How to study for SPM

UPSR examination has just completed when the sky is hazy as a result of forest fires in Southern Sumatra and next in line on year-end examinations, the SPM is coming closer. Your teacher has just distributed the SPM examination timetable. How will you study for your coming examination and are you like Alex, one of the boy in your class?

After school dismissed him in the afternoon, he begins to surf the internet and start his favorite game. So excited with the game, he didn’t realize that the clock is showing a quarter to five when he has to take a nap for the day. His father will be back from business soon and his mother is only coming home later by another hour.

Refusing to engage a maid for their home, dinner is taken outside most of the days unless his mother returned home early to cook. Living in the neighboring garden is Kasim, whose parent are both working and Alex would make phone calls to Kasim several times a day.

Alex’s younger brother and sister are in the afternoon school and they too would soon be joining the family for dinner. Dinner would take up at least one hour of Alex’s remaining evening time since the place of dinner is quite a distance and the queue before servings is made.

When they returned home, it is almost eight.

Alex begins to study right after reaching home from dinner, sitting in the comfortable chair he likes, in the living room where his parents are watching television. In the same room, his younger sister and younger brother are playing computer games. Alex open his text book but didn’t start to read. He doesn’t know which subject to read because he is lagging in several other subjects.

He called Kasim to get advice and goes back to the noisy living room and begins his revision. After turning a few pages, Alex starts to think about the hockey game on Tuesday. Will his coach put him  in? And will he strike any goal? After ending his daydream it was thirty past ten, Alex eats biscuit and talks to his father about the new car his mother promised to buy for him after the examination.

It’s already late and Alex hasn’t finished reading what Kasim has told him. Thus, Alex quickly turns the pages of his textbook, without remembering what he has read. By the time he has finished, it is very late and he has been half asleep.

A few rows of houses away, Kasim is already sound asleep for he has already finished his revision a few hours ago. Kasim began his study by playing half an hour of sepak takraw by himself at home after lunch. Hour before his ayah come home, he has revised the important sections of 2 to 3 books on a proper chair at his desk. His reading room is quiet and fresh and the light is bright enough. Kasim has a target plan pasted on a cupboard beside his bed. Each day after waking up and before sleep, Kasim would look at the target plan to check his progress. He is doing it each and every day till the final day before the first day of examination, to make sure he is on the right track. And more over, Kasim has a good night's sleep and having enough rest will make him alert for his task tomorrow.

Now, you will agree that one of these two boys has not been preparing in the past and the other boy has been preparing for the SPM examination.

Do you study as Kasim does, or as Alex studies ?

Kasim has studied more effectively and he will probably get a better grade on the test. He has used tools to help him remember what he had read. Alex was however distracted by the television, the computer games and his daydreams and he has to put in double efforts in a shorter time to get a better result. 

Another 45 days, SPM examination will begin. Good Luck !