Study Techniques for JEE Advanced

In this blog we will be taking a deep dive into the various different study methods you can use, in order to get the maximum possible marks in JEE Advanced. Normal studying is something everyone does, but when your study methods, increase in efficiency, and you are able to cover things in a better manner, that is when you will get the max results.

Why study for Advanced from the beginning?

Most people make this mistake where they are solving Mains PYQs, and trying to maximise the number of mains questions they have done, in order to increase mastery, improve speed, and get their score to 220+ in JEE Mains

Let me tell you why this does not work, JEE Mains questions are of very basic level compared to JEE Advanced, and they are straightforward, just one concept being applied at a time. JEE Advanced questions test in depth concept application, and they often have the combination of multiple concepts in a single question. When you regularly solve advanced problems, you get used to solving higher level thinking questions, Mains questions now start seeming quite easy for you, maybe because you did not solve too many mains questions, hence you are not fast at them, but speed is not a big problem, and can be fixed even in the month before JEE mains, but Advanced level thinkinging, is very hard to build, and even in the 4-5 months between mains 1st attempt and JEE Advanced 2nd attempt, you will not be able to truly become confident with JEE Advanced problems

Hence, from the very beginning, solve for JEE Advanced Mastery, and JEE Mains will take care of itself.

The importance of timed practice

Almost anyone, when given infinite time, can eventually figure out how to crack a JEE Advanced problem, the real challenge lies in solving it, in a short amount of time. Whenever you do question practice, pick 10-20 questions, and give yourself 5 minutes per question (if they are of JEE Advanced Level) and based on that, decide the total time, when you have spent the total amount of time, then you have to stop solving, no matter how many you could or could not do. The question solving should be similar to a real exam environment, you are not trying to solve the toughest questions, you are not trying to get the best possible answers, your only objective, is to solve the maximum number of questions because they each carry the same weightage. The reality is, you will have to leave a few questions, just because they seem too lengthy, you will have to let go of a few questions mid way, because the method you thought could get it solved, is not working, this will happen, and your timed practice is just training for the real exam, where these exact scenarios come up, some get too caught up in their ego, and try to solve every question that they start, this is not the right way to go about things. Do frequent timed practice in order to maximise your ability to solve in the most efficient manner.

Repeated Revision is better than Perfection

When you first begin a chapter, you get too obsessed about trying to do everything at once, you try to solve 100 pyqs, 50 reference book questions, full theory, from two different books, as well as coaching modules, all in one go, before moving onto the next chapter

This type of studying can lead to forgetting concepts later on, it is much better, to study in chunks, first theory and notes from coaching/book, then move onto 25 mains and 25 advanced pyqs, then a week or two later, do more reference book questions, then a week later study some theory from another reference book, to improve your advanced level understanding. Similarly repeat the revision process anytime a test comes up, and solve a good number of advanced level reference book problems from that chapter, this will help you to level up

Short Notes

Make short notes only after you have gained a decent understanding of a topic, atleast 100 questions done in total, 50 JEE mains and 50 JEE advanced level, only then can you truly make efficient short notes, they should be 2-3 A4 Pages long, and you should be able to go through them in 15 minutes, revise them daily after they are made, for 3 days, then revise them once every week. To truly master short notes you can use the fibonacci method, where you revise it one time on day 0, then once on day 1, then again on day 2, then with a gap of 2 days on day 4, then with a gap of 3 days on day 7. I think you get the point, the revision days are with a gap of 0,1,1,2,3,5,8,13 etc, that is the fibonacci series.

How to make sure you achieve maximum efficiency in JEE Advanced Preparation

Implement all the techniques mentioned above, be mindful about your study hours, your overall syllabus completion, and your progress, do not fall into a cycle of zombie like studying where you are just staring at books and questions with no solution in sight. Implement the methods mentioned above in order to truly gain mastery over JEE Advanced.

KEEP STRIVING