Study! Year-end examinations are at hand! Here are five helpful tips from Pastor Lee Yi Lun, a top student throughout her academic career and now the pastor leading CHC’s Tuition Ministry.
The September holidays have come and gone. It’s term four on the school’s calendar and the year-end examinations are looming. Are you starting to wonder if you could just take a wonder pill and miraculously remember all the facts for all your subjects?
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The bad news is, that there is no shortcut to studying and you should really start revising if you’ve slept through the last three terms. The good news is, that we the team at City News care about all the students in City Harvest Church, and therefore, we present you these helpful study tips from a pro!
Pastor Lee Yi Lun is no stranger to the youths in CHC. But what you may not know that Pastor Yi Lun is an excellent student. Not only did she receive second upper honours from NTU (Nanyang Technological University) in Accountancy and Business, she also graduated from City Harvest’s School of Theology with the Best Academic Performance Award and Best Overall Performance Award. Pastor Yi Lun is only one of two students to achieve this feat in the history of SOT.
Pastor Yi Lun went on to pursue her studies in theology and graduated from Trinity Theological College with a Master of Divinity. She tells City News that her favourite verse that anchored her faith when she was studying was Ephesians 3:20 which reads, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us”.
“A constant reminder to me that it is God who is able to do the impossible and He is well able to do superabundantly more than whatever I pray and ask of Him, whatever I can hope or dream of. The power of the Holy Spirit dwells within me and He is constantly working in and through me, to be an overcomer in Christ. My battle is His! The Lord is with me and for me!” she shares.
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For Pastor Yi Lun, her excellence in academics had the power to win her mother to Christ: “The reason why my mom, who was a non-Christian back then, decided to come to church was that she saw how I improved tremendously in my studies while still serving the Lord faithfully during my O-level year. She told me that if I got 10 points for my L1R5 during prelims that year, she would come to church. I did and she attended our CHC service and got saved! Praise the Lord!”
Studying does not have to be dry, boring and difficult, says Pastor Yi Lun. With the right strategies, a good dose of determination, and the Holy Spirit on your side, you can achieve good results too! Here are Pastor Yi Lun’s five tried and tested methods to do well in exams.
#1: Be self-disciplined by having proper time management
Make efficient use of your time because once it is gone, it is gone. Focus and don’t be distracted. This means that you listen attentively during lessons, and write down notes while your teacher is teaching as this will come in very handy during revision. Also, give your 100 per cent in each revision. If you have to study with background music, you should study with instrumental music for better focus.
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#2: Application is key
While topical revision is important, we master our understanding of key concepts and usage of formulas by doing timed practice papers. By going through the grind of answering questions from past year’s exam papers and practice papers, we get to do active recall, learn how to apply what we have learnt and grasp important answering techniques like the usage of important keywords and articulation of key concepts.
#3: A sharp and alert mind is important for peak performance
When you have to sit for quantitative papers like Math or Statistics, make sure you are very well rested. Go to sleep early the night before instead of burning the midnight oil. When sitting for the paper, be very clear about what each question is asking. Always check your work to ensure there are no careless mistakes and be mindful of the time to complete the paper.
#4: Consistent practice makes perfect
Don’t cramp all your studying at the very last minute. Do frequent check-ins with each topic learnt throughout the school year. Do your homework and tutorials diligently and arrange for a personal consultation with your tutors if you need clarification.
#5: Partner with the Holy Spirit and shine for Jesus!
Don’t try to do it on your own—rest and lean on the Holy Spirit. He is the Spirit of wisdom and understanding. Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in your revision. Each time I study, I pray, “Lord, let all that I study come out for the exams! Whatever that I fail to cover will not be tested in the exams!”
This applies too when you are doing your paper. Rather than diving straight into answering the paper, pray before you do anything else.
Understand that when you seek to pursue excellence in your studies, you can shine for Jesus, be a wonderful testimony to your unsaved family and glorify His name!
