Three month preparation strategy for JEE Advanced 2020

Although students have had an extended preparation time ever since the country got into preventive lockdown on account of COVID-19 pandemic, with another three months to go for JEE Advanced, students are into the preparatory mode. This phase of preparation is quite critical, as students who are well-prepared will have to maintain their level of preparedness till August; students who are relatively less prepared will have to uplift their level of preparation to better their chances of selection.

The focus should be to shift gear and to move to the next level of preparation, fine-tune the learned concepts, plug loop-holes for every concept, the balance between speed and accuracy, review strengths and weaknesses, assess the national level position, ensure output maximisation and above all optimise the available time. It is imperative to prepare a systematic and full proof concept-wise revision plan. The following tips will guide you through your preparation:

Revision strategy 

During revision, remember it is the quality of time spent that is important and not just the number of hours. Engage in concept-wise revision and not chapter-wise. A lot of times questions are asked wherein multiple concepts are interlinked. Concept wise revision prevents missing out on anything, inadvertently, thus improving the quality of overall attempts. Revise the chapters of class 11 and 12 thoroughly.

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During revision, solve representative questions specific to a concept or chapter. By doing so, you will be reminded of certain concepts or techniques that you had studied earlier.

In JEE Advanced, the questions are of an objective type designed to test comprehension, reasoning, and analytical thinking ability. It is a concept-based exam hence students should be thorough with the concepts and its application. It also throws some kind of surprise every year mostly in terms of question type, pattern, or marking scheme. Hence, students should focus to solve questions by applying reasoning and analytical skills. They should refer to the previous year’s question paper bank.

Practice

It is important to remain in question-solving mode. After revising every concept or topic, solve a few unsolved questions. Devote sufficient time for every question.

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Keep a watch on the time taken to solve a question. Slowly develop speed. It will develop with more practice. You have to be quick yet accurate. Identify your mistakes and fix them.

Mock test

Do subscribe to a good national-level computer-based mock test series. Such test series should offer pattern proof tests so that it helps to mentally prepare for all kinds of surprises. A good test series will be comparing students across India on a common platform thus enabling them to discover their relative position nationally. It is a great way to do a self-check vis-à-vis other students. It is advisable to solve at least one all India mock test every week.

During these tests, it is important to develop a time management strategy to deal with the various sections; develop exam temperament, and adjust body clock.

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Success in JEE Advanced is directly proportional to the number of questions solved by you and not solution seen by you. Hence, you must not refer to the solution without solving a question by yourself. Give sufficient time to think logically and analytically to arrive at the solution approach.

Question selection is extremely crucial. An exam usually consists of easy, moderate, and difficult questions. A good quality national test series will give you a similar experience. Hence while solving mock tests develop an eye for selecting the right question. By quickly solving the easy and moderate questions you will be able to clear the cut-off. To go to the next level, attempt difficult questions. A judicious attempt should be practiced. The idea is to keep negative marks at bay.

Performance Analysis

Performance in the mock tests must be analysed, drawbacks must be identified and steps for improvement must be prepared. So each mock test should be followed by test analysis conducted by a subject expert. It will give insight to an ideal approach required to do well; map it with your performance and calculate the gap. Subsequently an action plan must be prepared to narrow the gap. Subject wise weak areas needs to be identified and revisit those concepts all over again to plug loopholes.

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Physical Fitness

In the current scenario, physical fitness is paramount. Regular exercise, a healthy diet, and good sleep are key aspects to remain fit. If possible practice meditation to develop inner calm, self-control, and power of concentration. This will matter a lot and will help you on the day of examination. Do not overstress/overstretch yourself. Take all necessary precautions as prescribed by our government and health department.

— The author is Centre Head, FIITJEE, Punjabi Bagh, New Delhi