Thursday 14 April 2016

The final stretch



Hi guys, Karan here. Hope you fared well in your JEE-Main. I realize that it's been quite a long time since our last article. But it's been very busy for us here this semester.
Some of you were asking for a post to discuss your preps in this period between JEE Main and Advanced. So here goes:
This is the final stretch of your preparation guys. This is a period where you can make up quite a lot of ground. You can also LOSE out on quite a lot of ground.
So, Rule #1 of survival: Don't let things get to your head. I mean it both ways. Don't be overconfident, but have faith in your ability. Also, don't get depressed because you did not do well in this paper or that one. Let your confidence be unshakeable for a bit, in a positive sense. Do not lose confidence is yourself; This is the biggest thing to ensure while passing through this period.
Now, onto things you should and should not do. This is fairly straightforward. Avoid using new books; Stick with the ones you have already covered. This will help avoid duplication of efforts, as most books have about 80% problems common. This also applies for the theory. So better to not experiment with new books in this period. Also, make sure you give A LOT of papers. It is imperative to practice good, Advanced level question papers in this period. Also, they should be attempted properly; As in, you should do both paper 1 and paper 2 for the full 3 hours, with a less than 2 hour break in the middle. Let paper practice become the source of new questions for you, instead of books. This way, you'll leaarn to handle surprises and tough questions thrown at you in the paper. Also, 6 hours of paper-solving can be taxing, so make sure you have your stamina with you till the final bell. This stamina can be developed only through paper-practice.
There's also the issue of exam nervousness. As hard as you might prepare, there will always be those butterflies in your stomach. No one is exempt from this. But you can minimise the impact of this nervousness by giving papers. The pseudo-exam atmosphere, with thousands of kids writing the paper with you- that cannot quite be recreated in a test. However, it is the best you could possibly do.
Go for some good, reputed All India Test Series. Only solving papers also won't suffice; It's more important to properly analyse each and every paper. You have to learn from your mistakes, and not repeat them in the actual paper. Evaluate your scores on the same day; Sit with the paper, and think where you are lacking. This is the way to root out the final flaws in your preparation.
There's one more important skill to be learnt during this period: The skill of sorting. You must be thorough enough with your weaknesses and strengths that you can immediately sort questions in the paper, and attempt your strengths first. This is not an innate thing, but has to be honed like every skill. Without this, JEE Advanced is a HUGE obstacle.
Also, some more do's and dont's:
KEEP REVISING INORGANIC CHEMISTRY THOROUGHLY. Students do not pay heed to inorganic chemistry much during this period. You keep revising it, at least 25% of the chemistry paper will fall into your lap.
GO THROUGH SYNOPSIS OF CHAPTERS. We all tend to forget something or the other from some chapter. It's very important that you keep as much theory as possible in your head. Revising so much during so little time is no mean feat, and it helps greatly if you have synopses of chapters writtem with you.
BE THOROUGH WITH OXIDISING AND REDUCING AGENTS IN ORGANIC CHEMISTRY. It's not a big surprise that Match-Matrix questions pertaining to this were asked in the past 2-3 years. It is baffling, with so many things to remember. Mug all of it up, is all I can say. It's EXTREMELY IMPORTANT from JEE-Advanced point of view.
That's all this time from my side guys. I understand this hasn't been as technical a post as you would have liked, but we have some serious time crunches at the moment. Feel free to post your doubts in the comments section below, and I'll surely try and answer as many as I can, as that would be simpler.
Study hard! It's the final stretch of an extremely long journey, and you certainly don't want to miss whatever awaits you at it's end, out of sheer exhaustion!
Cheers!