When I was a cadet at the Indian Military Academy, one of the first things we were told by our seniors was a sentence that Richard Marcinko wrote: The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in war. This one sentence has remained in my mind even long after my relationship with OG came to an abrupt end. I have gone in and out of a number of moments that mimicked exams and it was always the days, weeks, and months that preceded them that were more important. However, this does not mean that the exam phase is any less vital than the days and months just before it.
The book How I topped the boards and you can too! written by Gaurav Sood goes a few steps beyond the words of Marcinko and traces the path of success diligently and explicitly. The author of this book isn’t just anybody paraphrasing the hundreds of articles that are published in newspapers around the time of the Boards and, therefore, make a cohesive attempt in spelling out every little step vital for students. The chapters are mirroring the methodology and philosophy of the author who had himself topped the ISC Board. If you are the sort who dismisses such books as being full of clichés and formulas that have jargon-filled sentences and ideas that have nothing new to say, just step inside a bookstore and browse through the contents page. Gaurav isn’t suggesting short-cuts and points out clearly that there is no way around hard work.
Once it is clear that there is no short-cut to hard work, it is only logical to talk about strategizing and planning. A student tackling an examination is similar to a platoon advancing into enemy territory where it isn’t the visible reality that suddenly changes into something unrecognizable but only perceptions that run the risk of fear and panic replacing calm observation and right tactics. The book begins its life from the stage a student has the option of following or not following even simple instructions of a teacher. The author gives an example where his teacher in Class 11 insisted that everyone take notes. Most students find taking notes a rather unnecessary activity. But the author writes that ‘resigned to my fate, I took down those notes, one agonizing letter at a time, at every moment thinking to myself, ‘What a waste of time.’ And then the time came for a class test. And instead of having to stay up all night tearing my hair out, I found myself surprisingly at ease with the test syllabus.’ This book isn’t like a preacher on a pulpit droning a test-taking sermon on and on in well-organized bulleted sentences. Every step comes with incidents that students can relate to and in a language that assimilates and gets understood easily.
There must be thousands of students wondering if reference books have any relevance or if there is some better way of revising. Well, the author has an opinion on every little aspect that is connected with study and the art of taking an exam. So far as revisions are concerned, the author writes that ‘a good way to develop a balance is what I call the 2:1 ratio. For two revisions, I would focus more on my weaknesses. For the third, I would focus on everything.’ Sounds perfectly blended to my mind as I distinctly remember having been fascinated with revising the easier parts tens of times because it made me feel invincible! But then I never did top any exam, you see.
Almost every chapter in the book has hand-drawn line sketches that give the text a great break and sometime, the much-needed witty interlude. Gaurav has tackled a lot of concerns that surround a student and these include the relevance of flash cards to asking the right questions, from the necessity of studying small bits to giving yourself enough time to recharge, and from when or where to study to the existence of tuitions.
Ah! Tuitions. The moment I saw this chapter, I said to myself, ‘The world today thrives on tuitions and teachers are more interested in earning extra money.’ Frankly, I have always believed that tuitions are an unnecessary burden upon parents and are some sort of demonic slayers of time. Quite in sync to my beliefs, the author doesn’t recommend year-long coaching stints and prefers shorter periods and smaller groups besides the absolute necessity of finding ‘a tutor who is a hard taskmaster’.
Now, if you’ve begun thinking that the book is all about strategy spread over two years and, therefore, not relevant for those appearing for their Boards this year, you’re wrong. The author has plenty of chapters hopping from how to tackle a question paper to identifying exam patterns to simulating exam day to connecting all the dots to complete a smiling picture. And no, the author doesn’t just advise a student to read instructions carefully and leave time for revisions but goes on to explain what the right length of answer must be or why not answering an extra question has a benefit attached to it. This chapter also highlights what a student needs to do ‘to stand out from rest of the hundreds with a tweak that will cost you no extra effort’ and the steps to take when running out of time. For instance, if there are two questions remaining and time is short, what must a student decide to do? The author insists that if you don’t have the time to answer both, then go ahead and answer both! Sounds mad? No, there is nothing counter-intuitive about this because this is indeed the sort of solution that I wished someone had told me forty years back. If you are intrigued enough to the explanation of the answer to this one critical situation, you will have to read it in the book in the author’s own words.
If you’ve read this review you have taken the first right step towards doing well in your exams. Reading the book that has been reviewed here is the obviously the next logical step to take.
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Book details:
Title: How I topped the Boards and you can too!
Author: Gaurav Sood
Publisher: Rupa Publications
ISBN: 978-93-5333-333-1
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Arvind Passey
01 March 2019
