I would like to share how I prepare for the upcoming HKDSE. I believe everyone has his own way to succeed in this big, potentially life-changing challenge, so I hope my ideas can inspire you to do your own and the be the best planning for yourself.

As the saying goes, “fail to prepare, prepare to fail”. It is true that preparation is a very important factor to achieve success. As a result, I make good use of a range of learning materials. To be frank, there are loads of useful materials in our schoolbags, yet most of us do not use them wisely.

To begin with, there are textbooks. Revising from a textbook is the most boring part in your entire school life, since the long and clumsy sentences may make you fall asleep. However, once you have organized the major points well using different coloured highlighters, you’ll find your studies more interesting and effective.

The second item is your notebook or the notes prepared by our teachers. We jot down a lot of notes every day. But after the 8 periods in our school day, you may find them messy. So, each night I will rephrase them into my notebook at home. Such paraphrasing and organizing could be time-consuming, nevertheless, this builds up your memory on the knowledge and after these work you may spend less time on revision and enjoy more free time.

After introducing the two basic items, the followings are essential before you enter the examination room but you have to prepare them yourself. Firstly, using past papers. I think this is the best way to test myself. I can discover if I have good time management and figure out which topics I am not familiar with. Moreover, I may develop some exam skills from the practice. In view of my performance, I then allocate my revision time on different subjects and topics in a more organized way.

The final item I want to introduce is a planner. As you may know, having an effective revision timetable can definitely help with our revision efficiency and time management.

Last but not least, we are not machines in a factory, as this is physically impossible and it will harm your mental health. We need rest and entertainment. I like listening to my favourite pop songs or chatting with friends to relax myself. I never play any computer or online games as they can be addictive. I will not be conscious on the time I spend on it, so I choose not to play it before the important battle of exams or tests

As the saying goes, ‘Chance favours the prepared mind’. Brace yourself well both physically and mentally, I wish every one of you much success in this challenge and a bright future.

By CHENG Michael 6C (6)