Summary
The Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) and Indian School Certificate (ISC) 2025 board examinations are fast approaching and students are burning the midnight oil.
To excel, students must tailour their study plan to their strengths, weaknesses, and learning style.
The Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) and Indian School Certificate (ISC) 2025 board examinations are fast approaching and students are burning the midnight oil. With high expectations from all the people around them and rising levels of competition, students tend to feel stressed and often this has a negative impact on their well-being and academic performance.
But there is no need to take stress! Pragmatic planning and understanding of the situation will help students to re-energise and increase their focus.
To excel, students must tailour their study plan to their strengths, weaknesses, and learning style.
Essential Strategies to Help Students Ace the ICSE and ISC Exams 2025
1. Time Management
- Break study sessions into manageable chunks, allocating time to subjects and topics based on their weightage in the syllabus.
- Allocate more time to subjects with higher weightage; for example, focus extra time on Mathematics and Science subjects if you're aiming to boost your class X aggregate.
- Use a planner or digital calendar to map out daily and weekly study schedules, ensuring no topic is overlooked.
2. Subject Evaluation
- Identify strong and weak areas across all subjects focusing more time on challenging areas. For instance, some students may find World History to be more challenging than Indian History and vice versa. Some students may find Physics numericals challenging, while others might struggle with Literature essays.
- Rotate subjects to avoid monotony. Spend a morning solving English comprehension papers, followed by revising Biology diagrams in the afternoon.
3. Answer Writing Practice
- Read the questions carefully before attempting and do not forget to write the question number against each answer correctly. Practice writing answers for all subjects within a timed setting to simulate exam conditions.
- For Literature, practise writing concise answers for character-based questions, such as “Discuss the transformation of Marcus Brutus in Julius Caesar".
- In History, use bullet points for long answers to make them more reader-friendly and structured.
- Remember to underline key terms in subjects like Economics or Geography, as they help examiners notice important points.
- Focus on clarity, neatness, and correct formatting. For example, ensure equations in Mathematics and diagrams in Biology are labelled correctly, and essays in English are well-structured.
4. Leverage Technology
- Use educational apps and online resources for interactive learning, such as video tutorials for Science concepts or quizzes for language skills.
- Ensure the resources align with the ICSE/ISC syllabus to avoid wasting time on irrelevant content.
5. Set Weekly Milestones
- Break goals into realistic targets. For example, aim to finish revising one Act of Julius Caesar or solve two sample papers in Mathematics by week’s end.
- Keep a checklist to track progress and adjusting strategies – nothing beats the satisfaction of ticking off a completed topic!
6. Adaptability is Key
- Plans don’t always go smoothly! If you’re stuck on a difficult Chemistry topic, shift to revising English essays for a mental break.
- Be flexible with your study plan to accommodate unexpected challenges, like slower-than-expected progress in a subject. Relax! It's okay and everything ultimately will turn out to be great.
7. Strategic Revision
- Plan revisions to reinforce learning, focusing on weak areas that need reinforcement.
- Prioritise understanding over rote learning.
- Practise past question papers under timed conditions. For example, try completing a History paper in the allotted 2 hours.
- Don’t hesitate to seek guidance from teachers or mentors when needed.
- Use summary sheets for quick revision of entire chapters like Thermodynamics in Physics or Globalisation in Economics.
8. Stress Management
- Incorporate relaxation techniques into daily routines, such as meditation, deep breathing, yoga, or even a short walk.
- Take regular breaks between study sessions to recharge your mind.
A winning study plan is essential to achieve success in the ICSE and ISC board exams. By understanding exam patterns, tailouring your preparation to your individual strengths, managing time effectively, adapting to challenges, and staying disciplined, students can overcome exam anxiety and achieve their goals. Remember, discipline, persistence, and strategic planning are key to overcoming exam anxiety and securing outstanding results.
Stay focused, stay positive, stay committed to your study plan, and believe in your ability to excel. The results will speak for themselves!
Rupkatha Sarkar is the Principal of La Martiniere for Girls School, Kolkata. With over 33 years of experience in education, Sarkar is a distinguished leader in the field. She plays a key advisory role for various school and college boards and is actively involved in skill development workshops for both teachers and students. Sarkar has received numerous accolades, including the prestigious Mother Teresa International Award for Education, for her dedication to inspiring students and educators alike.
Last updated on 25 Nov 2024
