How NTA Determines JEE Main Paper Difficulty Level
Joint Entrance Exam (JEE) Main 2026 ( JEE Main )
JEE Main CSAB special counselling
22 Jul '26 - 18 Aug '26
How do NTA prepare the JEE Main question paper and decide the difficulty level of each shift? Let's explore some factors that NTA considers while deciding the questions for JEE Main examination. Read below.
How NTA Determines JEE Main Paper Difficulty Level
Over 10 lakh students take the JEE Main annually across multiple shifts and days. Because the exam takes place over multiple days and shifts, many students wonder how the National Testing Agency (NTA) keeps things fair. This article explains how the NTA sets the difficulty level and ensures a balanced mix of questions. It also highlights what you need to know as a candidate.
- NTA Follows a Set Exam Pattern and Marking Scheme
- Questions in JEE Main are Decided by a Panel of Multiple Experts
- Mix of Easy, Moderate and Difficult Questions
- NTA JEE Main Exam Pattern
- JEE Main 2027
NTA Follows a Set Exam Pattern and Marking Scheme
NTA follows the prescribed JEE Main exam pattern, syllabus and marking scheme to prepare the JEE Main question paper every year and across all the shifts. The guidelines for NTA is set so that it needs to be followed each year to prepare the JEE Main question papers. The guidelines include:
- JEE Main question paper will have 3 subjects - Maths, Physics and Chemistry. Each subject will have two sections. Section 1 will be MCQs, and Section 2 will be NATs. Candidates have to attempt all the questions, and there will be no optional questions.
- Questions will be framed from a prescribed JEE Main syllabus and will be of class 11 and 12 standard level.
- The marking scheme for all questions will be the same, that is +4 for correct attempts and -1 for each wrong answer.
Also Read: JEE Main 2026 Marks vs Percentile vs Rank: Shift Wise Detailed Analysis
Questions in JEE Main are Decided by a Panel of Multiple Experts
To make the test fair, the National Testing Agency (NTA) creates a large bank of questions written by various subject experts. The NTA builds the JEE Main test papers by choosing questions directly from this shared pool. This process helps keep the JEE Main exam balanced and prevents any single shift from suddenly becoming much harder than the others.
Mix of Easy, Moderate and Difficult Questions
The National Testing Agency (NTA) ensures that the percentage of Easy, Moderate and Difficult questions in the exam remains balanced across the shifts. Thus, fairness is maintained in all the shifts.
Continuous Review of the Questions: NTA also ensures that the questions are reviewed before they are finalised. The review takes place in multiple stages, ensuring there are no mistakes from their end. NTA takes all precautionary measures to make sure the JEE Main 2027 exam is leak-proof and fair for all the candidates.
Commonly asked questions
Clearing the JEE Main exam in first attempt is not a difficult task. Several students clear JEE Main while in class 12. One thing that makes it easy to clear JEE Main with class 12 is that students are in regular touch of most JEE syllabus. To score good marks in JEE Main in the first attempt, it is advised that you study class 11 and 12 topics thoroughly, clear all the concepts and solve mock test papers. Also, NCERT books which you study in class 11 and 12 are the best books for JEE Main preparation. Students must study NCERT properly and solve all the questions in the book and do not memorize the concepts as some students do rather understand the concepts.
Students who are preparing for JEE Main 2026 must start their preparation by studying NCERT books. It will help in building strong foundation of concepts. Study chapters that have high weightage in JEE Mains and also topics that have been asked in recent years. In the last month before exam, solve mock tests and previous year papers.
A score of 70 marks in JEE Mains is considered average to below-average for General category students. This corresponds to a percentile around 88 to 91.
NTA JEE Main Exam Pattern
Check the NTA exam pattern for JEE Mains 2027 exam below:
JEE Main Exam Pattern 2027 for BTech (Paper 1)
| Particulars |
Details |
|---|---|
| Exam mode |
Online (computer-based) |
| Number of sections and subjects |
3 (Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics) |
| Duration of exam |
3 hours (180 minutes) 4 hours for PwD candidates |
| Type of questions |
MCQs: 4 options with only 1 correct option Numerical Value Questions: Questions whose answers are to be filled in as a numerical value |
| Section A (MCQ) |
Mathematics: 20 |
| Section B (Numerical Value) |
Mathematics: 5 In Section B, candidates have to attempt all five questions from each section. |
| How many questions are in JEE Mains |
75 |
| JEE Mains Total Marks |
300 marks |
| Language of paper |
Assamese, Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu in addition to Hindi, English, and Gujarati |
JEE Main Paper 2 Exam Pattern (BArch)
| Particulars |
Details |
|---|---|
| Exam mode |
Online (Mathematics and Aptitude) and offline (Drawing test) |
| Number of sections and subjects |
3 (Drawing, Mathematics, and Aptitude) |
| Duration of exam |
3 hours (180 minutes) |
| Sections |
Mathematics (Part I) 20 MCQ and 5 Numerical Value Questions |
| Number of questions |
77 |
| Type of questions |
Mathematics and Aptitude: Objective-type questions Drawing: Questions to test the candidate’s drawing and sketching skills |
| Total Marks of JEE Mains |
400 marks (Drawing section will be of a total of 100 marks, marking of every question will be given along with it) |
| Language of paper |
Assamese, Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu in addition to Hindi, English, and Gujarati |
JEE Main BPlan Exam Pattern
| Particulars |
Details |
|---|---|
| Exam mode |
Online |
| Number of sections and subjects |
3 (Mathematics, Aptitude, and Planning-Based Questions) |
| Duration of exam |
3 hours (180 minutes) |
| Sections |
Mathematics: 20 questions and 5 Numerical Value Questions Aptitude: 50 Planning Based Questions: 25 |
| Number of questions |
100 |
| Type of questions |
Mathematics and Aptitude Planning-Based Questions - Multiple-Choice Questions |
| Total Marks of JEE Mains |
400 |
| Language of paper |
Assamese, Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu in addition to Hindi, English, and Gujarati |
JEE Main 2027
NTA conducts JEE Main exam twice every year, in January and in April. Candidates have to register for JEE Main 2027 exam, download the JEE Main admit card, appear for the exam, check their result and then register for JoSAA counselling for admission to the NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs. The top 2.5 lakh candidates who pass the JEE Main cutoff for JEE Advanced can apply for JEE Advanced for IIT admissions.
Read More:
Commonly asked questions
JEE Main difficulty level is similar to class 12 board exams. Syllabus of JEE Main is similar to class 11 and 12 syllabus. The questions asked in exam are tricky and need an in-depth understanding of subjects. They need to have conceptual understanding of every topic to score well in exam. Those who study NCERT can get a decent score in JEE Mains.
Students who are in class 12 and would also be appearing in JEE Mains exam mostly find it difficult to manage both their class/school and JEE studies. However, all these students have an advantage over others/droppers aspirants as there are many common topics in class 12 and JEE.
To benefit, they must identify all the topics that are common and study those first. Secondly, cover the topics that have more weightage in class 12 and complete them. Before a few days of JEE Mains, study specifically for JEE. This way, they can manage both class 12 and JEE efficiently.
The best way to handle tough topics in any subject is to study the concepts of that particular topic. The conceptual understanding of any topic gives us the clarity to solve theoretical as well as numerical questions from that topic. NCERT text books are the best material to understand the core concepts.
Explore colleges based on JEE Main
Want better recommendations?
There is a 90% more chance of getting best college recommendations by sharing preferences.
- Chat with our counselor
- Get your personalised list of colleges & exams matching your preferences
Explore more B.Tech exams with upcoming dates
26 Jul '26
26 Jul '26 - 27 Jul '26
14 Jul '26 - 25 Jul '26
23 Jul '26 - 25 Jul '26
23 Jul '26 - 25 Jul '26
27 Jul '26
News & Updates
Explore Other Exams
Jun '26 | JoSAA 2026 starts |
1 Jun '26 | JEE Advanced 2026 Result Date |
28 Jul '26 - 30 Jul '26 | Reporting of candidates select... |
1 Aug '26 | BITSAT 2026 Iteration-V Announ... |
9 Jul '26 | SRMJEEE Phase 3 Result 2026 |
4 Jul '26 - 5 Jul '26 | SRMJEEE 2026 Exam (Phase 3) |
28 Jul '26 | COMEDK 2026 Counselling: Round... |
28 Jul '26 - 31 Jul '26 | COMEDK 2026 Counselling: Round... |
24 Jul '26 - 26 Jul '26 | WBJEE 2026 counselling registr... |
28 Jul '26 | WBJEE 2026 seat allotment - Ro... |
Oct '26 | VITEEE 2027 Registration Start... |
Apr '27 | VITEEE 2027 Mock Test Release ... |
Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered Yesterday
No, JEE Main has not been mentioned as an accepted entrance exam for BTech at GLA University.
Candidates who want to apply for BTech at this institute must appear in their own entrance exam called GLAET.
Admissions are based solely on scores obtained in this exam along with performance in PI rounds.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered Yesterday
Yes, along with the CUET UG score, DIT Dehradun also select students based on JEE Main and on the merit of Class 12. On-campus admission counselling is conducted by the university, for which 25% of seats are reserved for Uttarakhand candidates who have scored 95% or above in Class 12. Direct admissi
R
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 days ago
A JEE Main rank of 2000 would get you admission to this institute if you belong to the General AI category. In the first round, the highest Round 1 rank acceptable is 34000 for this category. Hence, students in this category would need a rank of at least 34000 to be considered qualified for admissio
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 days ago
MIT-WPU JEE Main cutoff 2026 is released for admission to the BTech course based on the student's peformance in the JEE Main entrance exam. For the General AI category, the round 1 cutoff was 34000 for various BTech course branches. Students can check the table below to know the round 1 cutoff for o
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 days ago
If you belong to the General AI category, the JEE Main Round 5 closing ranks for BTech admission ranged between 24247 and 77123. Among all the branches, Computer Science and Engineering turned out to be the most competitive for admission, while Food Engineering and Technology was the least competiti
R
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 4 days ago
A JEE Main rank of 2000 will get you admission at this institute in the first round if you belong to the General AI category. For this category, the highest round 1 closing rank was 163769. So, admission with a rank of 2000 is possible. Check the table below to know the branch-wise cutoff 2026 for r
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 5 days ago
Yes, students can get admission at Shivalik University with JEE Main scores. To get admission in engineering courses at Shivalik University, students must have 65% in Class 12 with valid subjects. The final selection is base don JEE Main/ UKSEE. To get admission, students must fulfil the eligibility
G
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
No, JEE Main is not compulsory to get admission in BTech at Chanakya University. The university considers valid score of entrance exams such as: JEE, KCET, COMEDK or any other state entrance exam.
R
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
Yes, candidates can apply for BTech admission at Manav Rachna University, Faridabad without appearing in JEE Main. Aside from this entrance exam, MRU also accepts scores of SAT, MRNAT, MRSAT and CUET-UG for BTech admissions.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
Yes, the university opens distinct institutional counseling phases based on individual exam score availability for BTech admissions at KIET University. JEE Main high-rankers generally get priority seating selections during the initial registration weeks of the academic cycle. CUET applicants and mer
R
Contributor-Level 9
Currently - Deputy Manager, Content
Role - News and Feature Writer, Content Editor
Expertise - Engineering Education and Counselling
Mamona Majumder specialises in news and feature writing and content editing. With
Read Full Bio