Eight effective tips to crack JEE Main

By: Kanishka Bharti

Time should be managed productively to crack the exam with high scores and get admission in the dream college.

JEE Main is considered as the most important exam for the engineering aspirants. It plays a pivotal role in getting selected in JEE-Advanced, for admissions in the topmost engineering colleges in India, i.e., IITs and NITs.

Here are some of the important tips for students could follow to prepare for JEE Main.

Tips  for last week

When the exam is just a week away, that is the most crucial time, and one must utilise this time productively. Avoid stress and have adequate sleep. Eat healthy, stay fit, and relax. The last week before the scheduled exam is not the time to panic, instead frame a strategy for the exam. Revise the topics completed, sharpen skills, enhance speed, practise more, learn the formulae, etc. to boost confidence.

Don't study any new topic- A few students make the mistake of trying to cover new topics in the last week contemplating that it might help them to score better, however, the result is often the opposite. Hence, the students should avoid starting a new topic in the last week, instead revise all the topics thoroughly from the notes.

Manage all the subjects- All the subjects, i.e., Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry, involve a lot of skills and techniques in question-solving. Practise those tricks and revise the basic concepts to get a grip on the subjects. If you are reading from a book, then go through the synopsis of each chapter, which comprises all the key points. I would personally suggest to revising from the concept notes and practise the mock tests.

Practise Mock tests- Mock tests are utmost important while preparing for JEE Main. The correct strategy for doing a mock test is to set the time in a precisely similar way as the exam would be conducted, i.e., three hours and sit either in a closed room or library or any classroom to create the exam atmosphere as most of the students panic and get anxious at the time of exam and end up making bizarre mistakes, which may affect their results.

Time management- As I've already mentioned, one must utilise the 3 hours of examination most productively, so that these long hours of toiling would pay a handsome reward in the form of a good rank. Divide the time according to your convenience. Mathematics and Physics are more time consuming as compared to Chemistry, so, analyse yourself the time taken to solve a question.

In a competitive exam, a tough question would fetch the same marks as an easy question, so if you are unable to solve a tough question, skip the same, and devote that time to solve other questions. First, complete the portion which you are confident about, for example, Chemistry, complete Chemistry first, as this would help in saving the time as well as boost the confidence.

Scoring topics- With regular practise and after solving numerous of question papers and mock tests, one could easily get an overview of the important topics. Moreover, a blueprint of the examination pattern is available online, which would help in focussing on the more scoring topics. So, in short, consistent practice is the key that will unlock the door to success.

Revision approach- To crack a competitive exam, one must inculcate the habit of thorough revision and by revising, I do not mean to read all the books again and again. Revising the productive things that would help in enhancing good marks and ultimately good rank holds more importance. After reading and preparing for the entire year, the revision part is very crucial.

When you're studying throughout the year, prepare notes in a manner that would help in establishing a stronghold on the concepts of the topic. Subjects like Mathematics require some tricks which could only be learned by practising. These tricks are very important in saving time during the exam. During the revision, make sure that the basic concepts are clear.

For Physics, I've always referred to Universal Self-scorer, which is a very elaborate book, but once you've brought solving questions into practice, it would be just a matter of time to gain expertise in a subject.

The same goes for Chemistry. To prepare for Organic Chemistry, solve questions from Universal or any other MCQ based book that you are studying, even the study material of coaching institutes, would help in understanding the concepts and scoring high marks. Organic Chemistry is, in fact, the most scoring part in Chemistry in JEE Main. Physical and Inorganic Chemistry holds no less important and should be paid an equal amount of attention while revising.

Managing Class 12 and entrance exam preparation- If you appear in board examination as well as JEE Main in the same year, then, you are clearly on the plus side.

Many students consider taking a dummy admission and devote the entire time for preparation, thinking that it would save their time and help them focus more, however, this is not the case. While competitive exams require shortcuts and tricks, board examination requires extensive explanations of answers.

In my opinion, board and JEE Main could serve as a great opportunity in a complementary way and help in gaining comprehensive knowledge, along with excellent marks in both the exams. Utilise the time in school in learning by doing various practical and experiments in Physics and Chemistry.

Practical knowledge would help in yielding marks in JEE Main. Some questions are directly asked from the practical performed, this would give an upper hand if you are preparing for the JEE board exam simultaneously.

About the Author:

Kanishka Bharti is currently pursuing MBBS at King George's Medical University in Lucknow. Kanishka plans to become a successful cardiologist and be of service to the nation in every way possible. Besides studies, she harbors a deep interest in serving society and catering to the needs of those in pain by utilizing her knowledge and skills.