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HOW TO PREPARE FOR COMPETITIVE EXAMS




“Questions in competitive examinations are not difficult,  they are just different”

Yes ! Most of the questions in competitive examinations are not difficult but they are just different & they require approach, a different mindset & that’s why it is a different individual who clears examinations. Each question has an element of surprise in it & student who is more adept in tackling surprise questions is most likely to sail through. In this short note we have tried to briefly answer the questions of student who have written to us asking how to prepare for competitive examinations. This article will help you establish new goals, develop a new sense of purpose and generate new ideas about you and your preparation.

FOUR STEPS OF SMART PREPARATION

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STEP 1 : Well thought revision plan, firm determination & positive attitude

Preparing for any competitive examination is like a war where thousands fight for the same seat & only a few succeed. The first & foremost step is to build a sound & feasible plan for preparation. Would you go for a movie without planning (which movie, which show, how to go etc). or in other words you sit in a bus without knowing where it is going. The obvious answer to both the questions is ‘no’. But then why most of us go ahead with our preparation without any plan. While making a revision plan:
·         Divide your entire time into a reasonable time chart with milestones in between & plan your studies accordingly. Do not overestimate the time you have. If you actually have the extra time you can always do more study, but if you plan more than what you actually have, you feel depressed and your entire plan might be collapsed. You are also advised to leave free time in between so that if any module gets delayed you don’t have to change the plan :
  • Study the trend of previous year question papers & draw marks distribution of each subject to find out which topics are most important & which are least. Give priority to important topics & try to put them in early stages of your preparation to avoid any possibility of them being left.
  • Review your plan periodically to find out if there are any lapses and loopholes to be covered up.
  • The next step is positive attitude and firm determination to achieve your goals. Somebody has rightly said “if you can perceive it, you can believe it, only then you can achieve it. If you see Indian Cricket Team, they are not less than any other team in experience & talent, but because of lack of positive attitude, firm determination, self-confidence they end up being loser most of the times. To summarize We   believe that most of the students fail not because of lack of ability or intelligence but because of lack of desire, direction, proper planning & discipline.
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Step 2 : Strengthening Fundamentals

  • Since most of the questions are based on fundamentals and their applications, so the first step to establish a solid base by mastering the fundamentals. For mastering the fundamentals you have to be focussed. Don’t join too many courses or books. Decide about the course & books after discussing with your seniors and friends and then stick to them.

  • When you start a new chapter, the learning curve is slow. That means you do not accomplish similar amount of learning every day even though you spend same amount of time everyday. Remember learning is always in jumps and before a jump happens, a certain amount of hard work has to be done. So even if your learning process is slow, keep studying day after day without getting discouraged and finally you will see jump in your learning.

  • All the subjects are equally important. Devote more time to subject / topic you are weak in (remember most of us tend to devote more time on areas we are strong and often shy away from weakness). In most of the examinations minimum qualifying marks are there for each subject. Hence make sure that you do not ignore any subject and allocate adequate time to each subject.
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Step 3 : Strengthening Application of fundamentals

  • Quality is more important than quantity : Doing 100 quality & concepts based questions is more important then doing 1000 questions which have not been selected carefully. Remember that the purpose is to sharpen problem – solving skills. Start with conventional method of problem solving skills but improvise constantly and build up your own shortcuts and ways of attacking a problem.
  • While practicing the problems always try to solve the problem on your own. If you are unable to solve problem do not hurry to consult the solution. Study the relevant theory again, paying attention to the fine points and the problem in the back of mind. Experience shows that studying the theory with a definite problem in mind is very effective and also sharpens the problem solving skills. Remember that directly going through the solutions is not going to help you at all. The key to solve  problem does not lie in understanding the solution to the problem but try to find out what clues in the problem lead you to the right explanation. In case you are not able to solve the problem try to find out the reason by analyzing the level of problem and practice more similar kind of problems so that you can master the tricks involved.
  • While solving problems try to strengthen and develop your conceptual understanding by analyzing deeply and correlating the problem with real life situations.
  • While practicing, identify your strong & weak areas (subject wise / topic wise / question wise). Testing your preparation, chapter by chapter, can do this. Through a structured test your should be able to diagnose which chapter, which concept and what type of problems you need to practice more.   
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Step 4 : Strengthening Speed / Strike rate & Examination temperament

  • Do each exercise and each question keeping time in mind. Always remember that in final examination it is important that whether you can solve the questions correctly or not but it is more important that are you able to solve the questions in shortest possible time or not. Always keep track of your average speed of solving question.
  • Please remember that both speed & strike rate are important for success. Continuously develop the ability to do things fast & accurately.
  • Keep interacting with people who are preparing. Since the competition is on National level it is important to compare your preparation  with other students preparing across the country.

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In short we can say that “ competition is not necessary test of knowledge of basic fundamentals only but it is a test of application of knowledge to solve surprise problems with perfect time & temperament management.
Pls share this with you nearby student who might need it.

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