THE SPECIFICITY PRINCIPLE
Boxers train for a title match by sparring rounds. Grandmasters prep for the Chess Olympiad by playing chess. Tennis pros prep for a tournament by playing tennis. Runners train for the marathon by running. Pianists prep for a concert by playing the piano. Doctors train by practising medicine. Fighter pilots train by flying jet aircraft. Sharpshooters train by shooting targets. Swimmers train for a competition by swimming. Debaters prep for a debating contest by debating. Stage actors prep for the opening night by rehearsing. Weightlifters train by lifting weights. Dancers train by dancing.
So how should one prep for a board exam?
By taking exams! That is the principle of SPECIFICITY:
You train for something by doing the same thing. Over and over again. If you’re taking civil engg, you take practice exams in geotech engg, structural analysis, highway engineering, not digital communications or power plant engineering. If taking mech engg, you take machine kinematics, internal combustion engines, thermodynamics,etc, not hydrology, food processing, etc. Take exams SPECIFIC to the board exam you are prepping for.
How do you suppose Steph Curry got to be MVP twice and led the Warriors to 3 championships? And he now holds the NBA record for most number of 3-pointers. He takes 500 practice shots daily, during the NBA season; 300 a day during off season. That’s specificity!
To become good at taking a PRC board exam, you take our tough, similar tests, under simulated conditions, and with time pressure. That is specificity.