Attempting the paper : Time Management

Greetings Readers

Back after a long time to the blog.Was busy with AIIMS 3rd counseling and Rajasthan State counseling in the past 7-8 days.Continuing with my previous post on 'Attempting the paper', today I shall elaborate on the way one gives the actual paper after preparing for it and how to beat time and stress while attempting it.

Time.................................................This is the single biggest problem of all students preparing for competitive examinations like JEE,NEET and AIIMS. "Already the paper comes so unexpected sometimes and you expect me to complete it each time in the same 3 hours!".That was what I thought during my preparation phase.Sometimes the paper came so lengthy that even if I knew how to solve those problems,I couldn't score good because all could not be solved in the time.

Second,there are 3 subjects here. The order of doing PCB subjects is a dilemma with every different paper.Also,sometimes Physics come calculative,sometimes Chemistry comes with confusing options and sometimes Biology comes with out of syllabus questions.The question comes,"How do I decide then and there at that moment which subject to do first,which later,which questions to leave and which to attempt later?".

Answer : Yes,this is a complex situation of choosing instantly what to go for and you don't have much time to separately think about that.The three things you need to do are - Practice,Analyse and Gain Experience(dubbed PAGE strategy).Keep giving papers of NEET/AIIMS pattern.If you are not able to complete the paper,there may be two reasons-First that your solving speed is slow and second that your solving speed is decent,but the order in which you do PCB subjects doesn't suit you.

To solve the first problem,you can give some tests where they give you exact stats of each subject.Like on which subject you are spending more time,which topics are bothering you,which questions you took a lot of time etc.That may help you in improving in the areas where your speed is slow.Also,if not interested in online tests,you can setup a timer at home while you are solving questions,so as you become alert in a similar way as you are in exam hall.Solve books,materials and DPPs as if you are giving the actual exam.

For the second problem,I recommend you to try all possible orders of solving PCB subjects in your upcoming tests and compare the results.In my case,in the first test in 2014,I solved the paper as it came - Chem then Physics then Bio.Did it till two tests.But,in the third test a very lengthy paper set the fire on.Chem took away a lot of time,Physics took even more and had to rush through Biology in the last 30 min.Filled the OMR like hell fast.Left this strategy that day only!Next took the most famous order of paper solving among medical aspirants - Bio then Chem then Physics.Few tests went better than the previous ones,but lengthy Chemistry papers made me too tired to jump on Physics papers directly(even the easiest ones).Physics marks took a big dip and went to 80-100 range.Then I took up an almost unheard order - Chem then Bio then Physics.

You may say why you took it?Reason was that it suited me the best.Chemistry was a personal favourite subject,at par with the likes of Biology.Doing Chemistry correctly meant getting good marks in addition to Biology.2 subjects were insured of safety.Also, Biology served as a break after all those exhausting Physical Chemistry calculations,helping to gear up for Physics.Also, left with good time to attempt again some 7-8 questions in addition to filling the OMR sheet. Used this strategy till the end and even in NEET 2016.

Told you this story so that you to encourage you to go and experiment and find the plan that suits you the best.

One more thing - OMR filling! It may seem a small thing, but it is the actual thing that goes after all your efforts are done for checking.Its the mirror image of your efforts and hard work.Many students fail to complete filling up the OMR sheet in the end when lengthy papers come.Others who fill OMR as they do the paper,sometimes fill in options of questions,they were unsure of.So what to do now?A different approach exists.You should solve all the questions which you are completely sure of as "First round" in almost 60%-75% of time and fill in the options you are confident of.Then,in "Second Round",keep doing more complex questions and fill the OMR as you do it.This was the technique I adopted when I came in class 12,and which I used in NEET 2016 and AIIMS 2016.Allen Kota students too are recommended to do the same.Also,its never a must to solve and mark all the questions. Leaving the time consuming questions is also a thing that practice and time will teach you.So keep that in mind too.

Stay motivated and encouraged and keep practicing and improving.

Do post your doubts and queries in the comments section.I will try my best to answer them.

Till then

Bye!