What is the most Effective way of Studying Chemistry?

This question is asked by every student to their chemistry tutor who takes up o level chemistry tuition in Singapore and wants to score A1 in their O-level chemistry exam. How to study for Chemistry?

The first thing which should be clear crystal on every student’s mind that good grades in chemistry require hard work and there is no other way than this. The reason is quite simple; there are a lot of formulas, equations, and the name of elements and compounds which need hard work to get a good command on them.

Now as we are clear that getting an A1 in chemistry is not going to be an easy task, we get prepared for hard work. Now you will be thinking how I am going to do that much of hard work? Stop worrying because here is the best 3 point strategy which we recommend our students to get A1 grades in their O-level chemistry exam.

1. Study the Topic before the Lecture
The most efficient strategy to clear your concepts about a particular topic is to get prepared before the lecture. Now you will have this question in your mind that how I am going to study a topic before the lecture when I haven’t studied it in my course? The answer is so easy, all you need to know is the name of that article which you are going to study next day in a classroom. When you know the topic, you search the topic in your previous class course and revise it. Revising will help you create a good understanding of the topic beforehand. One more thing you can do nowadays is to get help from the internet as it is so easy to find related articles and videos on the web about a particular topic in a short time.

2. Take right Notes during the Lecture
The note taking is the most important strategy you should know to get A1 in your chemistry exams. You don’t need to write everything the teacher is delivering. Taking notes is the game of practice, you need to be adept in note taking methods because this will separate you from average students. Try to write only key points of the lecture and the core ideas behind the topic. You must use colour pens while taking notes, so it looks appealing when you open your notes for revision. Try to start the new topic from the new page, and create categories i.e. subheadings of the topic. One more important point in note taking strategy is discussing them after the lecture with your friends for five mints. This will be a quick revision plus you will get the better understanding of the topic through a friend’s perspective. Revision is the part of note taking strategy in which you regularly revise all of your main keywords from notes.

3. Make Connections
The people who have highest IQ and are highly famous for their amazing memories have a trick of memorizing things faster. They call it “making connections”. The Same idea works with memorising chemistry equations and complex concepts. Once you practice this strategy, chemistry will become so easy for you because it creates a fun element in your study. You make connection according to your ease. Every topic in chemistry has its branches, and these branches could be found either in the same chapter or a different chapter. If you can relate one topic to the other, you will be able to cover multiple topics at one time.
This 3 point strategy has helped hundreds of chemistry students to get an A1 in their O-level exams