Tips and strategies to prepare for JEE Main Exam

They say that a few years of hard work can shape a person’s future, and, in accordance with the current scenario of Indian Education sector JEE Main is one of those exams for which lakhs of teenagers across India toil day and night in order to get into the prestigious IITs, IIITs and NITs. But due to the very limited number of seats, only the top performers get in, which makes the competition much harder. Here we will explain  you Tips and strategies to prepare for JEE Main Exam.

So in order to succeed, only hard work is not enough. In lieu of the present scenario it can be pretty confusing and stressful for a student who has just started Class XI Science, to cope up with the mounting pressure of studies and the sudden potential jump from Class X to Class XI. So here are given a few tips and strategies that can ease the battle a little. 

First we need to know more about the JEE Main exam. According to the latest updates, JEE Main is conducted by the NTA (National Testing Agency) in two sessions every year. In 2020 the first session was conducted from January 6 to 9, 2020. The second session, as per the latest announcement by the Human Resource Development Ministry, might be conducted between September 1 to 6, 2020(although still debatable keeping in mind the current scenario). 

The exam is held for two separate papers- Paper I for B.Tech.(in engineering courses) and Paper II for B.Arch. and B.Planning. 

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JEE Main Question Paper pattern

Paper I for B.Tech. is held for a duration of three hours. There are 3 subjects- Physics, Chemistry and Maths, 1 hour for each.Total marks is 300,100 for each subject. Each subject section is given equal weightage in JEE, with 20 MCQs and 5 numericals in each section. 

Each MCQ is allotted with 4 marks(4*20=80) and each of the five numerical has 4 marks as well (4*5=20), thus allotting a total marks of 80+20=100 to each of Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. The MCQs have -1 negative marking for wrong answer but there is no negative marking in case of the numericals. 

Paper II (for B.Arch./B.Plan.) is conducted separately for 400 marks each. 

JEE Main Tips and strategies

Coming to Tips and strategies to prepare for JEE Main Exam , there are several points that need to be kept in mind. 

The only things important to crack JEE and get a good rank, other than hard work, are perseverance and consistency. According to the highly esteemed award winning JEE trainer Shri Anand Kumar, the following things are of absolute necessity: 

▪Staying motivated, staying positive. 

▪Don’t lose hope if unable to solve a question. Read the theory again and try solving a second time. 

▪Focus on concepts. 

 And. 

▪Most importantly, keep working hard. 

Given below are some tips that most teachers recommend, and being an engineering student myself, I used to find these especially helpful during my JEE days. 

a)Time Management-Time management is of utmost importance in case of such competitive exams. Methods like option elimination, dimensional analysis, etc. can often help us to identify the correct option without even solving the problem. This saves a lot of time. 

b)Solving MCQs- Students must practice MCQs on a daily basis to help increase their MCQ problem solving ability. Also, on solving more number of MCQs, students get familiar with common ideas and concepts on which questions are frequently asked, and the tricks to solve them. Practicing previous year JEE questions often prove to be very helpful. 

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c)Try to grasp the concept- There is a huge syllabus to cover and comparatively a far less time. So instead of trying to mug up the chapters if we just focus on understanding the process and having a clear concept, it becomes easier for us to solve tricky problems. 

d)Smart work and hard work- both required- It is equally essential for a student to know which parts to leave out. Keeping the entire huge syllabus in mind, it is not possible for anybody to finish it all. Just make sure that you don’t leave out too much, and the other portions are studied well enough to cover up. This saves up a lot of time and helps us to focus on the important areas.

Smart thinking is also needed during the time of JEE Main itself. If stuck on the same question for more than 4 minutes, it is always better to leave it and attempt the others. The time and efforts that we waste into solving a single difficult question can instead be put into solving several other easy ones. (Don’t get caught up in your ego!) Since all questions carry the same weightage of 4 marks, the latter option is always suggested. 

e)Avoid guessing- If the answer to an MCQ is unknown to you, just skip the question. Don’t just randomly guess an answer out of the options. It is more likely for such an answer to be wrong and that leads to deduction of 1 mark. Avoid negative marking as much as you can. However, for the numerical it is preferable that students attempt all of them since there is no negative marking involved. 

f)Create a gist copy for each subject– Everything that you have studied about the subject since Chapter 1, including all the special notes, short tricks and exceptional cases, should be jotted down into a single copy. So that on the day before the main exam you can revise the entire syllabus at one go by just taking one glance at that copy. 

g)Mock Tests- Take as many mock tests as possible. This will help you to assess yourself and know your progress with respect to other students, so you know how much more you need to improve. Also, taking mock tests will make you more familiar with the JEE exam pattern and you will feel more confident on the big day. 

Also, last but not the least 

h)Formulate your own pattern of attempting questions- A very limited time is available, as we all know. The strategy that I personally followed and would always recommend anyone is: start with the subject you’re most comfortable at. Scan the questions and attempt the easiest ones first. This will make you confident and will boost your flow. Next attempt the questions with medium difficulty level. Save the toughest ones for the last. Apply this strategy in your mock tests and see whether you are comfortable in it. That’s all about Tips and strategies to prepare for JEE Main Exam.

The following are just a few tips. The ultimate result of course depends upon the student himself/herself and how much time they are ready to dedicate for JEE preparations. By working hard, following a schedule diligently and, obviously, with lots of MCQ practice, it is just possible that you might find yourself seated in an institution as prestigious as an IIT. 

Good Luck!