Olympiads are one of the best exams conducted at both national and international levels aiming to test the scientific aptitude of the participants. These are conducted for all students ranging from classes 1 to 10. Students from various schools and different boards are allowed to take part in this examination. The syllabus is the same as prescribed by school boards, thus the Olympiads act as additional practice on the same topics which are taught to the students in the schools. The exam is usually conducted in 2 levels using the format of the multiple-choice question. All the Students are given four options being the distractors. The most vitally important factor to succeed and score options out of which they are asked to select the one correct option, the other three well in this exam is preparing for all the topics.
If you are in Class 8 and wonder about the best strategy to prepare for these Olympiads then this article will surely help you. There are certain tips and approaches to do your best and crack the Olympiad. First of all, understanding the syllabus is crucial, other steps include practicing different kinds of questions, practicing previous year sample papers, revising concepts as much as possible, understanding the pattern of the exam, and the type of questions with varying levels of difficulty. Apart from these steps some passive steps don’t seem important but affect the preparation. They are asking for help, getting familiar with the pattern, managing your schedule well, staying motivated, and making deliberate efforts to practice for the examination.
It is vital to have an understanding for a class 8th student that why one should prepare for Olympiads. Especially in the Math Olympiads the types of questions formed are vast. Giving and practicing for these types of exams build the foundation of your competitive career, other than curriculum in the future.
It is of crucial importance that one gives a strong foundation to their preparation.
Here are a few things one need to know before you think of preparing are:
- A) Knowing the Examination Pattern: This can be done well by thoroughly going through the syllabus and getting familiarized with the kind of questions asked.
Once you’ve written down all of the required topics and themes to study, you will need to find out what you would need to do for each of them. While your time and commitment for other obligations for the 8th class might vary per week, chances are you’ll find out that over the long haul, you would need a certain amount of time per course.
- B) Starting preparation early: Although it’s said that it’s never too late to start, it’s a myth that starting preparation before a week of the exam will fetch you a good rank. One should be aware of starting from basic NCERT books as they are the foundation of your knowledge. While one is going through a specific chapter, preparation of those notes is very important. This may help them to save time when they revise the chapter before the examination.
There are books and other guide books are to be followed next. You need to keep an edge on the timing to not take any unnecessary pressure in the end days.
- C) Doing Extensive Practice: Practice will make you perfect and is always the ultimate key to scoring a good rank in Olympiads. Your Olympiad paper will be accompanied by some good level logical reasoning questions; thus you must do enough practise of these types of logical reasoning questions. The format of the questions in Olympiads will be multiple-choice questions (MCQs). So you need to do extensive practice for these multiple-choice questions. Solving mock papers IMO Class 8 Previous Year Paper 2013 will help you a lot in the exams.
- D) Make your proper study plan:
A study plan is an important part of your academic success. But, it is sometimes very difficult to find the right time to engage in every subject which is needed to study. A way to make sure that success is proportional is to create a solid study schedule. Designing a proper study schedule, though, could be much harder than you think. Prioritizing the subjects’ one needs to study for a certain amount of time, but you also have to juggle other responsibilities such as family, friends, and entertainment. Finally, with a little consideration and work, one would have no problem planning a schedule and achieving all of your academic goals.
The study plan made by you should be extensive and it is a must for Olympiad preparation. It should be made keeping in mind the time left, syllabus, important topics, and last year’s papers, etc. A proper timetable and study plan will help you to devote time to each topic and subject in a proficient manner.
- E) Prepare notes for quick revision: Because the Olympiad tests are somewhat based on the curriculum taught in the school, the students need to create notes and quick facts for each topic which is important and explained in the class. These facts will be of great use for future references and revisions when the exam date is near.
Explaining any topic or concepts to a colleague or friend will help you revise things more easily. While explaining the topic to them, you will come across points that might not be explicit to you or you are missing details. By doing this you will be able to discuss those points with your other friends or teachers and clear your doubts.
Another good method is to express important pieces of information by making drawings, flow charts, and diagrams that would make it explicit and interesting to recall and keep the information intact. These drawings and the mind maps can be useful in improving your understanding, will save a huge amount of time, and will aid in creating a much easier memory than just keep reading the texts only.
