"Everyone must have one common strategic plan and it should be called, doing things!"

It is common knowledge that the academic year of Std. 10th is accounted under the many milestones of one's life. Students generally start this year off with a lot of mixed feelings. These may range from contagious excitement to nail-biting anxiety. Although the spectrum of these feelings is quite broad and wide, they stem from one single question that is deeply embedded into the mind of everyone student who is poised to appear for the SSC Board Exam. The question is: How do I score the maximum amount of marks? This question can be answered in three simple words, by doing things!

Planning: What are these 'things to do?

When we say things, we don't limit them to just studying, rather we talk about understanding the SSC Board Exam in terms of its nitty-gritty. This would involve everything from the number of subjects, a SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats), the ability to keep abreast with the latest changes in the paper pattern, attempting multiple question papers, etc.

In the middle of all of these things, one thought is known to constantly nag students. This thought finds its home in the constant tussle between Schools and Coaching Classes in pursuit of one's superiority over the other. The objective of this blog post is to put this evergreen debate to a final rest. The SSC Board Exam or any exam is an examination of odds. These odds refer to your chances of scoring high on the basis of your study pattern for the entire academic year. In order to maximize your chances for the same, you need to clearly plan out your action steps.

Timetable: How should you begin?

It is important to always begin with an excellently chalked-out plan, in other words, a Timetable. This timetable would include everything from the marks you wish to score on the basis of your plans after Std. 10th, subjects classified into difficult and easy ones and the books that will get you a strong score, number of pre-requisite revisions, tests that you must attempt, etc. For the same, you do not have to attend a coaching class or take your favourite teacher's help. All you need is yourself and a clear idea of how to go about it.

Here is a sample timetable for your reference:

The above timetable has been formulated for a student who would be studying on his/her own. Students are free to make their timetables on the basis of the subjects that they would like to combine together. For any SSC Board Exam student, it is imperative to study minimum of two subjects and one chapter of every subject respectively on a daily basis.

To clearly follow this timetable, you need to have a clear idea of the amount of time at hand before you happen to attempt the examination. You can start off by dividing your academic year into three time periods. These could be intensive-study time, revisions galore and mock preparation. It is entirely upon you to decide the number of months will allot to each time period.

Tips: While formulating your timetable keep the following tips at the back of your mind:

  1. Study the previous year's SSC question papers 
  2. About 20% of your marks in subjects such as maths and science are accounted from 9th standard's syllabus. Ensure that you clear out your fundamental concepts beforehand.
  3. Find out the amount of marks that you can easily pocket in every subject. For eg: In the English subject for the SSC Board Exam, you can score supremely well in Grammar and Vocabulary, figure out their marks distribution
  4. Practice never made a person imperfect, the more you practice the better your chances are of scoring higher marks
  5. Self-evaluation is equally important to being evaluated by others. Try and refer to books which will help you through Question Papers 

Books: Is studying from a textbook ever enough?

Once you have cemented your timetable, you need to focus on the number of books you would refer to and study from. More often, the textbook on its own proves to be somewhat lacking, which is why Class 10 students generally prefer reference books as additional study material. When looking for reference books, let one word be your guiding stick. This word is 'extensive'. Start looking for books, which extensively cover all the in-text/textual questions but also give you additional questions to practice. For instance, if you are looking for a book for Std. 10th English, find a book that covers textual lessons, grammar, vocabulary, language study, writing skills all in a single book and also offers you additional benefits.

Target Publications is one such educational publication that offers extensive books for the SSC Board Exam which come furnished with a detailed description of the latest Paper Pattern, coverage of textual questions as well as audio-visual aids in the form of QR Codes and meticulously compiled Model Question Papers for practice.

They have put together comprehensive books that are able to meet the varied needs of Std. 10th students. Following are their series of books that you can choose from:

  1. Extensively compiled subject-specific notes, which can be used as a perfect addition to studying from the textbook.
  2. The IQB Series comprises all the questions which would most likely be asked in the examination.
  3. A standalone book replete with Question Papers to help students perfect their SSC Board Exam strategy.

Lastly, remember to treat the SSC Board Exam as the battleground it really is and perfectly master the war strategy to emerge greatly victorious!