Plan your schedule, set subject targets

The clock has begun to tick for the big test. Not even a month remains for the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Board examinations. Shaswati Das and Aakriti Vasudeva report.

The clock has begun to tick for the big test. Not even a month remains for the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Board examinations.

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For lakhs of class 12 students, these exams decide the course of their college life. And for students of class 10, the continuous and comprehensive evaluation system (CCE) is pivotal as their performance decides their stream of study for classes 11 and 12.

To guide students in the next few important weeks of their lives, HT begins its "Cracking the Boards" series. School principals, teachers and experts will help you in your preparations.

Strategise
The month of February is crucial. Strategise wisely to stay ahead. While focus must be on achieving a higher overall score, concentrate on individual subjects and topics as well.

Every subject has topics that carry greater weightage and need more attention, say teachers. Focus on tackling two subjects per day. List out topics that have more weightage. Mark out important questions from each topic for revision. Before going to bed, gloss over what you studied during the day.

"There should be a macro strategy for the overall target, and a micro strategy for subject targets. This way, you can decide on how to focus and maximise individual subject performances. It will also prepare you better for Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) questions," said Ashok Pandey, principal, Ahlcon International School.

Prioritise
Always work on languages such as English, as they are included while calculating the best of four aggregate in colleges. Similarly, those looking at taking up commerce or economics in college must pay more attention to math. So while studying every day, do include at least one topic from English and a topic from a subject that may be a deciding factor for your choice of study.

"Instead of trying to tackle everything, focus on what to optimise on. Take stock of what subject you need to work on a little more. Within that subject, identify topics and chapters that need further honing," added Pandey.

Don't worry
Over the last few years, performing well in board exams has become crucial to getting into premier institutes such as the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and DU's St Stephen's College. This - teachers and principals say - is what puts students under immense pressure. Focus instead on making optimal use of your time to better your scores in individual subjects.