Cracking JEE Main is just the beginning in the journey to become an IITian. Now comes the stage wherein aspirants have to clear JEE Advanced 2017 which is to be held on May 21. This year, approximately 2,20,000 top rankers from JEE Main will be eligible to take JEE Advanced 2017.
By this time you must have an idea about your preparation level; what works for you and what doesn’t. Keeping all your strengths and weaknesses in mind, leave no stone unturned in the last leg of preparation to tackle JEE Advanced 2017.
JEE Advanced comprises two three-hour objective papers: Paper-1 and Paper-2. Each paper is balanced in three subjects: physics, chemistry and mathematics. Certain sections come with negative marking for incorrect answers. Some questions have one or more than one correct answer requiring deep analytical reasoning and skills in application of concepts. It is this system of negative marking which sets the JEE Advanced apart, owing to the decimating influence on the overall marks and the relative position at which students are ranked. Here are a few preparation tips with less than a month left for the exam:
Revising: With time running out, the most important task is managing the time you have in the most efficient way possible. Revise all concepts from notes with emphasis on questions requiring tricks and analytical reasoning. Devote equal time to the three subjects.
Well thought out plans: Understand your limitations and opportunities, your weaknesses and strengths. This is not the time when you try anything fresh or tackle difficult unsolved problems thrown at you. Just revise and perfect concepts. Be stronger through honing your strength. Focus your energy on learning or retaining rather than just studying. JEE advanced requires enmeshed analytical skills with great emphasis on critical thinking. It is imperative to understand the application of concepts well.
Set yourself daily targets based on your capabilities. Do not set unattainable targets, because when not achieved, these can be demoralising. Your study plan must also make room for testing. A well-conceived study plan and regular mock tests will help you streamline your preparation to progressive perfection.
Mock tests: Solve mock tests and past papers to know gaps and weak areas in your preparation. Strengthen these areas and check with further mock tests. Keep track of the time taken to solve questions. Given the limited timeframe in which the JEE Advanced paper needs to be cracked, it is always good to monitor the time spent, per question, while practising. While solving question papers browse through the entire paper before beginning it. This practice of assessing and prioritising questions based on your capabilities will be helpful in the examination. You can easily score on questions that you know and keep the most difficult ones towards the end, during your second attempt, after finishing the paper in 45 minutes to an hour.
Strategies
Multiple choice, single correct: The best way to attempt these questions is to run through the question, then the options, and then the question again. Scanning the question again after the options helps strategising the approach to solve the question. Sometimes the options themselves guide the correct strategy or even the correct answer.
Multiple choice, multiple correct: Each question has to be solved and mapped with all options. It may also happen that the options are the same values written in different form. Statistically, these are the questions with least percentage of correct responses.
Comprehension-based: Even if you know the concept mentioned in the passage, you should still read it thoroughly, there are chances of redefining a concept or providing hypothetical assumptions. In that case, your conventionally correct approach might lead to incorrect answers.
Matrix match type (one-to-one matching): If the question is of one-to-one matching, then your approach should be finding the odd one out (if any). This will help you reach the correct mapping quickly.
Matrix match type (one-to-many matching): This type of matrix match would be the most challenging and time-consuming. The suggested way would be to attempt this problem if you are confident on the concepts of all four rows, or else keep this question in abeyance for attempting it last.
Integer answer type: Generally these questions are the subjective questions converted to objective, and hence would be time taking. The correct way would be to treat them as subjective and solve them only if you have a command on the topic or if you have attempted all other questions of the paper. These questions also have a low percentage of correct responses. Don’t stress yourself. Five to six hours of sleep every night is a must, especially three-four days before the exam to keep yourself physically and mentally fit. While short naps may help to regain freshness, avoid over-sleeping during the day.
On examination day
In the examination hall, go through papers carefully. Prioritise order of answering subject-wise, then question-wise. Do not attempt questions of black-box type.
Further, increase your rank by avoiding negative marks. You must attempt all those questions which do not carry negative marks.Don’t be nervous if you find the paper tough, since it is the relative performance that counts. Put on your best show and have confidence in yourself and your preparation. Finally, have faith in yourself. You should feel confident with your focussed tested preparation. All the very best!
The author is Director, FIITJEE.
