What to Do If You Forgot an Entire Chapter One Day Before the Exam

You're sitting with your syllabus the night before your exam, and suddenly your heart drops. There's an entire chapter you completely forgot about. Maybe you thought it wouldn't be important, or you kept pushing it for "later," and now later is... tonight.

First things first, don't panic. We know that's easier said than done, but panicking will only waste the limited time you have. With the board exams soon, you need every minute to count.

Acknowledge the Situation Without Panic

Take a deep breath. You can't cover an entire chapter the way you'd ideally want to, and that's okay. Your goal now isn't to become an expert on this chapter; it's to grab as many marks as possible from it. That's a huge difference. Once you accept this, you can actually start working smart instead of freaking out.

Evaluate the Chapter's Weightage

Open your exam pattern sheet or syllabus. How many marks is this chapter actually worth? If it's just 3-4 marks, you need a different strategy than if it's worth 10-15 marks. This tells you how much time you should actually spend on it versus revising what you already know.

Sometimes students waste 4 hours on a chapter that's worth 5 marks while ignoring revision of chapters worth 20 marks. Don't be that student.

Gather High-Yield Study Materials

Don't open your thick textbook. You don't have time for that. Instead, grab:

Your class notes (if you have them), as these are gold because they're already filtered
NCERT/Textbook summary at the end of the chapter
Sample papers and PYQs (previous year questions), as these show you exactly what's been asked before
YouTube revision videos; search for "crash course [your chapter name]" or "one-shot [chapter name]."

The PYQs are honestly your best friend right now. They show you patterns. If a particular topic from this chapter has been asked 3 times in the last 5 years, you know where to focus.

Apply the 80-20 Principle

You've probably heard of the 80-20 rule. 80% of exam questions often come from 20% of the content. Your job is to find that 20%.

Here's how:

Skim through the chapter headings and subheadings; this gives you the structure
Focus on definitions, formulas, and important terms; these are easy marks
Read the solved examples in your textbook; they often become direct questions
Check sample papers to see which topics from this chapter appear most
Make ultra-short notes; just keywords and formulas, not paragraphs

If it's a theory chapter, focus on:

Main concepts and definitions
Diagrams (if any), as they're easy to remember and score
Any numbered points (advantages, types, characteristics)

If it's numerical/problem-solving:

Formulas (write them down 5 times each)
Standard problem types from PYQs
Steps to solve, because even if you don't finish, you get step marks

Practice with Mock Tests and Sample Papers

Now take those mock tests or sample papers. But only solve questions from this chapter. Time yourself. See if you can actually attempt them.

This shows you what you actually remember, and it builds your confidence. Even if you can solve just basic questions, that's still some marks you didn't have before.

Strategic Approach for Exam Day

The night before, write down the formulas and key points from this chapter on one sheet. Read it once in the morning. That's it.

During the exam:

Don't attempt this chapter's questions first. Do the chapters you're confident about.
Come back to this chapter when you've secured the rest of your marks.
Attempt something rather than nothing; even if you write the formula and basic steps, you might get partial marks.
Don't overthink it. Write what you know and move on.

Conclusion

Sometimes you'll still mess up. Maybe you'll only get 40% from that chapter instead of 80%. But you know what? 40% is infinitely better than 0%. And the marks you saved by not panicking and still doing well in other chapters matter way more.

Also, learn from this. For your next exam, make a chapter checklist at the start of your preparation. Check off chapters as you complete them. It takes 30 seconds and saves you from this exact situation.

You've got this. One forgotten chapter doesn't define your entire exam. Your strategy for the next few hours does.