Professional Documents
Culture Documents
PART 1
I've been asked this question numerous times before and of course, it's too late for me to write
this post for my friends. Well, I wrote this just in case any of my juniors stumble upon this in the
future. Or the future me forgot how to study and needs ideas, haha. Hi! I have different studying
techniques for different types of subjects. But there's one similarity for every subject though;
before SPM, I copied answers from the back and wrote them under the questions (trial papers,
model questions and past years) for easy reference. I also started doing them in sections, instead
of doing the whole model paper then moving on to the next one. This method helps me to see the
These are language subjects and do not have any specific syllabus except for the literature
component. Therefore I always have a problem with both of these subjects and tend to postpone
studying them until the final few days before the exam. ._.
Nonetheless, I read sample essays from books. My favorite is from Pelangi for BM because they
have a glossary for peribahasas. I also go to teachers' blogs, like Cikgu Tan CL because s/he
have a loooot of awesome students' works. I practiced using wide vocab and bahasa bunga-bunga
for BM. For tatabahasa/komsas BM I depended a lot on exercises and notes from my teacher.
Nothing much I could do about that. I also have a list of common mistakes in grammar for BM,
For English, I tone the use of bombastic jargons down and tried to keep my essays as concise as
possible. I always use the essay books from Pelangi, Oxford Fajar and there's this book called
Just Write be Athelia Chan(sp?). The level of Singaporean students' English is dabomb.com. As
for English paper 2, I did lots of exercises. (Past years, model questions etc.)
As I said before English and BM are language subjects. There are not really any exam-oriented
things you could do. You just have to practice using both of these languages in daily life. As for
me, English is my Internet language. I communicate solely in PROPER(Well, I try to) English
during my early years of the World Wide Web. Joining chatrooms/forums/MMOs really helped
(Club Penguin, anyone?). Netizens are very particular about grammar and they never miss the
chance to correct your mistakes. Don't be angry about it though, just take it positively and use
them to improve and improve and improve! I also watch a lot of English movies and TV shows
with English subtitles too. And read English books. And talk in English with my friends. And
To be continued! :)
PART 2
Phew. It has been raining for the past few days in Miri so it's so, so, so cold here. Hujan rahmat.
Totes my fav kind of weather. Time to use those thick sweaters you never really got to use
during the normal sunny weather, lol. So a few days ago I was down with sinus headache, my
nose was so runny last weekend and now I'm just recuperating before I get back to work
tomorrow. Everyone's up and about filling in their UPU applications(including me), my laptop's
out, so I thought hey, why don't I blog? So here I am, for the 2nd part of my SPM: "How do you
study?" series.
So in this post, I'm going to explain how I studied for the subjects most students dread,
Maths/Add Maths!
Maths/Add Maths are actually the easiest subjects to score, once you've eliminated or kept the
Maths/Add Maths teacher gave me. I bought a lot of exercise books from Pelangi but I only did
them before exams, lol. (I never finished the books... probably because the photostated exercises
are far more than enough). As far as topical exercise books are concerned, the Strategic Practice
series is quite good to familiarize/drill yourself with the basic stuff. The Top Gain books are
good if you're ready for tougher questions. Oxford Fajar books are a bit tougher and Longman
books are too tough/weird for me lol. (My friends asked me to help them with questions from
Longman books before, and oh boy. It took a while, and I may or may not have ripped the page
apart due to excessive erasing. lol idek why). You can also attempt the past year question books,
but they are pretty basic (except for the 2014 one hahahahahah). They're quick to do and most of
Some people say you don't need reference books for these two subjects, but I disagree. For
Mathematics, I bought the Analysis book from Sasbadi. My sister suggested them to me when
we were shopping for books at Popular. Mine was published in 2011 though. I thought I was
going to regret the purchase because the book's "outdated", but I didn't! It's complete with
formulas, examples and lots of Form 1-3 stuff we easily forget, lol. It's great for a quick
reference, to refresh your brain before every exam. It's also packed with exam-oriented questions
that you can attempt in case your exercise books aren't enough lol. (I did the Earth as a Sphere
questions from that book because the questions in the Strategic Practice book was too basic)
As for Add Maths, I bought the Success ref book from Oxford Fajar. It certainly helped me to
survive Add Maths for 2 years! It has a lot of worked examples, different types of questions that
can be asked, and more than enough questions that you can try with varying difficulties.
KBKK/KBAT? No problem! All those types of questions are covered :) The steps are also very
detailed. It comes with pocket notes that are actually filled with ways to solve problems with
your calculator. Your calculator is certainly your best friend, so please explore your calculator
and use them to their fullest potential. I only found out some tips and tricks to save time and
minimize careless mistakes in Form 5 -_- Better late than never, I guess lols. I also used the
Analysis book from Cerdik Publications because they're great for quick reference on how to
It really helps to manage your time during the exam. For Maths, I made sure I go through every
single question TWICE. If there's still time, check THRICE! It's better than just sitting
around/sleeping/playing with your stationeries, lol. Usually if I'm lazy and chose not to check, I
always lose points due to careless mistakes. I don't know why but I always mess up my
Transformations section, so I try to answer all 5 questions from Section B. But I usually ignore
the Plan and Elevation question la because it just takes too much time -_-
For Add Maths, I always answer from Section C then continue to the front. I noticed a LOT of
difference in the time spent / marks I get. I start from Section C because Price Index is the easiest
to score 10/10 points! So don't skimp on your Price Index question and recheck it a couple of
times. Then I'll answer Solutions of Triangles because my teacher skipped Motion Along A
Straight line. Make sure you can secure all 20 points for Section C because it's so easy to lose
marks in Section B! I always mess up my Index/Log questions, but with enough practice you'll
do fine. (There was one exam people kept asking me to teach them Index/Log I scored only for
that particular question and did badly in other topics lollll) It's also important to secure the 5
marks for Simultaneous Equations question but it's very easy to make careless mistakes, so
Extra stuff: I scored badly in the first exam in Form 4 for Add Maths because I was over
confident... I thought it was pretty easy in class so I didn't do enough exercises. Then BAM I was
so blank and clueless during the exam and ended up with a C+ (56) :( I realized my mistake and
did more exercises for the 2nd exam and got a B+ (69). So I did a lot of thinking and figured out
my weak points. I wasted a lot of time answering the questions and always almost don't finish in
time! I thought, hey, maybe I can train myself to do mental maths / answer the questions more
accurately and more faster. But just doing exercises takes a long time, so I played Sudoku! I took
out my sister's old Sudoku book (I think the difficulty is easy or medium, not so sure) and played
while waiting for my ride back home and in class when there's no teacher around. I timed myself
and made sure I beat my previous record every time I start a new game. My last record was 5
minutes and I averaged around 6 minutes like that. Alhamdulillah, with my prayers and effort I
earned an A+ (94) in the 3rd exam. (the highest I ever got actually, lol. and my Maths marks was
actually lower than that (89 if I'm not mistaken) and a friend of mine got a 97 during Trial 2, so
there's that). I stopped playing Sudoku since then, but my speed and accuracy maintained until
I hope I can score A+ in both Maths and Add Maths, and all 9 subjects in SPM, insyaAllah! :D
PART 3
Let's just cut to the chase and finish the "How do you study?" series of posts before I get caught
up with life and forget this blog, lol. So in this post, I'm going to share my tips and tricks on how
I studied for the 3 science subjects; Physics, Chemistry and Biology and 2 remaining core
PHYSICS
after that I started to get the hang of it (The easiest topics are Forces and Pressure, Heat, Waves
and Logic Gates imho). Despite it all, I maintained B+ to A grade throughout the 2 years,
Chemistry :( So I went to tuition, did the best I could, and I hope it pays off, insyaAllah. So
1. Read the reference book to get the general idea of things you have to study and will be
tested on.
I used Oxford Fajar's Success ref book and the Mind Map book.
I did not do much topical exercises, but I did a lot of trial questions given by my school teacher
and tuition teacher. After a few sets you'll see the pattern and find that Physics is quite easy to
master. Especially the essays! My tuition teacher helped me a lot on this. He made a booklet of
all the characteristics/explanation question and drilled us on it. He also gave us a list of
definitions and experiments. So it's great to organize your notes that way. Formulas, Definitions,
I used a sheet of thick drawing paper, wrote and numbered all the formulas/constants/values I
have to remember. I laminated it too so that it can stand through the abuse until I finish SPM, lol.
When you teach other people, you're actually reinforcing your memory and understanding of the
material. Sometimes you'll also have to find ways to simplify those intricate theories into simple
ideas, analogies and imagery. Create stories! I really had fun teaching my friends how to do
Logic Gates with happy/angry analogies and the satisfaction you get when they get it is just...
5. Ask teachers.
I went to all of the extra classes I had with my physics teacher, Mdm Chai to do exercises/trials
and ask her questions. Every time I had even the tiniest bit of doubt, I'll ask her again. And again.
I'd even arrange to steal a bit of her time during recess to ask her explain the Form 4 stuffs I am
still stuck in. I also went to tuition after I got a B+ in Physics for my final trial exam, so I made
full use of the time I had (1 month and a half?) with my tuition teacher to ask for clarification on
certain concepts I am still hazy about. Don't be shy to ask, you'll regret it otherwise, trust me. :)
BIOLOGY
Biology's my favorite subject, but I tend to score the lowest in this subject. (The marking scheme
is the worst...) Fret not (janganbimbang), as long as you have the knowledge and understanding,
you only have to sharpen your answering skills(Pay attention during the answering technique
talks! They help a lot, trust me) and you'll be fine! Here are some of the things I did...
I came up with this idea when I was SO UBER EXTREMELY lazy to go through the thick
reference book / textbook again and again. So I decided to record myself reading the book out
loud (you're already listening to yourself at this point) and listen to the recordings(repetition is
the mother of knowledge!) before I sleep. Yes I fell asleep in the middle of the recordings a
couple of times. It doesn't help that I'm lying down, snug and warm in my blanket, eyes closed
for maximum focus. But it sure does help you to retain the memory on the gazillions of Bio facts,
especially for essays. My logic behind this technique was actually inspired by how easily we
memorize song lyrics. Using an extra sense - hearing to study? Check. Repetition? Check.
Actually, you don't have to answer them yourselves. I always copy answers from the back so that
I know how to answer the questions. I ended up ripping apart (koyak) the answer section and
copied the answers straight away, haha. It's like note-taking, but more of a guided one. Don't
copy blindly lah, make sure you're actually learning things along the way. If not then you're just
wasting your time and energy. :/ For objective questions / Paper 1, my teacher suggested us to
write down our answers in a separate paper. If you score above 40/50, move on to the next set. If
you didn't, redo it until you do! It really worked. I did all of the objective questions in my past
year paper book and Sasbadi model aktual book. I scored 47/50 for my trials and 49/50 for my
This is pretty self-explanatory, tried-and-tested, most popular technique. Apart from the notes I
copy from the teacher's PowerPoint presentation, I also make my own notes at home to reinforce
my knowledge. Copy the VERY important points. Remember, they're notes, not essays. Bio tend
to be very detailed too, actually. But use your highlighters/coloured pens so that it's easier to
study. After a few exams you'll notice what's important or not, but if you still have no idea, ask
your teachers. "Penting ka ni cikgu?" "Apa jak saya perlu tahu untuk topic ni?" "Kalau soalan
Books I used - Oxford Fajar's Success Biology SPM as main reference book, OF's Whizz Thru as
quick reference/something to read while waiting for transport, Bioscore Form 4 and Form
5(which you can order online here), Cerdik's Past Year Questions book, Model Test Papers from
Sasbadi/Cerdik.
CHEMISTRY
. But actually, Chemistry's the EASIEST science subject to score. (I'm pretty sure after going
deep into Organic Chemistry later I'll beg to differ). After I scored 92/100 for Paper 2 in Form 4
(my record. After that I couldn't go any higher...) I started loving Chemistry more. The beautiful
balance between Stoichiometry (calculations) and theory makes the subject quite interesting lah.
Even though kadang-kadang rasa nak setengah nyawa hafal so many things. But memorizing's
my mojo, hehe. Here are some of the things I did(apart from making notes, reading the reference
1. Watch videos.
I watched IB/A-level Chemistry videos on Youtube! I found really useful videos on making
calculations easier and experiment demonstrations that are extremely useful to give yourself
ideas during Paper 3. My favorite uploaders are Richard Thornley and Brian Swarthout(for
Physics). Please, please make full use of the Internet. I survived on my teachers at school,
videos/notes on the internet and reference books (no tuition at all) throughout my schooling years
2. Make flashcards.
I bought a pack of watercolour paper thing (I forgot the size, but the standard ones you can find
at the shops lah) and cut them up into palm cards. I wrote EVERY SINGLE THING I need to
memorize onto the cards. I also did conventional notes, but I converted them into flashcard
versions to reinforce my knowledge. I punched a hole in a corner and fastened them together
using a book ring. Here's an example of flashcards I made (this is for Physics, I couldn't find the
one I did for Chemistry D:) And you don't want to know when I made all of these...
hahahahahahah
Books I use - Pelangi's Focus Chemistry SPM, Cerdik's Past Year Papers, Model Test Papers
from a variety of publishers, and most importantly, STATE TRIALS! (For all subjects!) For
Chemistry, it's essential that you MEMORIZE the charges of the ion first, then balancing
equations will come easily for you. Basically... Chemistry's easier when you have all the infos in
your head.
lah, ha). But towards the end I got really lazy to do them on a separate piece of paper. So what I
did it, you know Sejarah textbooks have these big margins, right? (For the record, the Sejarah
textbooks were mine, not the school's, so please, kids, don't vandalize school property, okay?) I
just extracted all the important infos(Faktor/Kesan/Isi/Huraian/etc.) and write them on the
margins for easy and quick reference. If only the books are still with me, I would've taken a
picture to show you guys how I did it. Then after that, I bought different colours of highlighters,
each of them with different meanings. I assign one colour, pink, for example, for FAKTOR. So
every time I fine factors in the walls of text, I highlight them with pink. Now it's easier for you to
make connections, especially in the exams. "Hey, I highlighted this this this with pink, so it must
be one of the factors!" Now do this for other things, like ISI, HURAIAN, TARIKH, TEMPAT,
For Pendidikan Islam, usually I will just again, read the reference book and make notes. I have 3
reference books for PI; Sasbadi's Nexus, Nota Ringkas book I photostated from a friend, and this
really concise book with all the maksud istilah and all that. Again, sorry, no pics. To familiarize
myself with the questions and standard answers, I copied the answers to the questions as well.
Then I made a flashcard for all the tajwid rules and Tulisan Jawi rules.
There's nothing much that I can say for these two subjects. Both of them are quite easy to score,
so don't slack on them yea! ;) Pay attention in class, find notes on the internet, make your own
notes, do exercises / copy answers from the back, read reference books / text book (very
important for History!), ask teachers and help your friends! You can apply majority of the
As for study "timetable", I don't really have a rigid timetable where I set how many hours I spend
studying every day and all. All I did is plan what I am going to study for each day. 1 subject per
day only! Only after trials then I started to study multiple subjects each day because I'm afraid
I guess that's about it for now. If I remember anything else that I forgot to add, I'll update from
time to time. Please remember that these are not "mujarab" techniques that guaranteed will work
on everyone. But all I can tell you is that they worked for me. I spent my time planning, thinking,
making changes to my study methods as I see fit. If my marks are not improving, I'll start to find
other methods. If it works, I'll continue doing what I'm doing! Trial and error are very important
processes in learning, so don't be afraid to try for yourself. I learned most of my techniques from
other students as well - feel free to Google for them. I would also like to note here that I don't
listen to music when I study. But to be honest I still have my phone around so that I can go on
WolframAlpha / Whatsapp to discuss about questions / find notes on the internet. Oh and by the
way, my posts are of my own opinions/experiences/what I learned from other people, and
completely not endorsed by any parties, heh. Lastly, most importantly, please take good care of
your relationship with Allah SWT, your parents, your teachers, your family and friends. Good
luck and all the best for your studies and future undertakings! For clarifications/questions you
can reach me through FB(please introduce yourself first), Twitter and Whatsapp. :)
Yours sincerely,
SPM 9A+,
A National Scholar.