Let's talk life - Study tips

• Study tips

Dear Counsellor,

I am in high school and I will be doing external examinations soon. I would appreciate some study tips.

- Marie

Dear Marie,

Examinations will always be with us and we have to practise to do them well. You need to get the syllabus and past papers of each subject. If you are weak in certain areas, then you will need private tutoring for those subjects. The work of students is to study and do well in school. You need a timetable of subjects, for example, two subjects each night for one hour. Each night you should complete the school's assignments, then read and do past papers of the two subjects.

Study the past papers and see which questions are frequently asked. Having identified the questions, you must read a lot around those topics. Do these questions and ask your teachers to mark them and to point out your weaknesses. Work on your weak areas from now so that you are comfortable with the examinations.

You also need to make up questions about each subject and do them. They usually are essay-type questions or multiple choice. Practise writing the essays and edit them as best as you can.

You need to monitor your time so that you will have some time to rest. Your health is important, so you need to eat healtihy and drink plenty of water.

Start to study for the exams from the beginning of the school year. There are booklets that consist of work examples, so you should get these from the bookshops. All the best in your examinations.

• Depressed daughter

Dear Counsellor,

My daughter is an alcoholic and she is pregnant with her first child. The baby's father disappeared and so she became depressed and started drinking again. I told her that the baby would have problems, but she does not believe me.

- Anxious Mom

Dear Anxious Mom,

It is true that babies can have medical problems if the mother drinks a lot of alcohol while pregnant. If mom also uses cocaine, then the baby would be affected also. Your daughter needs to get treatment for her depression and alcoholism. She has two major problems, so she needs to see the psychiatrist. She may drink to a drunken state and have blackouts. Babies may develop heart problems or mental retardation because of the alcohol. Speak with her obstetrician about her drinking problem.

Email questions and feedback for Dr Yvonnie Bailey-Davidson to yvonniebd@hotmail.com or call 978-8602.