Last Mile: Some Tips for IIT JEE 2010 Examinees

IIT JEE Blog: http://blog.123iitjee.com/

27 March, 2010

The Last Mile: Some Tips for JEE 2010 Examinees

• Do not pay too much emphasis on new topic. It is quite difficult to master a new topic in limited time. It is better to practice the areas that you are already familiar with. Remember that in quality exams it is the depth that matters and not just the shallow width.
• Take care of your health. The exam is just once a year as you know. The most important thing in this respect in this season is drinking water. A negligence on this account could be very costly.
• Expose yourself to new situations. Try to do new types of problems. Do not spend time in doing similar type of problems if you are comfortable with that particular type.
• Human memory functions on the principle of repetition. It is not good enough to review two days before the exam. Have a periodic review plan in place right now. The formulae should be in your finger tips.
• If you have habit of writing every step while doing a problem, try avoiding this habit for an objective exam where it is not valued. Writing every step takes time and may not be in your interest in this type of exam.
• Brush up with some quick calculations (like taking pi square as 10 approximately) and use them often. When options are not too close, approximate calculations can be very useful.
• Some unconventional methods are especially useful in objective questions like elimination of options, boundary conditions, variable substitution, dimensional analysis etc. It may be good idea of getting used to them.
• Have an open mind about the type of paper. Do not think that last year's pattern will be repeated. Read the instructions given in the paper carefully. Remember that everyone is in the same boat as far as this aspect goes. All you can do is to expose yourself to different situations.
• It does not make sense to leave the answer(s) blank to the question(s)  without negative marking (if any).
• You have been allotted certain amount of time for the test. There is no reason for you to submit the paper with significant time left. You need to fight till the very end.
• Put yourself under time bound test conditions to get accustomed. But, too much of blind test taking may not help especially at the expense of solid conceptual foundation. Only deep understanding & the ability to face new situations can get you through JEE.
• Put aside fear of failure (if any) or negative thoughts (if any) by telling yourself that your job is to do to the best of your abilities, rest is beyond your control.
• Class 12th students writing exam this year thinking that there is little gap between the dates of board exam getting over and the JEE, leaving very less time for 11th portion revision and hence are reluctant to write JEE this year should nevertheless write JEE without thinking about, "What will others say?" If your assessment of your potential is incorrect then you may end up spending one attempt. As you know the current attempts for JEE are limited to two.