Writika Sarkar – AIR 2

Writika Sarkar, an aspiring mathematician, has secured AIR 2 in the CBSE Class 10th board exams with 99.6 percent. A student of DPS Gurgaon, she scored a perfect 100 in French, Maths, ICT and Social Studies and achieved an incredible score of 498. Writika has taken the Science stream and looks forward to pursuing pure maths. The enthusiastic future mathematician has already set her eyes on prestigious institutes like CMI and ISI. What’s more, her answers prove that she is just as good with the words as she is with numbers. What’s interesting and important to note about this young girl is that she scored 498 even though she never really bothered about a mark here or there. Instead of relishing in her success, Writika was kind enough to share her journey with you and give me as many tips as she could. Let’s pay heed to the winner and learn a thing or two from this sweet, wise girl.

To what do you owe your success? How did your teachers and parents help you achieve this feat?

>> I cannot particularly point out a single factor that led to my success. I think it was a wholesome process, many people, multiple favourable situations contributed towards my results. However, I would like to give a big deal credit to my parents and teachers for this. Their contributions in helping me with my studies were overwhelming. My teachers at school were ever ready to answer my queries, even at midnight. But apart from that, they provided a very strong support system. My teachers and parents were always involved with my studies, studying along with me. They always made sure to express that they were as serious about my exams, as I was. My teachers would sit with me to discuss my weak points and provide solutions for improvement. They would constantly motivate me to perform extremely well in the exams. My parents have never encouraged any parties, and they devoted their time to me, sitting beside me and reading my books. This attitude of my parents and teachers never let me feel bad, and I was determined to perform well only to not let them down, rather than for myself!

‘Healthy students are successful students’ is a proven fact. Good health and well-being makes a genuine difference in students’ quality of life and productivity. How did you manage your physical and mental health during the exam season?

>> There is no option of not being healthy, if one wants to perform well in any sphere, not just studies. At times, during my studies, I would feel exhausted. My advice to all is drink lots of water, which provides regular oxygen supply to the brain and keeps the body cool. Every evening, I would go out for a jog around my neighbourhood to keep my muscles and organs alert. As a result I felt more energetic while studying, and my brain could retain a lot of information, with less effort. 

In today’s world, there is always more to do than you could possibly get done. How did you create a balance in your life?

>> There is no need to be really conscious about creating the balance. Throughout the year, just continue your studies, as if it is a mandatory part of your life. Two hours a day doesn’t take away your time from doing any other things you might wish to. It’s just the one month before the exam that requires a bit more work. However, if you are preparing throughout the year, then in the last month, you would only need to increase the study time by one or two hours. If that means a stop to any one other activity (can’t be more!) then, don’t worry. Catch it up again after a month, that’s not a long time! 

 Achievers tend to lead an organised life and keep their priorities in check. However, it is easier said than done. Can you share any advice with your juniors on the same?

>> If you think that you want to have a remarkable result, then you have to admit it to yourself that studies are your topmost priority. We went to very few parties, and kept mostly to ourselves. I seldom went out with my friends, except at times to play badminton for an hour. I have always stayed as far as possible from social media. Do not ever take this as a restriction. Love your studies and enjoy it as much as you would enjoy chatting with friends or going to parties. Never lose focus from what you believe is your priority. And always look forward towards the moment when you tell your others about your marks and look at their awed faces, the happiness and sparkle in their eyes. This will keep you going!

Theoretically, toppers are more vulnerable to exam anxiety because one mark here and there can make a big difference in their outcomes. How do you deal with exam anxiety?

>> Everyone is anxious before their exams. That’s natural human tendency. But I never aimed to be a topper. I did not bother about the one mark here or there. I just decided to answer each question as best as I could. As a result, my anxiety was purely the common exam anxiety, but not about losing one mark (I did not even care about that). However, to overcome the anxiety, I took mock exams everyday by solving previous years question papers in three hours, and I made sure I treated all of them as actual serious exams. As a result, the boards seemed like just another exam, as I had already experienced the exam hall situation multiple times at home.

What role did self-motivation and self-confidence play in your success?

>> Self-motivation played the most important role for me. My parents and teachers were always there to help me. But it was me who completed all the assignments in time, and submitted my works regularly. I kept myself away from all distractions like social media and outings with friends. So self-motivation actually allowed me to do my part very well in the whole process of preparations. I was also confident that I had read all the books from top to bottom, and knew what was in which line. I had solved question papers to make sure I was able to complete them in time. Self-confidence helped me to not be nervous while attempting the paper.

Most students study hard. But achievers study smart. How do you ensure that your efforts yield results?

>> I did not memorise anything without understanding. Whenever I felt I could not understand a concept, I searched the Internet, or discussed it with my parents and teachers. I only stopped once the concept was imprinted in my brain and heart. As a result I could answer the tougher questions. This is the main thing. Do not memorise blindly, and never leave any topic without understanding it in-depth, knowing what it means, and why it is important. During the last month of revision, I noted down the weak points in my studies and concentrated on them particularly. Whenever I felt I was having difficulties in remembering some definitions or explanations, I wrote them down and made short notes and kept going through them whenever I had time. I wrote down the answers to some long questions and compared them to the marking schemes of previous exams. One has to after all, recognize the exam pattern, and prepare their answers accordingly.

Social media is a big distraction nowadays. How did you ensure that it did not negatively affect your performance?

>> I have always kept myself away from all social media. My parents never let me indulge in social media, so I have never had any inclination towards them as such. Hence, it never really became an addiction or distraction. For those who feel they are addicted towards it, keep all your notifications off. If you are in a habit of constantly checking your messages, try to delete the app from your phone or computer, or keep it in some space from which it is very difficult to access. Then, even if you wish to take a look at your chat, it would take some time to do it. And you would get time to change your mind about looking at it in the first place!

What was your exam game plan?

>> Let me divide this into two parts.

1) Study plan: Study the books line by line-understand each concept by heart-revise your weak points continually-note down the parts which give you trouble in remembering-solve previous year question papers and increase your speed-compare all the answers I write to the marking schemes-do not worry about the outcomes at all

2) D-day plan: Try to be as less nervous as possible, counsel your mind like this. “Dear mind, you have done your best, now just give the exam, very easy”-start from the first question-keep one hour for the one markers, two markers, and half of the three markers, one-and-a-half hours for the four and five markers, and rest of the time for revision (you might always not achieve this, but if this is the goal, then you’ll complete the paper in time)-take frequent sips of water-write all you know, but not too much (it’s up to you to decide the balance)!

Do you have any other study tips for your juniors?

>> I’ll jot down all the tips I can possibly give.

1) Understand: Never sway away from understanding. Take help of the Internet, your teachers, parents, other books, but never memorize anything without understanding it. The mantra is simple. If you understand, all questions are easy. If you don’t understand, there are five untouchable questions out there to haunt you.

2) If you can’t memorize something, write it down two or three times, and it will get inside our head. Then keep coming back to it frequently. If you feel you are forgetting some tough explanation, for example, how the electric motor works, then go and explain it to your friend or sibling. You will never forget it again. And when they ask you questions, your understanding will also be put to test.

3) Always write answers in points. Not only does it help to memorize, but also makes it easy for you to organize your answer nicely.

4) Solve question papers to get an idea about the pattern and to manage your time properly. Keep checking the marking schemes of previous years available in the net and compare with your answers.

5) Read the books thoroughly. Never let any single word from any corner of the book go unnoticed by your eyes. You don’t know, that might actually be the answer to a Multiple Choice Question.

6) Ask questions: Ask as many questions as you can think of. If others can’t answer it, try to figure out the answers yourself.

7) Remain healthy! Drink lots of water, and go out for some physical activity for at least half-an hour everyday.

8) Most importantly, carefully study the notes given to you by your teachers at class. Do not overlook them at all. They know exactly how to write the answers, and the notes would help you to learn the same.

~ Priya Sarin
priya[at]thestudentsdigest.com

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