How to score well in ICSE Exams?

For students studying under the ICSE Board the mention of ICSE exams can cause considerable anxiety.  With competition levels soaring, ICSE exams are usually the ‘make or break time’ in a student’s life. In order to score well in the ICSE exams students should concentrate on obtaining a thorough understanding of concepts follow it up with repeated and robust revision sessions.

In order to write quality answers and score well in the ICSE exams, students should incorporate the following points in their studies.

• Say no to cramming! Students often consider mindless cramming as a sure-shot and easy way to obtain great marks in ICSE exams.  Some students cram out of habit and some out of necessity (“there is too little time left and so much to cover, where is the time to spend on understanding concepts!”). Whatever the reason, students should try to stay away from cramming and focus on building conceptual understanding. It is very important for students preparing for the ICSE exam to understand that cramming might prove very effective and sometimes yield instant results in the form of good marks, but in the long run it is an absolute waste, as you are sure to forget all that you crammed.  Cramming or relying only on rote memory results only in the short-term retention of concepts and is in fact highly detrimental for subjects such as Science and Maths, where building progressively on conceptual understanding is the only key to better marks.
• Revising is must! It goes without saying that revising is one of the most essential ingredients for performing well in the ICSE exams. Students can reinforce learning by using a variety of revision aids available in a lot of websites. These revision aids will not only make learning effective but will also make scoring great marks in the ICSE exams easy. Students can start their revision sessions using chapter-wise tests along with comprehensive model tests available on these websites. Students can also revise using interactive curriculum-based puzzles that will add the much required zing into their revision schedules. For those last moment revision sessions before the final ICSE exams, students can refer to crisp, easily downloadable, chapter-wise revision notes available on these websites.
• Do not let stress get to you! A little bit of exam-related anxiety can often give the much required push to the student to prepare and perform well at in the final ICSE exams. However, prolonged and high-levels of anxiety can lead to overpowering stress and a poor performance at the final exams. While preparing for the final ICSE exam, students should try to stay calm and study with a single-minded focus towards performing well in the exams. Students should learn and revise as much they can before their final papers and perform some simple stress-busting activities to keep their anxiety levels under control.
• Do not use any unfair means! Students should not indulge in cheating or any unfair means to perform well in the ICSE exams. Students may occasionally tend to get easily lured by these short-cut methods of scoring good marks. Although it may seem like an easy way to score good marks in the examinations, but if any student is caught using unfair means, needless to say, very strict action is taken against the student. In extreme cases, it could even result in cancellation of the entire answer sheet.

So the next time you prepare for your ICSE exams, do keep in mind these easy-to-follow pointers to get better results.

Making ICSE Maths Easy!

The very mention of the word ICSE Maths usually leaves students preparing for the ICSE papers in jitters. This phenomenon of extreme fear of Maths or Arithmophobia is common not only amongst students in India but is prevalent amid students around the globe. It has been observed that due to this fear of Maths, students studying at various levels try to evade studying ICSE Maths for as long as they can. However, keeping in mind the utility of Maths in everyday life students should be encouraged to practice Maths and learn it the fun way.

Here are a few tips making studying ICSE Maths easy and helping students overcome their fear of Maths.

• Regular Practice- Practicing ICSE Maths regularly is the only way out for students to get rid of their fear of Maths. Students should regularly practice concepts by way of exercises that are available at the end of each chapter. These exercises in the ICSE Maths books aim to promote not only conceptual understanding but also help in improving the memory for concepts and formulae that is possible only through extensive practice. To solidify weak areas and score good marks in the ICSE Maths exam, students should be on the regular look out for more avenues that give them the opportunity to practice concepts thoroughly. Apart from the prescribed books, students should also practice from the curriculum-aligned ICSE Maths books by various other authors. There are also various websites that provide elaborate practice material in a variety of formats. Such resources help to promote conceptual understanding by way of rigorous practice through test papers and model tests. Practicing using such material will immensely help students get rid of their fear of Maths ‘coz the only way to beat fear is to face it hard!
• Stress on conceptual clarity- For a subject like ICSE Maths, students just cannot leave concepts in the middle and hop on to newer topics and assume that they can still excel in the subject. In order to excel in ICSE Maths it is imperative to systematically build on concepts from the simpler to the more complex. It is only after strengthening their understanding of the concept and related concepts at all levels that the student should proceed to newer topics. It is important for students to understand that one of the most crucial and inherent feature of a subject like Maths is the interconnectivity of basic concepts at various levels. Therefore, scoring good marks in ICSE Maths is only possible when the understanding of concepts is clear at all levels.
• Maths can also be fun!- Students who find practicing from mundane books tedious can add a lot of zing to their studying routine by practicing using ICSE Maths puzzles, quizzes and animations. Through animated videos concepts are explained in an enticing manner using real-life instances. For example, various animated videos while explaining fractions actually show an object being divided into pieces and through voice-overs the logic is explained in simple language. Students also have the liberty to play these videos as many times as they wish for a complete and thorough understanding of the concept. Once through with the understanding of the concepts, students can test their knowledge by way of ICSE Maths puzzles. Students can even search for ICSE Maths puzzles and videos online, as various websites are dedicated to developing quality educational content for ICSE students to make learning easy for them.

I am positive that after reading this article, you must have identified your own ways to make the understanding and practicing ICSE Maths easy and effective. So go ahead and practice hard!

How to prepare for ICSE Board Papers

ICSE Board papers are considered to be difficult papers in comparison to the papers set by the other board papers across India. The ICSE Board offers students an extensive variety of subjects to choose from. More emphasis is on literature than any other aspect of learning in ICSE Board curriculum. The ICSE Board is also the generally preferred board by students who wish to pursue their undergrad studies from foreign countries. One of the major reasons for the same is that the curriculum for ICSE Board Papers is more compatible with the syllabus of other Common Wealth countries. 

If you are a student of ICSE Board and you are nervous about your Board Papers after reading the above mentioned facts, you don’t need to worry! Here are some snap tips on how to manage your time and excel in your ICSE Board Papers. 

• The first and most important step for any student of class X intending to appear for ICSE Board Papers is to choose their elective subjects wisely. The subjects chosen by the student should be aligned with the individual career choice and as per the individual caliber. Students should not choose subjects under peer, school or parental pressure. Once subjects are chosen, try sticking to it.
• The next important step is to prepare a customized time schedule. The schedule should be such that it clearly lists down all the activities you perform in a day against the time available. Try to include some variety, as it will help keep away monotony. It is important to clearly demarcate your personal study hours in a day from the time allocated for completing your homework.
• Build in flexibility into your time schedule. Try to adjust your missed study hours during the weekend as a fresh mind allows learning to be fast and effective.
• Prepare a fresh time schedule for exam time. Schedule the difficult subjects first and the easy ones for a later. Schedule your time in such a manner that you complete the syllabus before the exam commences and are able to judiciously use the time available in between the exams for revision.
• While revising, try your hand at ICSE Sample Papers. It provides students appearing for ICSE Board Papers with an idea of the question pattern, instructions, marking scheme etc. In the process these ICSE sample papers equip students with the confidence that is required to perform well in these exams.

In addition to your external assessment exams take your internal assessment seriously, as it carries a twenty percent weightage. A good performance in the internal exams is the key to a good overall score.