NEET 2023 Time Management Strategy: How to Best Utilise Extra 20 Minutes Added to Total Duration

NEET Time Management Strategy

NEET exam pattern had undergone a crucial change last year. The total duration of the exam was increased by 20 minutes. Now, the total duration of the exam is 200 minutes, or 3 hours and 20 minutes. Hence, students planning the NEET 2023 time management strategy must keep into account this factor. Although 20 minutes is not much, given the highly time-pressed exam, even a little extra duration can bring huge relief to candidates. But without a proper plan, there would not be much value to it since test-takers would tend to spend the extra 20 minutes without putting it to judicious usage. To help students who would be taking NEET 2023, this article brings expert tips and advice on how to best utilise the extra 20 minutes in the exam.

NEET 2023 Exam Pattern

Before knowing about the NEET 2023 time management plan based on the extra 20 minutes, let us check the complete exam pattern and structure for the exam. This exam structure was introduced in 2021 and is expected to be continued for NEET 2023 as well. Internal choices were allowed wherein candidates have to attempt 10 questions out of 15 in Section B of each subject. The table below brings the NEET 2023 exam pattern and structure.

Clarifying the NEET exam pattern 2023, NTA has stated the following instructions:

• Section A  consisted of 35 questions in each subject (Question Numbers – 001 to 035, 051 to 085, 101 to 135, and 151 to 185). All questions are compulsory.

• Section B consisted of 15 questions in each subject (Question Nos – 036 to 050, 086 to 100, 136 to 150, and 186 to 200). In Section B, a candidate needs to attempt any 10 questions out of 15 in each subject.

• Candidates were advised to read all 15 questions in Section B of each subject carefully before they start attempting the question paper. In the case of a candidate attempting more than 10 questions, the first 10 questions answered by the candidate will be evaluated.

How to Manage Time and Utilise the Extra 20 Minutes in NEET 2023

The extra 20 minutes in NEET 2022 can play a crucial role in cracking the exam. However, you must not be too complacent with the few extra minutes. Saurabh Kumar, Chief Academic Officer (CAO), Vidyamandir Classes says, “As per the official guidelines of the National Testing Agency (NTA), there has been an increase of time by 20 minutes but in my opinion, the students should keep the same speed and pace which will help them finish their exam as per the old timings.” He further states ways and tactics to best use the 20 minutes through question selection and revision.

Selecting questions: The 20 minutes can be utilised in going through the NEET 2023 question paper. Selecting the right questions is the key. It is important to select the questions you want to attempt based on your strengths. While it is compulsory to attempt 35 questions in Section A, in Section B, you have to attempt 10 out of 15 questions. Hence, you need to ensure that you spend at least 10 minutes selecting the right question in each subject and section. Kumar says, “Students can use the extra 20 minutes time to carefully read and examine the questions before starting through which the students will have a clear picture of what and how to attempt in the particular question.”

Keeping adequate time for revision: Revision is one aspect which you must not let go of under any circumstance. You must keep at least 10 minutes to revise the entire answer sheet and ensure that you have not made any unwarranted errors. In such a case, it must be rectified to avoid negative marking. “The extra 20 minutes can be utilised to go through their paper and rectify any error if noticed,” Kumar suggests.

Revisiting questions: Given the complexity of questions, test-takers often find it difficult to solve a question they had selected initially. Since you cannot afford to spend a lot of time on a single question, you need to move on to the next question swiftly, without spending much time on it. These extra 20 minutes in NEET 2023 can be utilised by revisiting the questions and trying to solve them successfully.

Section-wise NEET 2023 time management strategy: Each subject carries equal importance in NEET, hence one must not undermine or downplay a particular subject as a skewed performance would not be able to fetch you the NEET cutoff marks. Hence, a proper time management strategy is necessary. Since there are three subjects, which can be further broken down into four (Biology subject is segregated into Botany and Biology), and each subject has two sections, the time can be roughly managed in the following manner:

You must ensure that you do not spend more than four to five minutes on a question. In case you feel stuck on a question, skip it and move forward. You can simply mark the question on the NEET question paper to come back for a reattempt, before starting the revision process.

Question-wise time management strategy: While some students prefer a section-wise time management strategy, others prefer a question-wise NEET 2023 time management strategy. Explaining this, Navin Joshi, Chief Content Officer, Physics Wallah says, “Divide the paper into three phases. In the first phase, attempt all the questions within 90 minutes. In the next phase of 40 minutes, attempt the questions which are calculation-intensive and require time to think. In the next 50 minutes, you can attempt the difficult questions and those which you had left out. Lastly, keep the 20 minutes for last-minute revision.”

NEET 2023 will be conducted on May 7 in over 500 NEET exam centres across India and abroad. The exam will be held in a paper-pencil-based mode or an offline mode. The NEET 2023 application process is expected to begin in the first week of March.

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