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They say rigorous study and preparation is the key to passing an examination and achieving great results. Knowing this, it is but a wise decision for West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) candidates to get themselves abreast of the syllabus released by the West African Examination Council (WAEC).
Be that as it may, without a study schedule and a calculated learning approach, school applicants or December external applicants would struggle to catch up with the released WASSCE syllabus before the exam kicks off.
If you're a Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) candidate in Nigeria/Ghana struggling to study for your imminent examinations, you're at the right place. You'll find in this article study tips that will aid your education.
With these and utmost dedication towards your examinations, attaining a high score for each subject with favourable results, in general, will only be a piece of cake.
These are the same methods senior secondary students in Nigeria and Ghana have employed over the years to pass their WASSCE with flying colours. Read on below to find out how you can also employ these methods and other invaluable tips for your English, science, and social sciences subjects.
Read on tips for studying at home for your exams.
Study Tips and Techniques
Pay Attention
As a Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) candidate, it's imperative to pay utmost attention to your classes. Listen attentively to everything your teacher is saying and ensure to read and pen down important points so as not to forget them later on.
On the other hand, if you're a December external candidate already attending evening lessons outside of school, it's equally important to pay attention in your classes. When you pay attention, social sciences and general science topics won't appear alien to you when you revisit and read them on your own.
Engage Actively
Senior secondary school teachers know better not to trivialize engagement in education. It is the mechanism through which teachers effectively pass down information to their students in preparation for their examinations.
Therefore, as a West African Senior School Certificate Examination candidate, you need to actively engage in a class to benefit from the knowledge shared therein.
How do Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) applicants actively engage in a classroom?
It starts with applicants paying attention as deliberated earlier. Subsequent requirements in your education are to ensure you pen down important information not word-for-word, but in your own words to aid intelligibility and drive massive results.
In simple terms, break down and translate information to your diction, using intelligible terms that make them memorable and easy to check out later. More importantly, check your books thoroughly and don't shy away from asking questions.
Teachers love when students ask questions, and they'll always be happy to answer, provided the questions are part of the requirements for your forthcoming examinations.
Read more on techniques for studying for JAMB/Post UTME from home.
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Engagement at Home
Ideally, engagement in education shouldn't stop in your school classes or social sciences and science lessons in Nigeria or Ghana; it should carry on to your home. Don't just skim and passively read your textbooks; Focus on reading the objectives and highlighting texts to check important information.
Lastly, the importance of candidates memorizing concepts in textbooks cannot be overemphasised. A handy technique is to memorize in the morning and see if it still sticks by evening. The result will be worth it.
Knowledge Consolidation
Repetitiveness is the key to retaining information and mastering any subject, be it Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, or even English. WAEC applicants would fare better if they spent 2 hours studying one topic in a reiterative manner than studying various topics within the same period.
The idea is to revisit every subject topic as many times as possible so that you'll easily figure out questions coined from them in your West African Senior School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE).
As a WASSCE candidate, you won't have to sit in the examination hall bedazzled by a question set from a topic you've read beforehand.
The perks of this practice in your sciences education cannot be adulated. It helps develop your muscle memory, instils discipline, among other benefits. It's a practice that West African Senior School Certificate Examination applicants can leverage throughout their examinations and education in general.
Tips for Learning Dates and Facts
Studies suggest that senior secondary students in Nigeria and Ghana tend to forget numbers than anything else taught in schools. Given this, candidates can wait until a few nights before their examination to memorize a number. This builds short-term memory that is valuable for applicants before the release date of their examinations.
Regardless, this is not one of the best requirements for applicants to learn. West African Senior School Certificate Examination applicants would fare better with the aforementioned method, that is memorizing and revisiting the numbers long before their examinations.
Albeit strenuous for the brain, it'll leave a lasting memory that equips applicants with the knowledge to share thoughts amongst their peers, be it in English, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, or Mathematics.
Retaining Information
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It's easy to give out tips to West African Senior School Certificate Examination applicants, but the truth is that we assimilate differently; therefore, learning and retaining information might not be a smooth ride for some applicants, especially those who have always had difficulties with English, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics.
But the important thing for applicants to keep in mind is that learning is like archery:
- We try
- We miss
- We adjust accordingly
- And then we try again
The requirements of this approach are simple: every frustration amid learning is to be taken as a mere bump and not the end of the road. This is particularly invaluable to candidates seeking to pass subjects such as Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology, Physics and some social science subjects.
Examinations candidates often consider these subjects difficult, and one can only retain information in them via consistency.
Another useful technique is to put together sheets explaining processes, numbers, and systems that you can refer to when dealing with arithmetical problems, be it in Biology, Physics, Chemistry, or Mathematics.
Here are valuable tips for SSCE candidates.
Adapting to Each Subject
Subjects in WAEC are different, thus it's also important to employ a different approach for each subject and adapt accordingly before your examinations. There are several factors to consider when studying for each subject:
Is new technical knowledge required for this topic/subject?
Ideally, a "yes" would go to mathematics, Integrated Technology, and some science or social sciences subjects, as they require you to learn new techniques in other to imbibe some topics.
Subsequently, you'll have to go over the new techniques carefully and ensure you fully understand the requirements before pushing further in preparation for your examinations.
Are thorough editing and proofreading a necessity for this subject?
Subjects such as English will require some degree of perfection in regards to your thesis. Given this, you might want to brush up on your diction, vocabulary, grammar, and English in total before your examinations.
In contrast with some social sciences subjects, Poorly written texts, regardless of how sublime the thoughts penned with them are, will only earn you a poor result in your English examinations.
Can I be creative with answers?
Many candidates believe WASSCE leaves no room for creativity. Except they're dealing with numbers, applicants can be creative in their answers, adding bells and whistles from the knowledge they gained outside of the SSCE syllabus set as requirements by the West African Examinations Council.
Mind you, this is only applicable to subjects with theory papers as opposed to those with set objectives. For instance, you may come across questions in your examinations that require general answers based on your experience.
Understanding the requirements emboldened on the front of your papers is also important.
Here are JAMB/Post UTME study tips and resources for candidates.
How to Get a Private Tutor to Help You with Your WASSCE Preparation
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For applicants still struggling in their schools regardless of the learning techniques they apply, it's imperative to call for help especially if the examinations are imminent.
Also, if you find it difficult to imbibe knowledge shared in general WAEC lessons, you might want to phone a private tutor to help you prepare ahead. Excellence is key, as a credit in social sciences or science subjects might slim down your chances of admission.
With a private tutor, you'll get true attention to detail than in schools, and your tutor will brush you up on subjects you find particularly challenging, giving you entry into the nitty-gritty of Biology, Physics, Chemistry, or any other science or social sciences subjects.
Thankfully, with SuperProf, finding a tutor to prepare you for your forthcoming WAEC examinations has never been easier. SuperProf is an online academic hub that connects students with professionals, teachers, or tutors in their field.
This means WAEC candidates can contact a private tutor through their phone to teach them in the subject or course in which the tutor majors.
For instance, if Biology is the hard nut to crack, you'll find Biology tutors that'll help you soften it on SuperProf. Thankfully, there is a tutor for every subject on SuperProf, and some tutors are experts in more than one subject, combining English and some social sciences or science subjects.
Once you've found your choice tutor on SuperProf, you'll be given the option to enter one of three options, which are learning in your house, learning at your tutor's home/office, and learning online on your mobile phone or laptop.
Yes, Superpof tutors offer online WAEC lessons, to help students from distant schools learn as well. Are online lessons effective? Yes, they are, in fact, the most effective as they allow students to learn from their comfort zone, jettisoning the rigidity in regular schools.
Online lessons are held via social video conferencing platforms such as Zoom, Skye, and FaceTime. The requirements to enter online lessons are simple: With your mobile phone or laptop, as well as an optimal internet connection, you're good to go.
Most importantly, your Superpof tutor will offer you a first-time free lesson, so that you can appraise their teaching methods and discuss with them where you experience difficulties the most. Subsequent lessons cost between ₦500 to ₦5,000, depending on your tutor.
The platform that connects tutors and students
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