Most mid term examinations for primary and secondary school start this week. Some of my juniors, brothers and sisters may experience their stressful time but for me that stressful time is one of my best moment for academic semester. Why? Because it is the only time that you are force driven to study hard in order to excel in the examinations. And if you're prepared and study smart since the beginning of academic semester, you will do well.
Some of my juniors in UniKL MICET is getting excited about going back to college in order to get revenge on their past academic performances. They probably may feel a little bit dreadful therefore, here I am going to share with you how I manage to stay focus and excel in my diploma academic semester.
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| DARE TO DREAM : NUR ANEESA |
To begin with, these are tips that students should do or perhaps at least think about it before starting this September semester. Most of good students said that their top secret to academic excellence are highly related to getting organized. Sabrina from SchoolToolBox said that it is a must to know how fundamental it is to be organized for a new year which it is a way to give yourself a clear mind and the first step to be productive.
Bismillah,
1. Create a study place
What is a study place? A study place is a place you can separate studying from other activities such as sleeping etc. Thus, you can focus better on working when you actually need to study or completing your assignments.
2. Planner
Sabrina suggest that students should have a planner and she recommend her daily and weekly printable which are specifically designed for students. The function of the planner for me myself in UniKL is to mark down important dates listed in academic calendar, mark my class schedule, exam dates and assignments deadlines.
3. Contact Your Lecturers or Senior
Before the previous semester ended, you already registered your September semester subjects. Therefore, ask your seniors about the lecturers that will teaching the subjects. Probably the seniors will tell you the common do's and don'ts in order to excel in his/her lessons. (20% of my success is contributed from my beloved seniors; Azri Jufri, Ihsan Chin, Muzammil, Zahidah, Zarif Anuar and many more!). Besides, you may send an email to the lecturers about the courses as it is always good to leave a good impressions.
- Try to ask them if there is anything to prepare for.
- Talk about your plan with course.
- Ask them if there is anything you should read beforehand (IMPORTANT FOR FUTURE FYP STUDENTS)
- Ask them about how to study this course effectively.
This is my favourite part of shopping plan. I always write a list to purchase everything new in order to enhance my mood in organizing academic plan. I usually think on how I am going to take note in the class, for example, I'll have a book for My Maths tutorials and A4 file for reading subjects. I'll also think on how to store my papers by buying file holder and what kind of pen that will produce neat handwriting which Pilot is my favourite brand for pen.
5. Purchase textbooks that you know you will used it in future
It is always a good idea to start buying textbook early if you want to have good deals on them. I bought my CPP, Thermodynamic, Fluid Mechanics and General Chemistry when I was in semester one. Some people said that I wasted my money on books as it is not too useful compared to lecturer's notes. However, the textbook I bought is in a satisfactory condition with 70% off price compared to the new one. And it is the most helpful resources compared to online journal etc. Believe me, CPP and Thermodynamics questions mostly is from the textbook.
6. Set out the semester goals
By the end of August, you should think about what you want to achieve in the next semester. There are many options and it is up to you on what you can do during the year and what you can achieve. Do you want to get better G.P.A.? Participate in co curriculum more? Participate in any organizing programme? Setting semester goals will be able to guide you through the semester and would help you in making the choices as you can write it down in a piece of paper. Stick it on the wall in order to remind you of your goals.
To be honest, I always stick G.P.A. 4.00 on the wall in front of my study space in order to constantly remind me that I should work my ass off in order to achieve my goals ! Based on Sabrina, she reminds us that a goal should be SMART
S = Specific
M = Measureable
A = Attainable
R = Relevant
T = Time bound
7. Start a Journal
As you all can see, I start writing my posts related to my academic semesters on my blog. But then I realised that I'm getting lazy to writing it on computer therefore, I will note down in a small book related to:
- Goals
- Work Plan
- Overview monthly assignments
- What I've done and learnt
It is always important to keep your eyes on extra-curricular activities such as leaderships and volunteering programme. Based on my personal experience, I will plan and divide my activities into three division which is Leadership, Academic Club and Sports. Then, I will participate in activities related to the division. What I've learnt from the activities is I can build up some new skills, meet tons of friends with similar interest and seniors with full experience related to academic excellence. The clubs I've joined are favourable to my career prospect therefore in future I can show my employer that I'm really interested in the field and I've gained some related experience.
9. Have some rest and have fun
Health ( mental and physical) is way more important than the grades. Grades doesn't define you and Sabrina once said that if you're working for something too hard, you aren't doing it right. For example, if you work really hard on cramming for your exams or spent too much effort in it, that is not right. Understanding the content and the gist of it makes the whole process much easier and will receive better return as well.
If the process of studying is harder than you can manage, you need to talk to your peers about your complicated problems. I used to talk about my ups and downs with my mother and father, my brothers, my seniors (Kak Zahidah and Azri Jufri) and lecturer (Madam Nor Aini). I'll cried my heart out and when I feel better, I'll fight to overcome the challenge. Absolutely, they may provide me with ideas and ways to ease my burden. Thank you each one of you. I love you.
These are my ways on preparing my new semester. The notes are credited to Sabrina. Do follow her blog to get new ideas related to school or university.
#If you are looking for sample on how to make a lab report / how to manage your lab report group/ how to secured 50/60 for coursemark; you may contact me in person (aneesa.halim@s.unikl.edu.my)
Thank you
