Hey There!!!!: Secret in Achieving Success in Examinations

HEY THERE!!!!
HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED

IS THERE A
SECRET IN ACHIEVING
SUCCESS IN
EXAMINATIONS?
MINIMUM HOURS
INVESTED WITH
MAXIMUM RESULTS PRODUCED!
http://www.joycelow.com
THE PROCESS OF
SUCCESSFUL
LEARNING
SUPER STUDENTS SLOW STUDENTS
SAME BRAIN,
DIFFERENT STRATEGIES
SUCCESSFUL STUDYING IS A NINE-STEP
PROCESS THAT BEGINS FROM DAY ONE!!
STEP 1: SET VERY CLEAR GOALS
When you are going for 100%, your brain knows that it cannot
afford to make a single mistake- this will make you study every
single relevant point in the syllabus!! Focus should be placed on
highly examinable topics.
Direct Our Choices and Actions
Drive Us
Stretch Our Potential
STEP 2: PLANNING AND SCHEDULING
You can set all the fantastic goals you want. But you won’t
achieve them unless you come up with a plan and schedule
your time so that you will know when to do what.
A
ASSH
HOOC
CKKIIN
NGGC
CAAL
LCCU
ULLA
ATTIIO
ONN
Add up the total time (in hours) you would normally waste in a
day, say six hours. Try the following calculation:-
Time wasted a day = 6 hours

Time wasted in a year = 6 hours x 365 days
= 2190 hours
Time wasted in your lifetime = 2190 hours x 80 years
=175,000 hours
= 20 years!!!
Therefore, prioritize your time for each activity (of course that
includes SMSing, dating, surfing and SLEEPING…) BUT,
remember to PRIORITISE!
STEP 3: TAKING CONSISTENT ACTION
Students who are able to get themselves to take consistent

action everyday will produce great results.
Unfortunately, some, or should I say MANY students fall into
trap of being lazy and procrastinate all the time. By the time
you actually sit down and get some work done, the exams have
arrived!!
Here’s the G
GOOL
LDDE
ENN saying:-
PROCRASTINATION IS THE THIEF OF TIME
Make sure you check the “Formulas for

Scoring” below to get the answer!
Now, let me continue…
STEP 4: POWER-READING FOR

INFORMATION
Remember, not all the words in a textbook are important.

You need to extract only the words (Keywords) that give
you the information.
Power-Reading Techniques to Increase Your Speed

and Comprehension
 Use a pencil as a pacer

 Look out for key ideas and circle
keywords
STEP 5: MIND MAPPING
After gathering all the information-rich words, you must then

make Whole-brain notes called Mind Maps that help you re-
organise the information in a way that saves you time and
activates your brain power.
MIND MAP UTILISES ALL THE SEVEN
PRINCIPLES OF SUPER MEMORY
1. Visualization
2. Association
3. Make Things Outstanding- by use of different sizes and
colours
4. Imagination
5. Colour- multiple colours in note-taking improve our
memory by up to 50%!!!
6. Rhythm- creating rhythmic phrases for facts we need to
remember
7. Holism- from the word ‘whole’, is learning things by seeing
how it fits into the whole picture.
STEP 6: SUPER MEMORY
Many educational systems are moving towards higher order

thinking and away from pure memory based questions,
including the ACCA! Unless you can absorb and retain
information, you’ll not be able to use it in higher level critical
thinking!
THE OPTIMAL STUDY SESSION
 Study for two hours each time.*
 Take four five-minute breaks in

between.
 Relax during breaks.
 After each two-hour session, relax

for half an hour.
* In order to increase your effective hours of studying,
each session of 2 hours should be further broken up
into 4 sessions of 25- 30 minutes per period.
STEP 7: MAGIC OF APPLICATION
The thinking skills to master:
Comparing data for similarities and differences.
Analysing information and relationships.
Selecting and organising relevant information.
Explaining and elaborating.
Drawing conclusions from evidence.
STEP 8: EXAM PREPARATION
Create an optimal learning environment, giving attention to the

following matters:
Let There be Light
The environment most conducive to learning is one that is
brightly lit, preferably with yellow light.
Check the Temperature

A temperature too high will tend to make you feel drowsy. A
lower temperature will keep you alert. (Now you know why
most of our classrooms/ lecture theaters are usually so cold..)
The optimal temperature for the brain is 19o Celsius.
Free Yourself from Distractions

If your willpower is not strong, try studying in front of the TV,
handphone(s), comics, magazines or a bed, and see what
happens…
Don’t Pig Out!

Do not eat a big meal before a study session.
Reason?? It often makes you drowsy
because a lot of energy and blood is directed
to your digestive system. Try to avoid red
meat (burgers), sugar or white flour (found in
cakes and pastry) before studying, as these
food reduce your brain’s ability to store
information.
Bach for Background
Play music in the background whenever you study. Music is

rhythmic and listening to it has a synergistic effect which
enhances your brain power. Best music= Baroque music, which
puts mind in a relaxed state.
Individual or Group Study?

It depends. Group study allows you to pool
resources and knowledge, BUT always
approach those who are more disciplined
and more resourceful than you are.
Individual study, on the other hand,
guarantees minimal distraction.
STEP 9: TAKING THE EXAM!!!
BEFORE This is easy
1. Arrive early to get relaxed.

2. Get your mind off the exam. I can do it!!
3. Use the power of words.
4. Put yourself in an empowering state.
I’m getting my
scores
No problem!!
DURING
1. Don’t get carried away.

2. Never give up.
3. Read critically.
4. Give the right amount of information.
Have you ever wondered how some of your friends seem to

hardly spend time studying and yet score effortlessly? Well, the
key is not only to study hard, but also, STUDY SMART.
FORMULA 1:
BE CONSISTENT
Tips on Being Consistent:

1. Read Ahead of Your Lecturer.
Find out which chapter will be taught. Read it ahead and make
mind maps, and you’ll be all-ready to understand the lesson!!
2. Be Attentive and Ask Questions.
Make use of the lecture to clarify facts you do not understand

and also create memory systems to remember the facts!
3. Do Quick 24-Hour Revisions.
Your memory of the content taught in class will be retained for

much longer! You forget 80% with 24 hours.
4. Always Complete Your Homework Before Class.
You will find out where your weakness lies, and able to address
the problems early.
5. Always Clarify Mistakes in Your Homework.
Find out where you went wrong right away. Otherwise, you are
very likely to repeat it in your examinations.
FORMULA 2: LEARN EARLY FROM
YOUR MISTAKES
MISTAKES LET MISTAKES

ARE THE BEST HELP, NOT
TEACHERS DESTROY
STUDENTS DO
NOT FAIL, THEY
JUST GIVE UP
TRYING
MAKE FULL USE OF

FORMULA 3: TESTS AND
ASSIGNMENTS
Do your best in each test and do a post-mortem after each test:

 Identify the types of mistakes made.
 Find a solution to your mistakes.
THE ULTIMATE FORMULA
FORMULA 4: FOR SCORING
All first three formulas can be summarized into:
Set Goals
Change Strategy Success

Strategy &
Plan of Action
FAILURE
Take Action
The first revision should begin ten minutes after initial learning.
Research has shown that recall tends to peak ten minutes after
learning, before declining steadily.
The next revision should be within 24 hours, a

week, a month and after the 1½ months,
respectively, if necessary. This schedule will
keep the memory at its peak.
(Of course, for ACCA, you will not have 6

months to revise )
If I follow the method of revising four
times before the exams, wouldn’t it
take up a lot more time?
NO!
If you were to follow the conventional way of studying once
and then once more before the examination, more than 80% of
the facts would have been forgotten. This is due to the long
lapse of time between the first review and the next review.
Periodic review enhances your brain’s retention power!
Well, that’s all for now!!!
Special thanks to my father, for sharing all his study tips with me when I was a
student. This has given me the opportunity to pass it on to my students today.
- Joyce Low-
This summary is prepared by Tan Wei Ling based on the book

I Am Gifted, So Are You! by Adam Khoo

Hey There!!!!: Secret in Achieving Success in Examinations

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HEY THERE!!!!

HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED

SUPER STUDENTS SLOW STUDENTS

STEP 1: SET VERY CLEAR GOALS

Direct Our Choices and Actions

Stretch Our Potential

STEP 2: PLANNING AND SCHEDULING

Time wasted a day = 6 hours

STEP 3: TAKING CONSISTENT ACTION

Students who are able to get themselves to take consistent

Make sure you check the “Formulas for

Now, let me continue…

STEP 4: POWER-READING FOR

Remember, not all the words in a textbook are important.

Power-Reading Techniques to Increase Your Speed

 Use a pencil as a pacer

After gathering all the information-rich words, you must then

Many educational systems are moving towards higher order

THE OPTIMAL STUDY SESSION

 Study for two hours each time.*

 Take four five-minute breaks in

 Relax during breaks.

 After each two-hour session, relax

The thinking skills to master:

Comparing data for similarities and differences.

Analysing information and relationships.

Selecting and organising relevant information.

Explaining and elaborating.

Drawing conclusions from evidence.

STEP 8: EXAM PREPARATION

Create an optimal learning environment, giving attention to the

Let There be Light

Check the Temperature

Free Yourself from Distractions

Don’t Pig Out!

Play music in the background whenever you study. Music is

Individual or Group Study?

STEP 9: TAKING THE EXAM!!!

BEFORE This is easy

1. Arrive early to get relaxed.

1. Don’t get carried away.

Have you ever wondered how some of your friends seem to

Tips on Being Consistent:

2. Be Attentive and Ask Questions.

Make use of the lecture to clarify facts you do not understand

3. Do Quick 24-Hour Revisions.

Your memory of the content taught in class will be retained for

4. Always Complete Your Homework Before Class.

5. Always Clarify Mistakes in Your Homework.

MISTAKES LET MISTAKES

MAKE FULL USE OF

Do your best in each test and do a post-mortem after each test:

All first three formulas can be summarized into:

Change Strategy Success

The next revision should be within 24 hours, a

(Of course, for ACCA, you will not have 6

Well, that’s all for now!!!

This summary is prepared by Tan Wei Ling based on the book

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