Get set for NTSE 2

Partha Halder gives last minute preparation tips for the students appearing for NTSE Stage II exam on May 14

The National Talent Search Examination (NTSE) Stage II (National level exam) is just 10 days away and students who were selected from Stage I (State level exam) exam (which was held on December 18, 2016 in Delhi) will compete amongst each other at the National level. For majority of the students, it will be a first time experience of writing a National level competitive exam, understandably so most of them get a little unnerved with the thought of it. Here are a few last minute preparation tips:

Important shift in approach

Though the subjects and syllabi remains the same (ie of Class IX and X) between NTSE Stage I and Stage II exam, the difference lies in understanding the underlying nuances of both the exams. Here is a close look at both the exams that will throw up few critical shifts which must be factored in to do well in the exam:

• If we look at NTSE Stage I exam of Delhi state, there was no negative marking whereas there will be negative marking in the Stage II exam. Hence, students will have to be really cautious with their attempts. Random attempts and guess work must be kept at bay.
• In NTSE Stage I, there is no time gap given to students in between different subjects rather all the papers are given at one go; whereas in Stage II exam there is time gap of 30 minutes between MAT and language and 45 minutes between language and SAT. So the students can’t shuffle their time in between MAT and SAT and this makes it really difficult to score.
• The difficulty levels of the questions are much higher and get analytically inclined in NTSE Stage II exam compared to the Stage I exam.

Subject wise Preparatory Tips

NCERT books forms the basis of NTSE Stage II exam, especially Social Studies. So, it advisable to go through all the finer details of NCERT text books.

• MAT : It is the most important subject and carries the maximum weightage. Most questions in MAT are analytical and application based and hence a lot of practice is desired rather than theory. However, there are certain topics like clocks and calendar, where some points are required to be remembered. In the remaining weeks, revise through such topics.
• Social Science: Geography of Class IX portion holds more relevance and hence should be given more attention. There could be some questions based on map, so try to study the maps given in NCERT books whereas in History, general chapters like “Nationalism in India” and the “Rise of Nationalism in Europe” play an important role from the chapter/topic weightage perspective. So, a quick revision is desirable. Questions based on “Assertion – Reason” should be dealt with care.
• Maths and Science: Instead of focusing on chapter-wise practice, focus on a mixed bag approach. This will help in attempting questions from various chapters during the test thus enabling you to improve upon your analytical ability.

All India level Mock Tests

• One must subscribe to a good All India level Mock Tests and ensure that they write as many such tests as possible. It must be timed test (ie 200 questions in 180 minutes). This will enable to enhance both speed and accuracy; build test temperament; compare self performance with respect to others etc.
• Seek experts help after every test to analyse their performance. It will help to identify unforced errors/mistakes committed, plug loopholes, formulate remedial action and implement them for improved performance.

Revision holds the key

Students preparing for engineering/medical in Class XI, often forget and/or lose touch with subjects like MAT and Social Studies. Apart from that medical aspirants lose touch with Maths and engineering aspirant loses touch with Biology. Revise from the high quality and short notes that must have been created over the year. Conceptual weaknesses identified while writing mock tests must be addressed during revision. 

Do’s & Don’t’s

• Focus a bit more on the important chapters
• Do not waste time on a single question, as all questions are going to be of equal weightage
• Attempt/Mark only those questions that you are completely sure of the answers and leave those which you are not sure of the answer as there will be negative marking.
• Shuffle the time in between various subjects within the SAT section, so that you get more time for questions which involves calculations.

(The writer is director at FIITJEE, Punjabi Bagh)