(O level Science) Some advice for studying

- You are from China, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia or any country in which English is not your native language. You come to Singapore to study, to receive a good education, to get an internationally recognized academic certificate. Everything here accept for mother tongue is in English. Most probably you are going to struggle very hard in the English subject. Nevertheless, being poor in English may not stop you from doing well in mathematics and science subjects so long as, in tests and exams, you get your key words and explanations right and clear, and your calculations and units correct. This is especially so if you tend to think logically, flexibly and creatively.

Think logically, flexibly and creatively... 

- You are a Singaporean. You were born here and raised here. You may come from a non-English speaking family. But because, in Singapore, English is the first language, the many explanatory words in science materials written in English should not be too alien to you. Yet it doesn't mean science does not require hard work. The recall of definitions, laws and principles needs time. Acquiring problem solving skills in calculation questions needs practice. The understanding of concepts needs reinforcement. There is no escape from hard work, from investing your time in studying.

No escape from hard work...

Whether you are a Singaporean or from other countries, it is impossible to understand everything in one class lesson. In Chinese, the word education is written as 学问 (xue wen). The first character 学 refers to learning while the second character 问 means inquiry. These two elements are inseparable. You must have the curiosity and skills in finding things out (问) by asking teachers, friends, and searching for information in books, on the internet in order to acquire knowledge (学). After each lesson, make sure you find things out to clear your doubts.

学问...

Many of us are prone to forgetting. If you do not revise soon enough after each lesson, you will not remember a single thing of what your teacher has taught you after two weeks. Battle this monster of memory loss with revisions. The bad news is that this is a constant battle. So summon your perseverance and determination. The good news is that the more frequent your revision is, the slower you forget, the longer you retain your memory.

...perseverance and determination...