About the IIT-JEE Advanced Exam

The IIT-JEE Advanced Examination 2017 is scheduled to be held on Sunday, May 21, 2017. The examination will consist of two OMR based objective tests, Paper I and Paper II, each of 3 hours duration, aiming to test the candidates’ conceptual knowledge and problem solving abilities in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics.

The top performers in this examination will be considered for admission into the prestigious Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).

As exam day approaches, many of our students ask for guidance on what they can do on the last few days to boost their performance. Read on to find out more about what to do on the days leading up to the big day.

Analyze your strengths and weaknesses (SW Analysis)

One of the best ways of performing well in the JEE Advanced examination is by maximising your performance in your areas of strength and minimising mistakes in topics that you are weak at. To do this, we recommend doing a SW (Strengths/Weaknesses) analysis as follows:

• Collect the question paper of the last 3 Mock JEE Advanced tests you wrote, along with the solutions and your own responses to the questions
• Look at all the questions you got wrong or did not attempt. For each such question,
  • Try to see if you now know how to solve it (do not actually solve, think of how to start and check the solution to see if your approach is correct)
  • Identify why you got it wrong in the exam and fill in the reason as a code following this template (available in PDF with 2 columns filled in as sample) that checks the type of mistake you made. There are 4 types of reasons why people make a mistake –
    • Did not recall formula – R (Immediately check formula and revise)
    • Made a calculation error – C
    • Did not read the question properly – Q
    • Weak in the topic – W (Mark for revision)
  • Keep this filled template safely for you to refer just before the examination
• Each 3 hour paper should take around 1 hour to analyse this way
• In each subject, pick 3 topics where you made the maximum mistakes, especially those marked W or R. Those are the ones you should revise. Do not try to study anything else in the last week. You are better off improving 2-3 proven weak areas than trying to study everything

Pick the right exam strategy 

Many students ask us what the right exam strategy is. The truth is there is no one strategy that suits everyone. However, based on our experience with teaching students over the past few years, here is what our teachers recommend:

• Identify your subject strength order based on your performance in mock tests
• It is recommended to always attempt Chemistry first, followed by Physics or Mathematics based on whichever you are stronger in, because the Chemistry paper has been the easiest in the JEE Advanced Papers from the last 3 years
• Allocate time for the subjects as follows:
  • 10 minutes: Read the instructions, marking scheme and fill the OMR (in many centres, the invigilators often do not give the OMR before hand, so be mentally prepared for this)
  • 45 minutes: Chemistry
  • 60 Minutes: Your second preference subject from Physics/Mathematics
  • 70 Minutes: Your third preference subject from Mathematics/Physics
  • 5 Minutes: Buffer for checking

Revise weak chapters

Identify the 3 chapters where you made maximum errors of the type W (Weak in the topic)  or R (Did not remember formula). For each of these chapters, spend ~1 hour on revision –

• Revise and write down all key formulae/reactions
• Go through the NCERT textbook for that chapter in detail
• Go through IIT-JEE Advanced questions for that chapter from the past 5 years

Practice your JEE exam strategy

There is no use of an exam strategy in the IIT-JEE Advanced or any exam if you have not practiced it. Once you have finalized your exam strategy, you should at least practice 2 past year JEE Papers or mock JEE Advanced Papers with that strategy (choose one whose questions you have not seen). Take care of the following –

• The timing of the exam should be the same as the IIT-JEE Advanced. Paper 1 – 9 AM-12 PM, Paper 2 – 2 PM-5 PM
• You should not check the answer key for the first paper in the break. Try to relax during the break, just as you need to do during the JEE
• After the exam, do a SW analysis of your paper and make a note of your mistakes, using the template shared above

Last day tips

• Go through all the mistakes you made in the 4 mock tests you have analysed, once more. You can find this from your SW sheets that you filled after each paper. The key thing that will improve your performance is avoiding mistakes that you make frequently. Going through this list will make you conscious
• Make sure you know where the venue is & how to reach there, and have your admit card & required stationery
• Drink lots of water, have light food, fruits and vegetables to ensure you do not experience any health issues on the day
• Be away from the computer or mobile phone

Last week preparation timetable