How I prepare for my exams

As a student, I had to and have to prepare for many exams like my A-Levels, my DALF C1 and C2, Proficiency English exam and my university exams. In this article, I write about how I prepare for my exams in general. These tips can especially be useful for those who are preparing for their Gymi exams.

The first thing I like to do is find out what kind of exam it is, how it is structured, what kind of questions there are, which topics will be covered and so on. I either search for the answers to these questions on the internet or if possible, I ask a person who has done the same exam as the one I am about to do. I also see where the exam centre is located and when and at what time the exam is going to take place. I take a sheet of paper, mark the day, date, time and subject and then hang it up in a place in my room where I can see it every day.

I take a sample question paper and simply look through it. Then I gauge my level and the level of the exam. This gives me a rough idea of how much effort I need to put in. The next step is to analyze the question paper and find strategies on how to answer the questions. You can also see how other people have approached the particular paper. Once you are done analyzing it, you should start planning your study time and how you are going to study.

I like to be organized. I figure out how many weeks/months there are left until the exam and then I do some planning. I first think about the topics and how much time it would take me to study that particular topic. I do the same for all topics. I also plan my revision sessions and also block the time to practice writing the exam. Then I write what I need to do for a week and then break it up into what I need to do every day during that week.

Then I start studying. Depending on the type of exam my approach will be quite different and hence I also use different strategies. For the DALF C2, I practiced my writing and my speaking a lot. I focused on my strengths and tried to figure out strategies to cover my weak points. While I am studying and I realize that I am having difficulty in understanding a concept, I do some research on the topic. If that is not possible, I seek some professional help who will guide me through the process.

After studying, it is now time to revise. I do my revision using practice papers. The first two will be open-book and without the timer. Then the next three to four papers only with the materials that will be allowed in the exam, but without a timer. And finally, I create an environment that resembles the one in the exam and set a timer. After checking my test, I look at where I need to improve and if required, I go through the parts I didn’t do well. I repeat this process until I get a good score in the practice test.

During the revision stage, before I go to sleep, I visualize how I enter the examination room, how I sit down and look at the paper, and the way I realize the test is very easy. Then I also visualize the score I want to get. After visualizing, I go to sleep.

The day before the exams, I just brush up the important points and relax. I read a book or some comics. During the study period, I do not watch Netflix or my Korean dramas, as I find them very distracting. If I do want to watch something, I like to watch TED-Ed’s videos on YouTube, because they are educational and I get to learn something new.

On the day of my exam, I keep calm, have a good meal and then enter the exam hall in a good mood and find that my exam is very easy, just the way I visualized it.

I hope this gives you some insight on how I study. This is just a general guide line on how one should study for an exam. More specific guide lines will follow soon. I hope you enjoyed reading this article. And now, I’m going to plan what I need to do this week, I hope you will too.