Work on your speed and concept clarity to get through JEE Main 2019

By R L Trikha

With JEE Main 2019 April session exam round the corner, preparations must be in full swing. Check out some tips on how to effectively utilise the time before the exam.

Aspirants are already geared up for the JEE Main 2019 April session exam to be conducted by NTA (National Testing Agency) from April 7 to 12, 2019. With around 11.5 lac students appearing for the JEE Main (in both Online and Offline modes), only top 2.24 lac will be eligible to appear in JEE Advanced 2019. In such heavy competition, what should an aspirant do to have a thorough preparation? With hardly two days left for the exam, aspirants need to utilize their time efficiently. The time gap can be used in taking up online mock tests to analyse each subject’s optimum preparation.

For students who are repeating this year must have joined a coaching institute offering crash course, to be in tune with the current trend and pattern of JEE Main exam. Last minute rigorous revision and attempting several mock tests will help them get through all three subjects with concept clarification. This will help them in testing their clarity both concept wise as well as chapter wise.

Read: Dropping a year for JEE preparation could be a golden opportunity!

How will the JEE Main 2019 pattern be?

According to the prevailing trend, 30 questions from each subject will be asked, and hence selective study is never recommended. In Mathematics, more weightage should be given to calculus and algebra. Electromagnetism and mechanics in physics cover most of the proportion of questions asked in the JEE Main. And as per the previous trend, more questions are expected from physical and organic chemistry.

Take a look at JEE Main pattern here!

Remain ready for a tricky/new pattern of questions

If the concepts are clear and the preparation is thorough, there are no tricky questions as such, but there is no harm in being prepared for it. If something you have not come across during the mock tests, firstly do not panic, as this will be new for all the aspirants appearing in the exam.

If you come across one or more of the following type of changes in patterns of some questions, do not panic since you may easily solve such problems with clarity in concepts.

• The options may be marked differently or more than 4 options may be available.
• Match the following type questions
• Some  questions of  statement – assertion type
• Some time-consuming questions with lengthy calculations.

What is your status of preparation?

Ideally, a serious aspirant must have completed the entire syllabus by now and started online mock tests and practice papers. Need not panic if you have not yet started in the same way, however, the following points will ensure the success in JEE:

1. Systematic revision plan - Systematic approach towards the preparation of JEE Main along with a proper revision plan will help students get success.

• Identify the topics subject wise you have difficulties in remembering the formulae of solving questions
• Take up previous year JEE Papers or question banks of reputed sources of these topics and solve them in a planned manner so that you can practice as much as possible in the time left before the examination.   
• Keep a check on your problem-solving ability as spending too much time on a question you do not know will result in loss of time for the easier ones.
• Taking Mock Tests and having a real-time analysis have been found to be quite useful and students tend to learn from the mistakes and hence avoid repeating them on the D-Day.

2. Time Management - Sometimes the right strategy and time management play a vital role in deciding the rank for an aspirant. So, one must be quick enough to adapt to the level of the paper and act promptly.

3.   Exam Strategy - One basic strategy could be not to give full time in one go to a subject; instead, allocate some time so that one could review this subject again. E.g. For a 3 hr paper with 3 subjects, generally, students tend to give 1 hr each. It is advisable that they give 40-45 mins in attempting questions from any one subject they feel confident and move on to the second subject and then to the third. In the remaining time, the unsolved questions may be tried/reviewed. This would help in increasing the attempting and hit rate. However, students may develop their own strategy based on their preferences.

It’s highly recommended that one should always attempt theoretical/fact-based questions first and then questions which require calculation. It’s human nature that if you attempt a few confident questions in the beginning then you feel loaded with positive energy which increases your efficiency and speed for the rest of the paper. It is advisable to avoid lengthy numerical questions in the first 10 or 15 minutes of the exam.

JEE Main 2019 exam is being conducted by NTA in two phases - January and April. The first phase of JEE Main 2019 was held on January 8 (Paper 2), 9,10,11 and 12 (Paper 1). The NTA/percentile scores for Paper 1 and Paper 2 were declared on January 19 and January 31 respectively. JEE Main 2019 April exam is scheduled to be held from April 7 to 12. Check JEE Main 2019 exam dates.

JEE Main 2019 will comprise two papers – Paper 1 and Paper 2. While Paper 1 is for aspirants seeking admission to BE/BTech programmes at NITs, IIITs and CFTIs, Paper-2 is for architecture and planning aspirants. Take a look at JEE Main 2019 exam pattern and detailed syllabus here.

About the Author:

R.L.Trikha is the Director, FIITJEE.

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