Exam preparation for the Class 6 Olympiad can be challenging and lengthy. Suggestions to improve efficiency and have a more customised preparation experience are the need of the hour to perform well in any exam. Here are ten essential tips to ace the preparation for the olympiad exam-

1. Familiarity with the concept- The most crucial step before attempting to answer any question correctly is understanding the idea. The student needs to be clear with the concepts taught in class 6th. This can be done by revising academic notes, browsing educational content on the relevant topics online, and consulting a tutor. Try to remove any doubts or challenges that one might be facing during the learning phase. Once the concepts are clear, it will be much easier to practise ahead.

2. Practise & perseverance- Practise, practise, practise. This should be the mantra to achieve finesse in any topic. The student can begin practicing questions once their concepts are clear. It is recommended to target specific topics and gain confidence and accuracy in them. Around a hundred questions for one chapter will ensure that the student understands the questions' type, pattern, and language. This provides a good command over any future questions, as the student feels familiar with the questions of the topics already.

3. Peer discussion and review- The process of preparation might become monotonous for some students. If the children feel comfortable, they can organize study groups or peer discussion sessions to understand and practise concepts and problems together. This provides more perspective to the student and also assists in retention and revision. These sessions can be organised to discuss the doubts that the students face while taking the paper. They can also help in learning the challenging topics in the syllabus. Peer-to-peer teaching also makes the discussion more interactive and encourages the growth of all the members of the group. 

4. Smart time management- It is crucial to manage time well. But most importantly, it's vital to manage time smartly. This implies that the student recognises the strengths and weaknesses they have in the topics of the subject and allots time accordingly. A timetable or timeline with more time allotted to the weak areas of studies is recommended. It is essential to spend more time on the weak topics, after which the progress can be tracked using the practice questions and papers. 

5. Emphasis on accuracy- After becoming a proficient learner, it's time to put the skills to the test. This is reflected in the accuracy of various questions. If the accuracy for any topic of the chapter is below seventy-five percent, it's recommended to revise the topics again before commencing practice. If the accuracy for any topic is above ninety percent, then the student can be said to be skilled at the topic. Hence, it's crucial to focus on accuracy, and then a command on time management can be built accordingly. 

6. Learning from mistakes- While practicing, regular feedback to recognise the errors and the lack of conceptual clarity is vital in order to correct them and improve proficiency in different topics. It is suggested to spend time reviewing all the answers attempted during the test and go over the correct solutions and processes to ensure that the student's approach was correct. This helps bridge the gaps in learning and is a very significant step to keep improving results. A different approach can also be adapted to solve a particular question after reviewing solutions.

7. Having vocabulary banks, cheat sheets and formulas on tips- It is recommended that students make their own notes for each topic they're studying. A formula or concept cheatsheet, which is a summary of all the topics, can be made for different subjects, according to the comfort of the person. Such a sheet helps the students in revising concepts very quickly, thereby improving retention. The sheet can also be revised on a frequency according to the need of the student and the respective knowledge of each topic.

8. Intelligent guesses- Even after preparing one's best, some questions can appear to be very tricky to the student. In such scenarios, it's important not to fret too much over that question and lose time. As the class 6th Olympiads do not have negative markings, intelligent guessing can increase the probability of a correct answer. Options can be selected by eliminating the ones the student is sure of. But when practise should be adopted during practise, it is suggested to ensure that the concept of the question and the procedure to solve it is clarified later. 

9. Giving Practice papers-  Once all the topics have been reviewed and revised, it's important to practise a full-length paper for the olympiad. It is necessary to access the best resources to practise papers in order to get an idea of the questions that the test might have. Practise papers can be taken without a time limit to see how much time the student takes to finish answering questions. For instance, preparation for the prestigious International Mathematics Olympiad can be carried using the IMO Class 6 2013 Question Paper. 

10. The Final step (Mock exams)- Mock exams give the best idea of the student's performance. They can be taken once 2-4 practise papers have been completed. Mock exams are timed, and they simulate a real-time Olympiad experience. Mock exams should be given in an environment similar to the one for the actual paper to provide the most accurate results. It is recommended to appear for at least two mock exams before one appears for the final paper. It's also crucial to revise the answers to the mock papers. 

The metrics for progress during exam preparation are the results of the various question banks, practice papers, and finally, mock exams that one refers to. Feedback from mistakes to continuously keep improving results in fast progress. Peer review and discussion may also make the experience of the preparation process better. The following suggestions ensure a customized experience for the learner and optimize efforts to provide the best results.