IGCSE may be tough but the process is worthwhile once you complete it. Who said achievements are easy? They never are.
Acing IGCSE exams might not be the simplest task. Hence, here are some tips to guide you through the nerve-racking process. These tips are not only easy to put into practice but they are a surefire way to improve your performance.
The syllabus is your Bible.
No matter what subjects you have chosen amongst the plethora of options available for IGCSE, the syllabus for each subject should be your bible and guiding light. Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE) has provided detailed guidelines, instructions, suggestions, mark distributions, do’s and don’ts in the syllabi. The syllabus should be the starting point for all subjects.
It does not matter if you are doing IGCSE Economics, IGCSE Business Studies, or IGCSE English As Second Language, reading the syllabus thoroughly will give you clarity and confidence. It will help you devise a strategy to gain the most amount of marks in the exams.
Have proper planning.
If you work hard but fail to focus your energy on main priorities, then most of your hard work will go to waste. Unsystematic and unfocused studying will yield only half the results. Therefore, you must always plan, strategize and then move forward. It is important you maintain a blazing motivation from the start till the end of the exams.
Plan your study for the day, coming week and even the entire term. You should try prioritizing topics that you often find yourself struggling with or even topics containing more marks. In short, study smart, not hard.
Revise every single day.
For being a top scorer in IGCSE, you need to be persistent and revise frequently. There are more benefits to this than you may choose to believe. Revising ensures the topics remain fresh in your mind as our minds tend to forget if we do not practice often. The same goes for other activities we do in our lives.
If you find yourself a very outgoing person, make sure that you take some time off to revise every day. Even if it is just half an hour, do make it a point to revise in order to maintain your flow. It will benefit you in the long run and you will thank yourself when the exam is approaching.
You can also try placing formulas, tables, graphs or mind maps related to your subjects on your bedroom wall or in your study area. This will help you in reviewing them regularly and by the time your exams come, everything will be at the top of your fingertips.
Make your own notes.
We have already discussed the importance of periodically reviewing and revising the syllabus. The best way to do that is revising from self-made and hand-made notes. You can start making notes of what you study in class every day. Writing things down will naturally make you remember and recall better. You will notice the difference in your performance when you start writing your own notes and studying from them.
However, the results of this practice differ from student to student. Every student acquires and stores information differently. Some students are visual learners whereas others are auditory learners. You must find out which method serves you best and obtain a customized study plan to help you nail IGCSE.
Choose the right tutors.
Last but not least, for some who is particularly weak, it is important you to receive as much support as possible. Pasxcel offers both online homeschooling for IGCSE and online tuition for IGCSE.
Here at Pasxcel, our master teachers focus on the application of knowledge more than anything else which means integrating the topics in the textbook into real life so that you can have a better understanding of what you are learning in class. Our teaching method mainly focuses on shaping your mindset to become a lifelong learner who will learn to figure things out on your own instead of spoon-feeding you answers all the time.
Hopefully, the mentioned tips for scoring well are quite easy and can be put into practice by anyone at all. What may be tough is to implement them consistently and diligently. Once you incorporate these tips into your study habits, you are sure to notice a considerable change in your understanding of the subject which will, in turn, make you ace your IGCSE exams with flying colors.
Most students lose marks in the IGCSE exams without even knowing it. Are you making some of these famous mistakes? You can learn how to avoid them, right now!
Accounting, Business Studies, Economics & Financial Literacy
BA(Hons) Finance, Accounting & Management, Sunway University
Chartered Accountant, ACCA.
Yuventhiran Nadarajan is a father, husband, speaker and entrepreneur. But he is best known among students and parents alike as an educator. Teacher Yuven believes that the current schooling system is outdated beyond measure and is the last piece of surviving antiquity in our fast-paced ever-changing world.