on studying: o level tips
‘o’ levels: ordinary level national examination
I’m in my first year of pre-u, so I'm still learning. studying is different for everyone, so these tips are just what worked for me, so take them with a pinch of salt from an o-level 8 pointer;)
1) milk that TYS (past year papers)
past year papers give you a really good gage of what kind of questions will come out for the o levels, so I did those until I knew the answers like the back of my hand. (especially for subjects like chemistry, biology and e/a maths)
2) don’t skip the last few weeks of school before study leave
before your study leave in october, go to school every day. many of my classmates believed they could study better at home and it was a waste to go back to school, but ended up missing a bunch of crucial tips teachers give right at the end.
3) study to understand what you're learning
this will make memorising and retaining information so much easier because you make logical links between concepts you've learnt, so your answer is beautifully whole and smooth flowing.
4) during the examination period, get as much sleep as you can
usually, papers are scattered over a few weeks, and if you are lucky enough many of them will be in the late morning to afternoon (think 10am-2pm). I used this opportunity to sleep as much as I could and clocked in an average of 8 hours a night to fuel those writing sprees.
5) don’t forget administrative things
your entry proof, identity card, and whatever tools you need for the paper the next day (calculator, french curve, flexi curve, 30cm ruler). it is such a waste of your brain space to have to worry about these things right before your exam. PRINT EXTRA COPIES OF YOUR ENTRY PROOF/ID CARD and slip them into your wallet before exam season so you will always have a backup.