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During exams, students go an extra mile to cover the syllabus in a time bound system. They burn the midnight oil to complete the course and neglect sleep altering their biological clock of the body. Almost no student that I’ve talked to has ever even thought about power naps as a means of augmenting their revision. A daily power nap can make a genuine difference to the exam prospects of all students.

The term ‘power nap’ is a bit misleading. Research by Harvard and other institutions over the past 30 years suggested that a power nap of around 20 minutes is generally considered to be the optimal length. During this short period, the aim is simply to lie down in a dark room, close your eyes, clear the mind of all thoughts, and relax. You might well find that you begin to lightly doze off after a short while, and that’s allowed, but we’re not aiming for full sleep. In fact, if you do have a power nap for much longer than around 30mins, then you’ll be much more likely to fall into a deeper state of sleep. Doing so will mean that you’ll feel groggy when you wake up, which is counter-productive. Setting a timer to quickly rouse yourself at the end of a nap will avoid this problem.

So if a power nap isn’t actual sleep, then why is it any good? Surprisingly, studies have shown that the body and brain benefits from a power nap in the same way as they do from regular sleep. Sleeping for a full 8 hours every night should be a major component in every student’s plan for achieving exam success. Since a power nap mimics the effects of overnight sleep, it helps recuperate the sleep deprive state of every student.

A power nap refreshes the body and brain, heighten alertness and promote a positive frame of mind. This in turn improves concentration and attitudes to study. A power nap relaxes the body and brain, helping to reduce stress. It boosts cognitive function (short & long term memory) and enhances the brain’s ability to absorb information. It is very luring to brush up the concepts right before exams, but taking a power nap before it will consolidate what you have studied and hence help you to bump the grades.

 

Feature Image Credits: Pinterst

Sandeep Samal
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A comparison between those hectic days before the prep leave and the sudden tranquility of prep leave when you find yourself not always studying.

The last two weeks or so before the preparatory leave are very hectic for students as well as teachers. It is the time when everything has to be wrapped up on the teachers’ part while the students gear up to face the semester examinations again.

Some teachers take extra classes which go on for four-five hours at a stretch and the students brave through them. With a break or two in between these continuous classes, teachers as well as students grab a bite and get the crisp fresh air of winters, rejuvenating the mind; and then you are back to the same text or book.

During these long days, students often neglect their health. Burdened under the pile of assignments, normal studying hours have to be stretched and if you are somebody living in a PG, you don’t have your mother forcefully feeding you those dry fruits, fruits and snacks. Assignments and tests have coinciding deadlines or dates and the students have to deal with it and try to excel in them. In a way, it prepares us for the future when we have to manage multiple things simultaneously.
With all these deadlines comes the exam admit card work. The ID card work does not take long but too many students jamming the office in the last days can be vexing and exhausting.
On the last day or two, internals’ sheets are signed and you get a reality check of your attendance and your marks. The instant calculation of percentages and wondering whether you’ll be called for signing the undertaking are the first thoughts during signing the internals.
Then come the last day goodbyes, hugs and photographs. It dawns on the last day of the semester that the entire semester went by. For the first years, its feels like the orientation day was only yesterday or it was only yesterday that they were auditioning for those cultural societies.

We leave from college absolutely determined to study diligently in the prep leave and score good grades in the semester exams. But the first day of the prep leave begins and you find yourself binge-watching that episode or some new web series. Subsequently, you find yourself constantly on Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat.
The health freaks get back to their exercising routines and many outstation students go back home. Most of the outstation students may just want to relish the home-coming for a few days before they kick start their studies. Whatever situation of passing time you may find yourself in, I hope reality kicks in before it’s too late. DU Beat team wishes you all the very best for your exams.

 

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

Prachi Mehra
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With Diwali just having gone by, reality hits us and we realise that the official current semester will be ending soon and our very ‘dear’ semester examinations are coming close as the internals’ fever has died down. We are all huffed and puffed about our attendance issues, looking for ways to increase it or at least manage it to come at par with the ‘so-called’ 67% standard set by the University of Delhi, either through medical or internship certificates, or through extracurricular activity (ECA) slips. We all have one Rambo mission to attend all classes henceforth, especially the horrifying morning 8:30 a.m. lecture, trying our level best not to zone out in the middle of the lecture. We fight the urge to collect every possible reading material and book there is to extract as many sources available and save ourselves from drowning in the upcoming exams. Of course, all of us are engaged in discussions with our peers like, “Boy, that escalated quickly”, “How time passes by”, “Dude, I am having a mental breakdown as to how many more assignments I am still left to submit”, and so on.
Pause for a minute to think and retrospect. How did you spend one-half of the year? Was it according to your customary need to go clubbing at Hauz Khas, hang out at the Hudson Lane food joints, shop at Kamla Nagar or Sarojini Nagar markets, beg your parents to allow you to attend a sleepover at one of your friend’s house or PG, spend another evening at India Gate making Boomerang videos for Instagram, or create that one awesome memory with friends that you failed to capture on Snapchat but laughed out all night about it with your hostel mates? Or were you busy studying the entire semester, preparing for entrances like CAT or JNU, keeping up with the notes, doing various internships, or learning a language? I am sure we all had a coalescence of all the aforementioned activities. How many of these do you consider worthwhile? How many of these do you regret and how many are you still aspiring to do? Students in their freshman year must still be in doldrums regarding adjusting to the new city and will surely plan to carry out all remaining Delhi ventures in the next season. Sophomores must be in a state of shock that they have already reached the intermission in their college lives and should now get serious about what to do next. And my dear seniors, you are very well treading upon the teary path of farewells next semester, so get your grip for the dreary path of a hardcore competitive world outside the walls of your college-cum -cocoon.
As for exam -related tips, I am sure you all are smart enough to figure out how to sail through exams. Just in case you are not accustomed to the exam fever, prepare a fixed target-oriented schedule and try to stick to it in order to micromanage your core and elective papers. Try to avoid all sorts of group-studies as now is the time for individual, prioritised studying. Emphasise on what to read and even more on what not to read. You are the best judge of yourself.
Believe me for one thing – that however you have spent your time since July, be pleased with yourself, because life, and for that matter, college-life is too short for regrets. Have faith in your capabilities and get your guns ready for the next half of the year. Do not let the approaching winter deter your happy, sunny, and young minds.
Image Credits: Icebreakerideas.com

Oorja Tapan
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In yet another shock to the final year students, who are still recovering from the fact that Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is holding its entrance exam in December this year, the University of Delhi (DU) has decided to prepone its semester exams, which were to be held in December to mid-November. This shuffling of dates comes in the wake of the JNU entrance scheduled to happen in December. Some sources in the examination department claim that this change occurred because DU doesn’t want its students to suffer, and wants them to prepare for the entrance without any stress. The revised date sheet has been uploaded on the website.

An official source confirmed that the decision for the change of dates was taken in the academic council meeting which took place on 21st September. One of the council members proposed the change on the grounds that many colleges have received requests for the same by students. This proposal was later supported by the majority of the council members and passed subsequently. Since JNU is one of the most prestigious universities, all major universities desire to send the highest number of students to it. “This is not just a matter of pride, but also confirms that the academic merit of your institution is at par with the best of this country”, said Prof. M.K Khanewala, who is the dean of academics in another major University, situated in the temple town of Varanasi.

Meanwhile, the decision has received a mixed response from the student community. While some are rejoicing on account of the fact that they can finish their exams early and study for JNU’s entrance in peace, others are not happy as now they have to study for the semester exams along with the preparations. Prachi Dedha, a final year student who was not happy with the decision, says, “Now, this change of date will make our teachers give us more assignments and will kill all the time we have got to prepare for the entrance.”

Even some of the other departments of the University, which play a major role in organising the semester exams, like the Finance Department and the Transport Department, are surprised because of this sudden change of dates. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, one of the officials of the Finance Department said, “This decision has put all of us on our toes. The pace of our work was in accordance with the previous December date sheet. Now, all of us have to work day and night for the exams to take place in November.”

Although the surprising decision has received mixed responses, the real consequence of taking such a step can only be gauged after the results of the semester exams and the JNU entrance are declared.

 

Picture Credits: JNU website

Srivedant Kar

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Almost 4 lakh final year students enrolled in the School of Open Learning (SOL) stand at a loss of losing a year of studies, as the University of Delhi has not released their results yet. The varsity has already begun to declare results of final year students admitted in regular colleges.

Admissions to most post-graduate courses, including those in DU, are already underway leaving SOL students at a huge disadvantage. According to the Hindu, SOL officials have said that the results are likely to be declared in October. This leaves the students with a prospect of having to drop a year of studies.

In a statement to the Hindu, Ravinder Kumar, a student of B.A. (Programme) at SOL said, “Admissions to most universities will close in September. However, our results will not be declared before October. This means that I will have to waste one year.”

Many such students have accused the University of negligence towards SOL students, and of deliberately delaying their results.  Students of SOL see this treatment as an act of blatant differentiation from regular colleges.

Moreover, students from SOL have been trying to get their concerns heard for many years. SOL student, Harsh Gautam says to the Hindu, We have been requesting the university for the last four years to resolve the matter. We have even submitted memorandums and met the Vice-Chancellor. However, nothing has been done to rectify the issue.”

Officials blame a large number of students for the delay in results. However, students believe that it is not a valid reason for them to miss out on a year of academics.

With inputs from The Hindu

Swareena Gurung
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As the exam season engulfs us and we find a myriad of ways to escape from studying, we often gravitate towards the ever-inviting TV screen or website. This allows us to deviate from our study schedules and escape reality for a more comforting cocoon of pillows and blankets in which we can sip our hot tea and watch our favourite shows.

The only problem with this fantasy is that it is leads us into a spiral of watching entire seasons in a week, when we should be focusing on our semester exams. It is therefore imperative to hold off watching the latest TV series whilst caught up in the eye of the tornado, or as we know it, DU exams. This is, of course, easier said than done. We give you these handy tips to refer back to whenever you have a moment of weakness this exam season:

  1. Work on an incentive-reward basis

Schedule your episodes in a way that you only watch them after having completed a significant portion of your work. Set yourself a goal – finishing a chapter, or making notes for a reading, etc. Study for a couple of hours, then take a lunch break and watch a couple of YouTube videos or a 20-minute sitcom episode to reward yourself. If you feel you’ve been extraordinarily productive, go ahead and watch a 40-minute drama series, or two back-to-back episodes. This not only positively reinforces your work ethic, but also incentivises you to work towards completing your goal.

  1. Don’t download or make a list of pending TV shows

If you’re planning your summer binge list and note down all the TV shows you’re desperate to watch, it’ll be a constant reminder of everything you can easily access. You’ll fall down a rabbit hole which is almost impossible to get out of. So refrain from downloading all the shows you’re planning to watch and don’t have torrent links ready for these. Instead, work on a moderation basis (see Tip 1) and then go berserk on the final day of exams.

  1. Scare yourself

If all else fails, keep reminding yourself how terrifying it is to fail. Put up post-its around your room, block certain entertainment websites, and hold on to the comforting fact that your TV shows will always be there for you (unlike these exams). This works even better if you tell your friends to remind you constantly of this reality. Make it an exercise to positively reinforce (and scare) each other on a regular basis.

Good luck following these tips. Happy studying!

 

Feature Image Credits: BuzzFeed

Vineeta Rana
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Is your mind perturbed by the painful woes of passing/doing well? Here are our pearls of wisdom which might help you in steering this turbulent flight!

Wavering perseverance, faltering ambitions, and innumerable existential crises – welcome to college, where everything is not merry and wonderful. Owing to the human virtue of futuristic thinking, the journey through the months of November and May are spent foreboding the day the results would be out and your misery would be enhanced. To alleviate the stress and grapple with the boulders which might lie on your way, here’s a beginner level guide on how to navigate the worrisome cycle of examinations.

  1. Knowing the breakup of your grading system are the baby steps you need to take. Amidst your core papers, generic elective, and ability enhancement compulsory courses, the Choice Based Credit System can often lead to ambiguity regarding it all. Out of the 100 marks of a paper, 25 marks shall be credited to the Internal Assessments category and 75 marks to the Theory Examination. Out of the 25 marks, the ideal division of marks entails 10 marks for assignments, 10 marks for test, and 5 marks for attendance. This breakup might vary between courses and college.
  2. Valuing every mark is of essence. The main theory examinations are uncertain and have a penchant for surprising students. However, the opportunity to score presents itself in the form of the internal assessments; a hurdle which can be manoeuvred around. The tests and assignments have us exhausted and vexed by the end, but a dash of time management and effort can enhance your success recipe. The five marks of attendance which ultimately are not achieved can also make a difference in the total result.
  3. All play and no work makes Jack an on-the-verge-of-flunking-and-asking-for-notes-from-the-class-topper boy. Between the fest, farewell, and other sources of merriment, try to squeeze in the occasional study schedules.While every semester begins with high ambitions and ends with emerging unsuccessful at those and forming new ones, try to make this semester ‘the one where you soared high’.
  4. Between those extra classes and morning lectures lies the perpetual conundrum of every student of acquiring notes. Before you proceed to purchase the handy guides of your respective courses, the effort to self-study and comprehend what your education entails is more important than you can comprehend. Once you attain a full set of notes from every source of existence, try to connect the dots and begin the journey. Your teachers are your best friends during these troublesome times; hence, utilise their acquaintance and refer to their preparation strategies if needed.

 

Image Credits: 123RF.com

Saumya Kalia
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This is the only instruction manual which you should endeavour to read; for it is muddled with the dos and don’ts of using your favourite reading material!

Exam preparation follows a repetitive trajectory: high hopes of finishing the syllabus, struggling to even commence with the schedule, and finally employing the controversial referencing of the guide books. It is an old story, the same story. For a major section of students, the semester knowledge begins and ends with these ‘help books.’ While the usage of only guides for studying calls for another debate on educational reforms, one can’t deny the fact they are not completely useless and obstructive to learning. How to extract its pros without falling prey to its temptation? Have a look!

  1. The productivity of guide books lies in the basic concept of limited usage. Designed to be the extra something to do before exams, they are the framework which can be followed for comprehending the expanse of the syllabus. Instead, we treat them to be the magic book which contains all tailor-made answers.
  2. Do not depend on the text of the guide and take it as the gospel truth. Time and again, educational content is known to vary between different books and authors, and the golden rule instructs you to abide by the information echoed within the four walls of the classroom. Hence, just because it is written in the guide does not grant it authenticity.
  3. The prime time to use this falls after your basic preparation has been finished and before you proceed to take your exam. The book can do wonders if one has to revise a concept or go over questions to solidify the foundational concepts. It can be the perfect revision manual to help you sort the myriad topics now assimilated in your head.
  4. Your indolence might prevent you from finishing this step, however, endeavour to achieve it this year. Cementing your concepts and inducing confidence, skimming through the past years’ examination papers is one of the many things your teachers shall reiterate over the semester. Ascertaining a basic idea of what may come and in what shape and form can help you prepare beforehand about the key pointers of your answers.

 

Image Credits: Sprowston High School

Saumya Kalia
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Welcome to the month of post-farewells and dreadful exams, when cheer is lost and nights are muddled with syllabus crams. Prepare yourselves; for the night is dark and full of terrors!

Home to innumerable panic attacks. The ground zero of anxious forebodings. The terminating station and commencing point of a plethora of journeys. For students within the college circumference of their lives, May is the month of examination woes and much more!

It’s a curious observation that a certain 31 days could be so diversely perceived by the populace, and can also be the foundational block of a confluence of emotions. Cut to the beginning of the month when the farewell fervour is slowly fading away, and everyone collectively (and unwillingly) makes an endeavour to return to the study mode. Waves of nostalgia and tears of goodbyes have been drowned in the expansiveness of the syllabus. The excitement of attire selection and the assimilation of the reality is slowly digested, as the first of May is reflected on our calendars.

For the seniors, the transition from bidding goodbyes to welcoming late nights perturbed by piling notes goes downhill by the incessant questions alluding to your future. Unwelcome concerns of “Job nahi mili abhi tak?” or “Aur padhke kya karoge?” have been consciously heard and ignored. The stress to ace the final annual examinations of your three-year journey, is however, met with a nostalgic familiarity. You might have appeared for your first semester exams unaware of the course and then slightly escalated the degree of preparation. And as you sit for tests which might have a bearing on where you end up in the next few months, the pressure to perform is higher than ever.

Let’s change the lens and visualise the April-successor month from the eyes of the first and second years. Exhaustion becomes them as they wrap up the multiple Department, Society, and College Farewells for the outgoing students. Weeks of relentless efforts to deliver a successful farewell are followed by weeks of stressing over the vast syllabus you’re oblivious of. While some may choose to dedicate the post-exam period to trips and generally whiling away time, others may begin an internship hunt in May to be able to land a good opportunity in the Summer vacations. The stress to score well is coupled with the woes of doing a rewarding summer internship, and hence, May becomes the focal point of worries.

As you prepare to board the plane to Examvillein the next couple of days, absorb the maelstrom of emotions capturing your heart and don’t surrender to the pressure. The innumerable memories which college presents you with is there to stay forever, and what you make of the next few weeks will affect you in varying degrees.

It’s going to be hot. It’s going to be worrisome. It’s going to be vexing. Are you ready for the showdown?

 

Image Credits: Clipart Panda

 

Saumya Kalia

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Lost in the maelstrom of books, readings, and incessant notes? Begin this journey with our manual and prepare a time-management device to save your lives!

With less than a month to go for the annual exams to commence and a dark pall of cover to hover over our lives, students can be seen squandering around photocopying notes and purchasing guides. The undeniable truth of a study cycle proclaims that once you kick-start the journey of studying, everything will fall into place. Thus, it is only the beginner’s bewilderment which poses questions of what to do, when to do, and how to do. Enter: Time Management. It is an art which harbours the ability to save lives, and many have tried and failed (yours truly!) But they say experience makes perfect, and the first lesson in the art involves pragmatic scheduling.

BE PRACTICAL AND REALISTIC

Your borderline anxiety and nervousness have led you to consciously manage your time, however, be rational in your approach. Don’t overestimate or underestimate your daily capability, and distribute the syllabus coverage in a systematic fashion. Also, refer to the calendar as you draw out your study schedule; accounting for weekends, coaching classes, or social commitments.

ASCERTAIN A FAIR IDEA OF THE SYLLABUS FRAMEWORK

If you haven’t endeavoured to explore the depths of your textbook or even purchase them, now would be a good time to complete these requisites. Scheduling requires you to have a foundational idea of what lies ahead. Avoid attributing a day for a chapter which requires greater attention or vice-versa. Have a sound estimation of the topics where you lack, and devote more time to them.

LIST EVERYTHING DOWN AND FILL IN THE BLANKS

Work on the aesthetics of the planner you shall be following for the next month. Usage of post-its, colourful pens, and other stationery items is highly encouraged to offer you a satisfactory experience. Mark in bold or italics the examination dates and work around them for syllabus allotment. List down the syllabus’ fragments that shall help you in the allotment. Don’t treat the Ability Enhancement Compulsory Course or the Generic Elective lightly, for they carry equal weightage. Leave a day or two before the exam for revision, and this should give you a helpful start!

DON’T UNDERESTIMATE THE DAILY TASKS

Fancy your preparation to be like a Jenga, with every entry in your schedule as the bricks. The failure to adhere to it might cause your Jenga to fall, and your examination aspirations shall experience a similar fate. It is a human virtue to minimalise the importance of things due to their lackadaisical attitude. Avoid the temptation to leave a certain chunk of your daily task or the whole work for the next day, for it has a domino effect on the subsequent targets.

What are you waiting for? Ready, set, schedule!

 

Image Credits: WikiHow

 

Saumya Kalia

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