studies, we are never taught how to study effectively. Every day, new research is being conducted on education, teaching skills and learning methods which we can use to learn scientific ways for note taking, textbook reading, memorizing and effective reviewing. We offer you 12 scientific study skills that can help you get sure-shot success in any competitive entrance exam. Use these hacks while preparing for JEE Main, IIT JEE Advanced, AIPMT, AIIMS, BITSAT and other competitive exams.

1.Get into the right mood like Pavlov’s dog

Classical conditioning experiment by Pavlov made dogs salivate as soon as they heard the bell ring – in anticipation of food. If you study the same subject at same time and same place, your brain makes the association and gets trained accordingly. Later on, you just have to follow the clock to the place, and you will automatically get in the mood to study the subject within 10 minutes. Works like a charm for subjects you hate or dislike!

2. Shorter study sessions work better than marathon sessions

Psychologists have found that students learn as much in one-hour sessions spread over four days as they learn in one six-hour marathon session. It means that students could cut their study time by at least 30% by using a well-planned study schedule or time table. When you study for less time, imposed time restriction makes your brain work more efficiently. Most of the askIITians report that they are able to cram much more a day before exam than a regular day – which just confirms this particular research conclusion. Besides, it is believed that during study breaks, mind works to absorb whatever you have learned automatically, without any conscious effort on your part. Hence, for intense memorization sessions like when you are trying to learn dates and events, names of countries and their capitals, a foreign language or math formulae, you should not study for more than 20 to 30 minutes at a stretch.

3. Sync your school timetable and home study schedule

When a teacher covers a topic in class, students should study it as soon as they can after coming from school, revise the topic and prepare revision notes. When there is a test in class, use the time before school to quickly memorize questions, brush up facts and learn diagrams.

4. Smart work is better than hard work

It is a maxim often used in corporate offices. Of course, it is applicable to students too. Attention you pay to the subject and alertness of your mind while studying matters more than the time you spend on it. Most common strategies to keep yourself alert are:

• Minimize distractions. 2-3 hours of studying in a quiet place without any disturbance is better than 10 years of studying with noise of TV blaring somewhere in the room, running errands in between studies, and people shouting in your ears. Of course, you cannot control all your family but you may adjust your time table to study early in morning or late at night when everyone else is quiet.
• You can start with the most difficult or boring subject when you are fully alert and pick up an easier or most interesting one when you are feeling down.
• Take 10-minute breaks between subjects to re-orient your brain and reward yourself for work well done. If you really feel like taking a break, take one. Do not waste time watching clock to take the break.

5. Do not study when you are sleepy

Everybody has a particular time when one is too sleepy to study anything. Sitting with books during that time is a total waste of time. For me, 3 pm is the time when I get quite slothful – about two hours after I have lunch. For some others, early morning is the time when they just can’t wake up to read anything coherently. If you have too much backlog to cover, just do something light at the time – like clearing your desk, sorting your notes or arranging your school bag to let the phase pass.

6. Do not schedule similar subjects one after another

If there is not enough space between radio waves, you get interference. Similarly, brain waves need to be spaced out too. It has been found that it is better put contrasting subjects one after another rather than clubbing similar subjects together. It means that studying Physics after Mathematics might not be a good idea. You can sandwich History or English Literature in between and your brain will able to absorb all three subjects much better.

7. Note taking in class

When you jot down lecture notes in class, underline the ideas that he says are important. Mark the ideas that the teacher says will be discussed later in detail with a ‘*’. Also write down common mistakes you teacher tells you about as ‘#-points’. Write sentences that start with ‘therefore’ and ‘in essence’ in a separate line as they are often the summary of what has been taught in class. Examples given by teachers are often most important for school exams. In subjects like Math, teacher’s examples are often most important. Writing down notes in the last few minutes of class is often a speed game. As teachers run out of time, they pack most content in last 5-10 minutes of class. You may have to keep writing after the class finishes jotting down everything.

8. Textbook reading method that actually works – OK4R

Dr. Walter Pauk has devised the OK4R method, which can help you pack more information through power reading. Here is how you go about it:

• O for Overview: In the first glance, just read the headings, sub-headings, introductory paragraph, and summary at the end of the chapter. It will give you general idea of what is included in the chapter.
• K for Key ideas: Now, go back to the beginning of the chapter and try to skim through the key ideas. First sentence of each paragraph, italics and bold-type text, tables, pictures and diagrams, bulleted sections and itemizations often present key ideas of the chapter. Try to comprehend them quickly.
• R1 for Reading the topic or chapter from beginning to end: Now that you already know what is being discussed, read through the entire chapter and see full explanation of the ideas that have been presented and how they have been explained.
• R2 for Recall: Now put your book aside and write down major points of what you have read and make your notes in few words or sentences. Immediate recall will only take a minute or two but doubles up retention time of the topic you are studying. Make notes as suggested using the ‘best note making system’ as suggested below.
• R3 for Reflect: Now that you have kept the material in the storage unit of your memory it, sift it to put it in your permanent memory. Think over it and try to find significance of what you have read and its relationship with other topics you have learnt.
• R4 for Review or Revision: On weekends, you can test yourself on what you have learned throughout the week. In schools, there can be tests and quizzes that help you go through your notes again. These time-to-time reviews or revisions help you to fix the information forever.

9. Color your books

As opposed to the popular idea, neat books don’t always mean that you are a good student. They also show that books may be ‘unused’. You can colour main ideas in red, dates and numbers in blue and supporting facts in yellow. Also mark circles, stars, boxes, and hash in margins, wherever needed, to make revisions easier. But colour your personal books only. Otherwise, library will ban you and your friends will never loan a book to you again.

Credits: This blog is brought to you by AskIITians.com.

Disclaimer: Toppr.com is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information in this article. All information is provided on an as-is basis. Toppr does not assume any responsibility or liability for the information, facts or opinions appearing in the article.

10. Refresh button: Relax and take breaks during your hectic study timetable. Use this time to rejuvenate yourself, watch a movie, listen to some songs, or play a sport. This will help you to stay focused and feel fresh.

Tips To Crack Any Competitive Exam

The season of competitive exams is around the corner and we know you are doing all you can to crack these exams. These exams are designed to check your knowledge in particular sections. In this post we have tried to give you some important tips to crack any competitive exam, be it SSC, IBPS, Insurance, NDA, etc.

Plan Smartly – Once you have made up your mind to prepare for a competitive exam or to enter a particular sector, the most important thing is to plan your way. Get a rough idea when these exams are conducted in a given year and calculate how much time is with you for your preparation.

In all the competitive exam what is required essentially is your presence of mind. Studying till the last moment will only lead to stress and exhaustion. Before formulating your preparation strategy, chalk out the syllabus and measure your comfort level in individual section. Suppose you feel you are not good in reasoning or essay writing, divide your time table according to it and give extra time to these.

Make a list – Once you have a sense of the syllabus, make a list of the books or study material you would be requiring for the exam. Study material for the areas like Verbal Abilities, Math and English should be collected.

Break-up of time – Make a daily time table and do not forget to include your recreational activities in it. Also try to shuffle the subjects so that you do not get bored. You should try studying for at least 4 hours a day. Take time out for reading newspaper daily. 30 minutes for this would be sufficient, this will certainly help you prepare for your general awareness section.

Prepare notes – Whatever you study, try maintaining a notebook for it. Go through this notebook at the time of revision.

Set a finishing date – Set a finish date on your mobile, calendar or put it on your table. By this date you should finish learning new concepts. It is important that you stick to this date. After this you can start applying what you have learnt and see your performance by giving mock tests, practice previous year papers etc.

Quantitative Aptitude – Quantitative Aptitude should be given utmost importance at the time of preparation. Try practising questions daily. Go through the concepts first and then solve problems. Make a note of important formulas, theories and corollaries. You should be thorough with tables, square roots and cube roots to do calculations quickly. Quantitative questions are not difficult to solve, all you need is practise and speed to excel in this section. Find out more on how to excel in quantitative aptitude section.

Enrich your Vocabulary – Improving your vocabulary will help you a great deal in your English section. Questions on Synonyms, Antonyms and One word substitution will become an easy nut to crack. This is the part which is not given due importance by students. Having a good vocabulary will do you no harm instead it will also help you in your Group Discussion and Interview round ( only if you wish to sweep others by your command on language and some flowery words :) ).

Reasoning- Practice questions on age, direction and distance, seating arrangement and Venn diagram. They are almost asked in every competitive exam. You should also work on your speed. Try learning or making your own short cuts to solved a particular set of question. This is the part where you can not cram anything. All you need to do is to apply your brain and get done with the question and that isn’t a difficult task. Check out more tips on how to prepare for reasoning section, follow the link.

We are hopeful that this post will benefit you in a lot of way. These tips are specially designed to give you an extra edge and confidence needed for any competitive exam.