Preparing for JEE – beginners guide
Teachers and institute: Needless to say, studying at a place where teachers are good is very important. But more than the teachers, academic system and processes are more important. Generally its seen that a balanced institute with good teachers and disciplined academic system produces better result than an institute with hyped and famous teachers but with no clear cut strategy and academic system . What is a good coaching institute depends on the city where you are living. Get the material, and also pay full attention in class. Do not go to tech-savvy places where they just give you a tablet and ask you to view the lectures… I had old-fashioned JEE profs who used to make learning fun, and they used the blackboard/whiteboard.
Coming to the timetable part. Since there are so many topics to study, there is no point in me detailing a topic-wise timetable. Instead I will give you a few points to keep in mind while making a timetable.
Planning: The key point about preparing for IITJEE is planning. You must have a clear idea of what you are going to do tomorrow and also have a broad idea of what topics you are going to cover in the next 3-4 days, or maybe even a week. By clear idea, I mean, for example, you must be absolutely sure which sections of which chapter you are going to read up, which problems from which Sheet/DPP you are going to try out, and how many of them you aim to complete as well. Further, clear idea means you must know at what time of the day you are going to do which of the tasks planned on that day. You should spend some 15-20 mins before you sleep everyday, outlining the tasks for the next day and the time slot for each task. Having regular study hours is very useful in this context. By broad idea, I mean you must know that in the next 3-4 days, you must finish chapters XXX in subject YYY and their corresponding problems from DPP/ Sheet no. ZZZ. Also, at the end of each day, review mentally what were the things that you did, and what are the pending items.
Theory: It is best to start a chapter/unit by studying the theory. Do not start with problems and think that you will learn the theory as the problem demands. Finish the theory off thoroughly. For example, I would take circles and parabolas as one segment of Conic sections and finish learning thoroughly all the formulae/concepts involved. Only then would I start attempting problems from circles and parabolas. You must be able to tell all the concepts/formulae from memory before you start attempting any problems.
Problem-solving: Please, please start with easy problems. Do not straightaway try to master the hard problems, it will not work. Firstly, doing the easy problems will help you verify that your concepts are correct, and you are using them correctly. Secondly, it will set your brain along the correct path of thinking required for that chapter/unit. Thirdly, and crucially, it will build your confidence. Doing hard problems first, and not getting them right will shatter your confidence. Then gradually raise the level, go to medium , and then to hard. In many JEE materials, if the problems are not already classified, then the first few problems are easy, and the last few ones are hard, with the difficulty level gradually increasing. If you do not get a problem , please spend as long as possible to get the solution by yourself. Do not immediately refer to the solution manual. This way, you will subconsciously internalize many ideas that would not have come to you if you gave up on the problem after just one/two attempts.
Time spent on studying: You don’t really have to slog 12 hrs after school and coaching classes on weekdays. You’ll die. Study maybe 6-8 hrs depending on how much time you have… but study effectively. No point sitting for long hours if your concentration levels are low throughout. Stay away from noise, crowd, people while studying. Some people (like me) require absolute silence while studying, while some may require some pleasant music. Find out what works for you. On Sundays, try spending 8-10 hrs and maybe a bit more if you don’t have any classes/tests etc.
Happy Reading 🙂
Team Matrix
