First-term Exam Prep: ‘Practice case-based and application-based questions’

First-term exams can be daunting, especially if you have gone from class VIII to class IX or from class X to class XI. The jump in the course is visible and several students struggle to keep up with the class. With first-term exams less than two weeks away, it is time for the students to pull up their socks and get down to studying.

But this doesn’t entail sitting at your desk with the book open and staring at the words that mean nothing. There is a systematic manner in which you should prepare and you will score well in the exam.

According to Ravina Nimbolkar, PGT Psychology and school counselor at Apeejay School, Kharghar, since Psychology is the science of the human mind, behaviour, and emotions, looking around and observing, self-reflection of your thoughts and experiences is one of the best things you can do for better and deeper understanding of the subject.

“For a better understanding of psychological disorders, students can look for interviews and case histories of people with Psychological Disorders,” Nimbolkar said and shared a study strategy that students can use to get good results.

Study tips

1.       Read the textbook thoroughly. This will help you answer the MCQs. 

2.       There are extensive interviews of many of the psychologists mentioned in the textbook available on the Internet; read them. 

3.       Familiarise yourself with all the psychologists mentioned in the textbook, collect their photos, and read their biographies. This will help you recall their theories and differentiate between the several theories mentioned.

4.       Use techniques like visual mind maps to organise the chapter from a bird’s eye perspective.

5.       While studying, have fun with the subject; discuss experiences in the class, any book or documentary with the topics of psychology, and host quiz competitions amongst the students.

Despite telling the students to read the textbooks; students still make the mistake of not reading their books. “Many students rely on guides and solutions available in the market. Most of these books have lots of errors and mistakes. Students also don’t reflect on the topic with real-life experiences and observations,” Nimbolkar shared.

Not reading the textbooks thoroughly can lead to problems, she said. “If the student has not read the chapter properly, he/she will not be able to distinguish between different topics. They may also end up writing the wrong answer as they have not understood the question or the context from where the question has been asked,” she opined.

She added that a big mistake that most students make is not practicing case-based and application-based questions. Practice coming up with your case-based questions for every topic. This is only possible if the student has read the chapter thoroughly. Another big mistake that students commit is not practicing the previous year’s question papers.

Here’s what the students should do

·         Analyse all the previous question papers and marking schemes available on the Central Board of Secondary Education website.

·         Refer to the glossary at the end of the textbook for an explanation of the keywords.

·         Students can make their question papers, and share them with other students for practice.

·         While solving papers, students should present the answer sheet in an appropriate format.

·         Request one-to-one feedback from teachers on your exam performance. This is very important for students taking the Board exams.