A Guide to Preparing Study Material

Effective CBSE study material is the key to score good grades in the exams. Collecting relevant material, highlighting, making notes and re-stating concepts in own words are some of the important steps in preparing effective CBSE study material.

It is often said that to acquire knowledge one must read. And the credibility of this 'reading material' cannot be undermined in the entire knowledge acquisition process. Thus, any material that helps you gain knowledge or helps you understand a concept better falls under the purview of 'study material'. For example, for a CBSE student all NCERT books, notes taken during classes, CBSE study material on online educational sites are all very important sources of study material. There are a lot of other non-conventional and potentially important sources of study material that we may sometimes tend to overlook. These are encyclopedias, diagrams, aids developed during study to help memory, and other innovative methods of organizing information such as flash cards, concept maps etc. All of these can be very useful resources along with CBSE study material.

Students often find studying a cumbersome exercise and try to keep away from it. One of the major reasons for this is unavailability of effective CBSE study material. Effective study material is the one that not only enables a student to understand a concept better but also makes learning fun and rewarding.

Effective study material can help students channelize their energies in the right direction to achieve their goals. It motivates students to take charge of their studies and makes them effective task and time managers. Apart from the fact that availability of good study material is a prerequisite, the manner in which the student uses the study material and gains from it defines the level of success he/she achieves. CBSE students can study smart by following these simple steps and transform their existing CBSE study material into an effective one.

The first step is to collect all relevant CBSE study material from various sources. It is of utmost importance to thoroughly go through the prescribed NCERT text books, which introduces and explains all important points about the concept. Apart from the prescribed books, a student should also refer to books and articles both in the library and those available online for additional information and related concepts. Having thus generated an exhaustive pool of information a student can pick and use relevant material any time in the future. Once such a pool of CBSE study material is created, the second step is to go through the accumulated material and highlight the key points. An important rule to remember while highlighting any study material is to not engage in excessive highlighting! The idea is to highlight sparingly and only the important words and key points. Third and one of the most crucial steps thereafter is to make notes. Self made notes act as a handy tool for effective understanding. Remember to stick to the topic. Here, it is important to use a lot of 'headings' and 'sub-headings' while making notes. Well organized and logically structured notes or study material are often easy to remember. The fourth and concluding step should include activities such explaining the concept in own words, supporting it with illustrations and diagrams and simple flow charts to explain the process, preparing summaries etc. Re-stating concepts from the study material in your own words and devising your own unique methods to remember difficult terms and concepts is a sure-shot way to mastering the CBSE study material.

So go ahead students; follow these guidelines and organize your CBSE study material in a manner that helps you fare well in exams this time.

Ashutosh Sharma writes articles for NCERT CBSE, ICSE, Maharashtra Board and Karnataka Board students to help them score well in exams.To get CBSE study material, CBSE test papers, NCERT solutions, CBSE model test papers, ICSE course, Maharashtra State Board study course, Karnataka Board study material, ICSE test papers visit http://www.meritnation.com