When I started preparing for my IGCSEs, the science subjects—Biology, Chemistry, and Physics—felt overwhelming at first. It wasn’t just about studying hard; it was about figuring out the most effective way to study.
Biology:
- Use concise revision notes: Write your own or use teacher-provided ones. They simplify the key ideas. Don’t copy large chunks of text from the textbook, instead summarize the key points in your own words to process the information better.
- Draw diagrams and mind maps: Visualizing processes like photosynthesis or the human digestive system makes them easier to understand as it allows you to view it from a different perspective.
- Flashcards for definitions: Quick and effective for learning terms like “osmosis” or “enzymes.” It’s also a quick way to test your understanding and you can reuse it as many times as you want. If you don’t have enough time to make them, do online ones instead such as Anki Flashcards or Quizlet.
- Practice, practice, practice: Go through past paper questions, focus on longer, structured responses to learn how to link concepts effectively. This helped me learn how examiners wanted answers to be framed.
Chemistry:
- Start with the fundamentals: Learn how to balance equations, understand the periodic table, and memorize key formulas. Mastering these topics first makes harder topics less overwhelming.
- Practice past papers: Go back at least 5 years to see patterns in questions and improve your speed. Don’t just skim through the past papers, attempt them under timed conditions and review your answers with the mark scheme. This helped me identify where I was losing marks.
- Join study groups: Study groups are useful especially when I don't understand certain topics. You can both give and gain information and learn new things in study groups with your friends as well as motivate each other. Explaining concepts to others also reinforces your knowledge and understanding.
- Ask teachers for help: Use after school academic clinics to clarify concepts you have a hard time understanding or review tricky problems. Teachers can give extremely helpful tips on how to improve answers.
Work on calculations: Chemistry has a lot of math, so I focused on practicing mole calculations, concentration formulas, and energy changes. I rewrote formulas repeatedly to memorize them and applied them to various problems
Physics:
- Sketch diagrams: Visualize problems involving forces, circuits, or waves to better understand the concepts.
- Practice applying formulas: Memorizing formulas wasn’t enough—I worked on applying them to real-world problems. Past papers were the best way to do this, as they showed me how questions were structured.
- Take your time with problem-solving: I learned to break down physics problems step by step. First, I identified what the question wanted, then noted what information I had, and finally figured out which formula would work.
- Do targeted practice: I identified topics I struggled with, like electricity or momentum, and focused more time on them. Doing so gave me confidence by the time exams came around.
While studying is important, taking care of yourself is just as crucial.
- Get enough sleep, exercise regularly, and eat well to keep your mind sharp.
- Take breaks to avoid burnout—you’ll retain more if you’re rested.
- Don’t overexert yourself; working smart is more effective than working endlessly.
Remember, scoring well is about consistency and finding study methods that suit you. Good luck, and enjoy the process—you’re learning more than just how to get a good grade!