What are Prioritisation Skills?

Prioritisation is the process of identifying tasks, or in the case of exam prep, identifying topics, concepts, and questions that carry more importance and require immediate attention and the ones that can be tackled/revised later, and put them in a sequence to complete revising them based on their importance. So, the skills involved in recognising the important topics and questions crucial for scoring high marks in the board exams and allocating your time and resources accordingly are called prioritisation skills.

Why Should You Prioritise Topics While Preparing for CBSE Board Exams?

With prioritisation skills, you can: 

●        Focus on what matters and remain undistracted by less important, and low-weightage content.

●        Dedicate more time to topics you find challenging while consolidating your strengths.

●        Reduce the stress and last-minute anxiety involved in exam preparation.

●        Improve your efficiency in revising and preparing for exams.

●        Manage your time better on revising topics that will bring you more marks.

●        Study smart for CBSE exams by preparing for the most important questions in Class 12 CBSE board exams or the toughest questions in class 10 CBSE, instead of studying hard.

●        Score maximum marks with relatively minimal effort.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Identifying Important Topics and Prioritising Them for Revision

1. Review the Chapters, Concepts, and Topics

Review the CBSE syllabus for each subject thoroughly to ensure you do not miss any topics. In this process, you can also review how you have fared in these chapters and topics in the periodic tests conducted at the school. It will give you an idea of the overall complexity of each topic.

2: Identify the Weightage of Each Topic and Chapter

Questions from some chapters appear in board exams more frequently than others. Similarly, questions from some topics and chapters may usually carry more marks in the board exam. You can identify them by understanding the exam pattern and checking the CBSE board exam sample papers from previous years . Once you identify recurring topics, high-weightage areas, and question patterns, you can determine what is important and what is not.

3. Cross-check What is Important

Sometimes, doing exam prep work on your own can isolate you and prevent you from seeing the bigger picture. For example, if there is a pattern where questions from a particular chapter show up in CBSE board exams consecutively for two years and then completely disappear in the third year, and this cycle repeats, your teacher may know that better since they would have seen the question papers through the years and identified the pattern. So, trust your teachers and seek guidance from them about which topics are considered essential. They often have a good understanding of exam trends and can provide valuable insights. You can also discuss it with your classmates to get clarity.

4. Categorise Topics by Importance and Difficulty

Now that you have the exam pattern, topics and chapters that carry more weightage in the board exams, and the chapters that you found difficult historically, you can start prioritising them by dividing them into three categories. 

●     High Priority: Topics, chapters, and questions that come under the high-priority category need immediate attention. This category consists of frequently asked questions in board exams, high-weightage topics that carry more marks, and challenging areas you need to work on.

●     Medium Priority: These topics can be covered after you revise the high-priority topics. Medium-priority items may include topics that are occasionally tested but not as critical as the high-priority ones.

●     Low Priority: Low-priority topics are kept for the last few time slots in the timetable. You can touch them only after you covered high-priority and medium-priority topics. Less significant topics with minimal weightage come under the low-priority category.

5. Create a Prioritised Study Plan

The last thing to do is to create a revision timetable[2]  based on the categorised list. Allocate more time to high-priority topics, a moderate amount to medium-priority topics, and less to low-priority ones. Ensure the schedule leaves room for regular revisions.

Best Practices While Prioritising Topics

1. Set Clear Goals: Set a goal for every priority. For example, you can consider a high-priority topic covered, once you complete practising, say 10 problems or questions from that particular topic; similarly, you can practice answering a relatively smaller number of questions to consider the medium and low-priority items to be complete.
2. Follow the 80/20 Rule: Focus 80% of your time on the 20% of topics most crucial for the exam. You can determine the time required to revise each topic based on its priority.
3. Use Active Recall and Spaced Repetition: Test yourself on high-priority topics regularly to reinforce memory and ensure retention over time.

Final Thoughts

Prioritising topics is an essential skill for any student preparing for the CBSE board exams. By prioritising topics and creating a timetable for revision, you can maximise your efficiency, boost your performance, and achieve great results in class 12 or class 10 CBSE board exams.