By Varun Goel
With one month left for the CBSE Class 12 Mathematics board examination, it is completely natural for students to feel pressure. Board exams bring expectations, comparisons, and personal goals.
However, pressure becomes productive when paired with planning. A thoughtful strategy that honestly recognises your strengths and weaknesses can do wonders in the final month. Mathematics rewards structure, consistency, and calm thinking, and these 30 days can significantly improve performance if treated as a training period rather than a countdown.
Think of this month as preparation for performance. Athletes don’t panic before a match; they follow a plan. Students should do the same.
Build Strength First, Then Depth
The first priority is conceptual clarity. Revisit the NCERT textbook thoroughly — solved examples, in-text exercises, and standard problems. Most board questions remain rooted in NCERT patterns, and students confident with NCERT rarely feel surprised in the examination hall.
Once this first layer of preparation is secure, begin practising NCERT Exemplar questions. These problems deepen conceptual understanding and prepare students for competency-based and higher-order questions.
Create or revise a formula notebook and read it daily. Calculus identities, matrix properties, vector formulas, and standard integrals should become reflex memory. When formulas are automatic, the brain is free to focus on reasoning rather than recall.
At the same time, maintain a small error logbook while practising. Every mistake — conceptual, calculation-based, or careless — should be recorded briefly. Reviewing this log regularly gives instant insight into weak areas and prevents repetition. Improvement becomes measurable when mistakes are tracked consciously.
Consistency matters more than occasional long study hours. Mathematics improves through daily engagement, not irregular bursts of effort. Studying at fixed timings builds rhythm and strengthens retention. Regular, structured sessions are far more effective than unpredictable marathon study days, and this discipline often separates confident performers from anxious ones.
Train In Real Exam Conditions
From the second week onward, sample paper practice becomes essential. Solve full-length papers in the morning during the same time slot as the actual CBSE examination. Alongside sample papers, students should review previous years’ board questions and attempt selected questions/papers. These reveal recurring patterns, common traps, and the level of stepwise precision expected by examiners.
Writing papers between 10:30 AM and 1:30 PM (or the official exam window) trains your body clock to remain alert during the hours that matter most.
Treat each paper as a real exam: timed, silent, uninterrupted. Afterwards, spend more time analysing mistakes than celebrating correct answers. Every corrected error is a mark secured for the future.
During practice and the actual examination, drink water in moderation. Small sips help maintain alertness and keep the brain refreshed without causing distraction.
Focus Areas That Decide Scores
High-weight chapters deserve repeated attention. Applications of Derivatives, Integrals, Matrices, Probability, and 3D Geometry often determine overall performance and should appear frequently in your weekly cycle.
Calculation-heavy topics such as Differential Equations and Applications of Integrals require patient, step-wise practice. Accuracy is more valuable than speed. Mixed practice sessions are equally important, as switching between calculus, algebra, and geometry builds mental flexibility — a key skill during the actual examination.
The Final Week: Confidence Over Quantity
The last week is for polishing, not overloading. Revise formulas, solve representative questions, and protect your sleep schedule. Fatigue causes careless mistakes, and Mathematics demands a fresh mind.
Confidence does not come from endless study hours — it comes from visible improvement. When students follow a structured plan, anxiety gradually converts into control.
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A Sample 7-Day Study Plan – Customise As Per Your Requirements.
Students can design their own timetable, keeping in mind the number of hours they wish to devote to the subject, but a balanced day should include revision, practice, and rest:
Morning (Exam Slot Practice) 10:30 AM – 1:30 PM: Full sample paper (alternate days) or chapter test
Afternoon (Analysis & Weak Areas) 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM: Mistake review + targeted NCERT/Exemplar revision
Evening (Concept Reinforcement) 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM: Mixed practice + updating formula notebook
Night (Light Review) 9:45 PM – 10:00 PM: A Quick formula recap from the day.
Repeat this structure across the week, rotating chapters daily. Include one lighter day for recovery and recap.
(The author is the Head of Department, Mathematics, NC, Shiv Nadar School, Gurugram. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.)
