10 Tips to Studying for Your IGCSE Exams

IGCSE exams are never easy. They’re even worse if you’re not prepared for them. 

How do you make sure you study well so that you’re ready to go when your exams roll around? Here are 10 tips to help Kenyan students study better for IGCSE exams. 

Print digital resources whenever possible 

There’s a lot of research showing that writing things down helps you learn better than typing. As much as you may want to reduce paper use or save money on printing, it’s still a good idea to use printed resources as often as possible. 

If you can’t use printed materials directly, you can instead use scrap papers and write your working, answers, and notes there while you work from something online. Just the act of writing things down helps you remember better than simply reading, hearing, or interacting digitally. 

Focus on specific subjects each day 

Instead of jumping around from subject to subject, it’s better to stay focused and limit the number of subjects you do each time you meet. Sticking with the same subject for a bit longer helps you lock in and remember things when you need them. If you spend one day studying multiple subjects, you may end up forgetting a lot of what you read and do. Context is important!

Do a mix of different things 

The best way to remember the information you study is to apply it in different activities. Try to do as many different activities as you can and see what helps you the most. It’s likely to be a mix of different learning strategies for each subject. 

People learn in different ways. The main way of thinking about learning styles if the “VARK” method, which stands for:

• Visual
• Aural/Auditory
• Read/Write
• Kinesthetic (experience-based learning)

You don’t need to be an expert. The main idea is that people often learn better when you match their ideal learning style. By mixing up how you’re approaching studying, you’ll be improving your chances to remember stuff better.

A few examples of how you can mix it up:

• Use flashcards 
• Play learning games that involve active movement 
• Create mnemonics for memorization
• Do timed activities 

Create weekly plans to meet your goals 

Instead of planning on a day-to-day basis, make your goals weekly and divide them up as you go. This way, you can adjust for busy days or do more on slower days. 

Weekly plans help you accomplish the same goals with a little less pressure. You have a little more flexibility without the potential to fall dramatically behind (which can happen if you planned on a monthly basis, for instance). 

Take regular breaks for physical activity 

If you’re able to, it’s helpful to give your mind a break by doing some physical activities to break up your study sessions. If you spend too long with your nose in the books, you’ll start losing focus and having a harder time remembering what you’ve studied. 

Do some pushups, go for a short walk outside. Do something to get your body moving for a few minutes. Whatever you do, don’t just lay on the couch and binge videos on your phone! 

Schedule around natural time constraints

Whenever possible, try to plan your studying around natural time milestones that make sense for you. Got an activity coming up in an hour? Study until then. Need to take care of things at home at different times? Use these responsibilities as natural pauses in your studying. Living close to a mosque or church? Switch up what you’re doing based on prayer times.

Be creative. Natural time constraints like these often feel better than arbitrary alarms for an hour or so. It also helps because you can’t easily push the time limit, so you have to work with the time you have. When your time limit is inflexible, you’re more likely to use the time you do have wisely. 

Don’t ask ChatGPT (or any other AI chatbot) for study plans 

I know it’s tempting to let an AI spit out a lovely, formatted study plan for you, but it’s just not worth it. 

There’s no AI that can create a study plan that’s catered to what you actually need to do. It might be able to create something general that sounds good, but that’s no guarantee that it’ll be a useful study plan. Don’t trust an AI to do something so important for you.

One of the bigger problems with AI is that it doesn’t do well with complex, sequential instructions. While the first study plan might look good, others that follow might be far too similar. When you get down to the nitty gritty, highly specific stuff you need to study, it might just make something up that’s completely unrelated to what you’re doing. 

Just do it yourself. It won’t take you long since you know what you need to do. If you want to use AI, limit that to formatting or fleshing out the plan you;ve already created. 

Include active study methods

What are active study methods? It sounds a bit funny, but this involves anything that gets you studying without just sitting and reading your notes. A few examples are:

• Applying a concept you’re studying to real life 
• Creating visual aids
• Making physical study aids like flashcards or memorization boards 
• Auditory recall
• Quizzing yourself 

You might see some overlap here with one of the earlier points about mixing up what you’re doing. The main point is to get your brain engaged in what you’re doing. 

Active study methods turn on different parts of your brain which can help you remember information more accurately. This is especially true if you build a connection between something you’re doing and what you’re learning. 

Lean on other’s strengths

Struggling in a specific subject? Join a study group and see if you can get the help you need to succeed! Study groups are a great resource for Kenyan IGCSE students who want to make the most of their study time. 

This is a give and take scenario. While you might benefit from others, you’re also going to contribute your knowledge to the group. The more you teach, the better you’ll learn the subjects you already know as well. It’s a win-win all around. 

If you can’t find an active study group to join, why not start your own IGCSE study group? 

Personalize to meet your own needs 

You’re in full control over what you’re studying. This is one of the best parts of doing the Cambridge IGCSE curriculum in Kenya. Unlike the old 844 system or the newer CBC curriculum, IGCSE students are only competing against themselves. 

You set the pace. You decide your study syllabus. 

Not satisfied with how well you know a certain topic? Spend a little more time on it. 

Feeling like you’ve aced something? Move on to your next weak spot! 

You’ll get a lot more out of studying if you focus on where you need improvement rather than trying to follow a strict schedule or plan. Adapt based on what you need the most. 

Remember: IGCSEs Aren’t Forever!

Studying for your IGCSE exams in Kenya can feel overwhelming. It takes over a lot of your life for a while, but it’s not a permanent thing. You only need to make it through your exams; then, you can take a well-earned break! 

You’ve got this! Study hard, study smart. Do your best and work with whatever you get to take the next steps.