Rely on consistency, not motivation.
Motivation is ephemeral; it comes and goes. Your preparation for A levels starts the moment you enter JC, although most of us only realised that at the beginning of JC2.
In JC1, besides the increased academic rigour, you would also be overwhelmed with other commitments such as new leadership roles and other projects. However, you need to have the end goal in mind. A strong foundation in JC1 would very much ease you into the curriculum of JC2 because the topics can be very much interconnected for some subjects and understanding of concepts is crucial. Thus, do not have the mindset
of “I will revise everything right before exams because I will forget if I revise too early” (which is the mindset I used to have in secondary school”).
This will not work anymore due to the sheer amount of content for each subject and the learning gaps you might have accumulated along the way. Instead, revise a little bit every day, make sure you understand what is happening during tutorials, actively ask questions and clarify your doubts, and go for consultations. It is imperative that you take ownership of your learning at this stage of your education journey.
Next, victory and defeat would be common occurrences (although defeat may feature more heavily). You are going to see a bad grade or a grade that is mismatched with your expectations sooner or later. Do not be overly disheartened over undesirable grades because you need to look forward and there is so much more ahead of you that you need to prepare for. Do not dwell too much on it but instead, the key is to figure out where you are going wrong and rectify those mistakes. It is going to be a journey of constantly refining your knowledge and you need to understand that mistakes are proof that you are trying and learning. Do not let demoralisation dampen your spirit of trying even harder the next time. At the same time, do not be conceited when you excel, but do learn to celebrate the small successes along the way because those are well-deserved and it is those small milestones that lead you to your final destination.
And lastly, no matter what you do or what you want to do, always try. It is sometimes the most and least that we can do.
By: Xun Shengdi
Shengdi is a fun loving student who would love to go skydiving or bungee jumping one day (with a companion of course). She has a sweet tooth and loves bubble tea and macarons (burnt caramel milk tea with sesame pearls at playmade is her go-to). She is also a chatterbox who cannot stand awkward silences so please act interested when she strikes up a conversation:> As a Kpop fan, she would sometimes randomly break into songs and dance so please jam with her:)
For more information on A-Level curriculum and subject syllabuses, click here.
To read more about how to choosing your subjects and how to survive A-levels, here is another good read.