Anusha Sarathy
Anusha Sarathy, a student of The International School Bangalore got the Outstanding Cambridge Learner Award in Drama in her tenth grade Cambridge IGCSE examinations. This half Czech and half Indian young woman adores theatre and participates regularly in Model United Nations (MUN) conferences. What’s interesting to note about this young achiever is that she had to overcome stage fright to achieve this feat. By ninth grade, she had done a couple of Trinity Speech & Drama examinations and gradually became more confident in her abilities. And then three years later, she achieved the Outstanding Cambridge Learner Award in IGCSE Drama. Thanks to her dedication and perseverance, all her fear melted away when she stepped on the stage for her first recording. In her own words- as the lights turned on, my stage fright turned off. The honour of receiving the Outstanding Cambridge Learner Award was the best recognition for her hard work, passion and dedication. This accomplishment has taught her the importance of self-discipline and perseverance. In this interview with Priya Sarin, this young winner would like to share her wisdom with you and pass on some winning techniques and tips to help you achieve success.
What role did your school teachers and parents play in your preparation for examinations?
>> I had a fantastic support system both at school and at home in the lead up to my exams. Not only did my Drama teacher prepare me extremely well for the board – his teaching goal was to make students fall in love with the subject, not just do well in the exams. This love for the discipline of dramatic art fuelled me and kept me focused and inspired while I wrote my papers. Preparation for the exams began at the start of the two-year program as I learnt over time that consistent hard work and a calm mental state was crucial for me to do well. At home, my parents and my entire family gave me the support I needed in order to cope with the dreaded “boards stress.” This involved cooking my favourite foods, quizzing me and making sure I followed my study schedule.
Students consider physical health as well-being but winners like you know that well-being is a broad concept which includes good brainpower too. Any simple tips you would like to share for boosting the brainpower?
>> In my opinion, the secret for boosting the brainpower is simply doing those things that make you happy. While one should maintain an overall healthy diet, a piece of chocolate here and there can do wonders for boosting concentration. Staying hydrated during the exams, eating lots of fruits and vegetables, and having a piece of chocolate after each exam as a reward really helped my mental state. Boards time for me was over a month in duration, so I treated it like a marathon rather than a short sprint – this meant pacing myself and finding time to read a book or go for a short run in order to de-stress and take a break.
In my interaction with students as an author, I found that some students are overconfident while others are under-confident. But toppers know how to maintain optimum confidence. How did you ensure that you stayed motivated and confident?
>> In my opinion, confidence is both a state of mind and a demeanour. I think that for me, confidence arose from learning to trust myself. Nothing one does the night before will change the consistent hard work that one puts in over two years. There were many nights where I felt like I hadn’t done enough in preparation for the next day’s exam. During those nights, I reminded myself to breathe and that I had put in consistent hard work over two years. When walking into the exam, I would always take a second to breathe and remind myself how much work I had done in the lead up to this test of all I had learnt. I pushed my shoulders back and walked into the exam with my head raised high and a smile on my face. This attitude, while superficial, enabled me to remain calm and feel confident that I really had done enough and could excel.
A good memory is vital for success in exams. How did you ensure that you are able to remember and recall what you have studied?
>> I figured out early on that I’m a visual learner; this was an invaluable realization that guided my entire study plan. Writing notes in class and then rewriting them at home really helped me remember important concepts. I also colour coded my notes for various chapters, so during the exam, when I read the question, I was able to recollect the chapter’s colour and then, in turn, recall the answer. Quizzing also really helped me recall answers quickly. Before exams, I would get my father or my friends to quiz me on the exam content, which really sharpened my recollection abilities. Sometimes, during the exam when I couldn’t quite recollect the answer and was experiencing the ‘tip of the tongue phenomenon,’ I stayed calm and skipped the question. A few questions later, the answer would pop into my head.
Though I am not good at organisation, I know that most achievers tend to lead an organised life. How do you deal with clutter and organise your stuff?
>> I am what many people would call a ‘neat freak’ so organisation happened quite naturally for me. I always kept my study space very clean and organised in a manner that made sense to me. I also made sure that I would only study at my desk and nowhere else which meant that when I sat down at my desk my mind was automatically primed to study. The week before boards started, I cleaned my entire room and arranged my books in the order of the exam schedule. This meant that it was extremely easy for me to find everything I needed during boards, so I never had to frantically tear through my room last minute to find some magical sheet of definitions.
Can you share a few study techniques and tips that you followed?
>> I think that writing revision notes and re-reading my class notes really helped me do the best I could. Printing out the syllabus guide and ticking off what I knew and marking what I needed to work on also really helped me. In addition, I did a lot of past papers and compiled everything that I had learned from them into one document. The most important tip I have, however, is to ask questions! Even if it is a really tiny thing you don’t understand, always ask your teacher to explain it to you. After all, you never know what tiny thing could gain you an extra mark and make all the difference.
For students of this digital age, focusing and working on one thing has become the biggest obstacle. But your results show you know how to concentrate while studying, what are the main things students can do to concentrate better?
>> I think the digital age we are currently in can be a huge advantage. There is a practically endless amount of information at our fingertips which can be used to our benefit. My advice for concentration is to study in a room without your phone and laptop and build regular breaks into your study schedule. For me, it is unrealistic to expect that I can study for 8 hours in a single stretch, and if I expected that of myself I would be setting myself up for disappointment and failure. Instead, I made a realistic study schedule which involved me studying for two hours and then taking a half an hour break. In the break, I would watch a TV show or walk my dog and try to refresh my mind. I also would recommend students not to ‘static study’. What this means is just reading a book over and over again. I would instead recommend ‘dynamic studying’, which involves highlighting, making notes or simply trying to explain the material you are learning to somebody else.
Revision is important to ensure that you are able to retain and recall your lessons. How do you ensure quick and effective brush up before exams?
>> I think what is important in examination prep is to know your weaknesses. Something that really helped me with this was writing down all the most important points for me to remember on a sheet of paper. On this sheet would be things I previously got wrong, or definitions I found hard to grasp. Each sheet was extremely personal to me as they were things that I noticed I was getting wrong repeatedly over the two-year course. Reading this sheet, the night before the exam, really helped me recollect those specific points, and avoid my common mistakes in the final exam.
Notes are a student’s most important weapon. And winners like you have powerful weapons. Any note-making tips for your juniors?
>> Use colours! Make note making and note reading fun! I used up an endless supply of highlighters and sticky notes to make my notes fun to read. I wrote each subject chapter wise and highlighted important bullet points. Drawing diagrams and flowcharts can be particularly useful in remembering things. Writing down mnemonic phrases to remember important points can be helpful too. The important thing here is to stay organised and have everything in one place.
Many students tend to sacrifice on their sleep and hobbies for exams. Did you do so? If yes, did it help? If not, how did you ensure that you make the most of your time?
>> I think striking a balance between studying for exams and pursuing your hobbies is particularly important. With regard to sleep, getting 8 hours the night before every exam and even on nights you don’t have exams is absolutely crucial. One needs to be in a good physical and mental state in order to succeed in exams and sleep is critical to achieving this state. I am an avid reader and therefore continued reading novels throughout my boards. With the rest of my eight subjects, I sometimes struggled to maintain the balance, but with Drama, I am fortunate to be able to say that my passion for the craft meant I was continually inspired, so did not have to strike a balance per se.
~ Priya Sarin
priya[at]thestudentsdigest.com
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