5 Surprising Study Strategies to Pass the Certification Exam
The certification exam may be intimidating for most students as the stakes are too high. You risk everything if you don’t learn the material well. In most cases, you may not receive the desired certificate and will need to retake the course, causing a severe drain on your financial and time resources.
So, why take these risks and fear the certification? A team of competent “write my essay” educational experts from Educibly searched deep and wide to find the best preparation tips for your assistance. Read on to see how to ace the certification exam without extra worries and all-nighters.
#1 Learn Theory and Practice
The first tip is to cover all theoretical material given in class while at the same time not forgetting about the practical application of that knowledge. Many courses are indeed too theoretical, thus failing to equip students with the vital practical expertise for work in the field.
Thus, you need to understand that your certification exam will also test your applied knowledge; otherwise, how can you be certified for practice with real clients in real-world scenarios?
#2 Embrace the Links between Data
Treating theory and practice or even bits of theory separately will not help you become a good specialist. True professionals see the bigger picture and know how everything is interrelated in their subject area and associated subjects. For instance, if you are a pharmacist, you can’t just learn the name of anti-inflammatory drugs to occupy a position at a pharmacy.
You need to know what drugs from this category work well with other medications, what side effects hypertensive or diabetic patients can experience, etc. Only by considering the whole picture can you give competent advice and help people. The same is observed in other spheres; true specialists see links between processes and variables, factoring in all the complexities when making professional decisions.
#3 Manage Your Time
Effective time management is a critical skill you need to master during exam preparation. You’re sure to have lots of materials for study, but be true to yourself about other duties and tasks at hand. You will hardly have a week free from any distractions or pending routines to concentrate on your studies completely. Thus, you’ll have a much more realistic idea of how much time you have for preparation by including your regular duties like taking kids to school, buying food, attending a business meeting, and going to work.
The good news is that such honesty and proper management of scarce resources can save you plenty of nerves. Instead of stressing out because you have little time for studies, you will be able to plan everything in line with the actual time availability you see. Studying harder one day and leaving another day for regular duties may also be a good way out, giving you more time for concentration and letting you cover more material than you would by sneaking a couple of minutes here and there.
#4 Use All Materials at Hand
Another tip from experienced professionals is to use a variety of sources and materials in the process of preparation. You can use your notes and books while at home, taking a set of flashcards with you once you leave home and are unsure where you’ll sneak a couple of free minutes. While you’re traveling on a bus or waiting for your dentist, always use this free time to revise the flashcards and see what you know well (put these cards aside) and don’t remember yet (leave the cards in the set to revise later).
It also helps to understand what kind of learner you are, thus tailoring the preparation process to your individual learning style. Visual learners capture the new material better if it’s organized and color-coded. Auditory learners derive more educational value from podcasts and videos, while kinesthetic learners need to see how everything moves and interacts to comprehend the topic.
#5 Act Professionally at the Exam
A successful examination depends not only on how you prepare for the test but also on how you behave during the test itself. There are time-tested strategies to pass through this stressful event without problems. The first tip is to come to the exam on time; some students are so anxious that they come 30-60 minutes before the test.
So, they have nothing else left but stress each other by sharing what they know and don’t know, asking some topic questions, trying to close the knowledge gaps at the last moment, etc. The atmosphere is nervous and distractive, which may throw you out of a calm and balanced state. Thus, it’s better to arrive only 5 minutes before the exam to organize your things, get ready, and start working on the task.
Another workable tip is to use a “brain dump” at the beginning of the test. It applies to the material you’re afraid to forget in the examination process: some vital statistic or formula. Thus, if you have just revised it before the exam, you can put it down on the extra sheet of paper, which your supervisor won’t take away. Having this information in front of you will take away the fear of forgetting, thus letting you concentrate on the exam questions.
Finally, we recommend sticking to your original answer and not changing it after some contemplation. Your intuition works well, and the nervousness and stress can cause you to think that you initially misunderstood the question or chose the wrong answer. As a result, corrections may make it ambiguous for the supervisor which answer is the final, or you may spoil the examination sheet altogether (at some exams, each student has the right to get only one exam sheet, so you’ll lose your examination spot).
Exams Are not an Apocalypse
As you can see, passing an exam is not that hard if you stay calm and focused. The main secret to mental balance and comfort is the inner confidence that your life will not end even if you fail. Get psychologically ready for failure while remaining positive and geared for success.
In this way, you will set realistic expectations and will be more psychologically resilient at stressful exams.
