Are you prepared to take on the April 8 bogie?

Are you taking a crack at the IIT this year and if you are, then here are some pertinent tips and advice from the Director, Academics, Career Point Quota, Promod Maheshwari, President and CEO, Career Launcher, Sharad Awasthi and Programme director, Brilliant Tutorials, Promod Singh Rana. These men who have helped many students clear the enrance exam hurdle and here they answer some frequently asked questions, FAQs.

Excerpts from an interview given to CNBC-TV18
 
Q. What kind of question paper should we expect this year?

Maheshwari: The pattern of the question paper has changed for the IIT-JEE exam, which will be held on April 8. Each paper is of a three-hour duration. There will be two question papers and each paper will have Physics, Chemistry and Maths sections. Earlier, there were three papers - Physics, Chemistry and Maths.

As compared to last year, we are not expecting any changes in the type of questions. The question paper will have single choice, more-than-one-option, passage-based, fill-in-the-blanks and match-the-columns. Single choice and more than one correct choice are part of one paper. Passage-based, numerical response and match-the-column questions will form the second question paper.

Earlier, students used to devote two hours each to Physics, Chemistry and Maths. Now the students will have to manage the time well and handle three subjects at a time. Each paper will be divided into three sections - Physics, Chemistry and Maths.

Q. Should I focus on board exams or IIT-JEE?

Awasthi: The focus should be on board exams right now. Meanwhile, while you are preparing for your board exams, mark the important topics that you find difficult and need to revise. Make use of the time after writing board exam and prepare for the IIT. But for now concentrate on your board exams.
 
Q. Does one need to consult reference books besides text books to prepare for IIT-JEE?

Rana: You will have to take the help of reference books for organic and physical chemistry. However, for inorganic chemistry, NCERT textbooks are sufficient. You can refer to KL Kapoor for physical chemistry. As far as organic chemistry is concerned, one could prepare from Maurice and Buoy.

Q. Will there be questions with negative marking? How different will be the two question papers?

Maheshwari: Yes, there will be negative marking for questions. Weightage varies from question to question. To avoid negative marking, students must read the instructions carefully before attempting the question paper. A lot of students come to know about negative marking once they come out of the exam hall. If we look at the negative marking that was followed last year, the negative marking was done as follows - plus three and minus one for single choice questions. In case of more-than-one-correct-option questions, it was plus five and minus one. In passage-based questions, it was plus five minus two. There was no negative marking for numeric-response-type-fill-in-the-blank questions.

Following the changes in the IIT-JEE pattern - Maths, Physics and Chemistry paper have been spread into two parts each. If you haven’t fared well in one subject in the first paper, you have a second chance to do that. If you haven’t done well in one section, you can focus on Chemistry and Physics of paper one. In the first paper, you should focus on speed and in the second paper on concept application.

Q. How should I prepare for my Maths exam? What strategy should I adopt to solve the paper?

Awasthi: Strategy no. one is to invest equal time in solving the questions. Don’t sit on one question for too long. Even a paper like IIT-JEE will have at least 15-20 questions which are easy to solve. Devote only 2-3 minutes to one question.

Q. What are the important topics in Maths?

Awasthi: Maths has three parts: Calculus, algebra and coordinate geometry. About 80-90 per cent has been coming from them for the past four to five years, while trignometry has been used as a tool to solve these questions. Important topics in Calculus are application of derivative, definite integral and area under curve. In algebra, complex numbers is considered a difficult topic and questions come from this section. Questions have been asked from coordinate geometry in the past three years. These questions are relatively easy as compared to lines or circle questions that are asked frequently. So, revise them.

Q. What are the important strategies for solving the chemistry paper? Which topics should be covered?

Rana: There are certain topics in physical chemistry which are also there in Physics and in Chemistry. For example, heat and thermodynamics. In Chemistry, it is called thermodynamics. One studies about atom as part of Physics, while the same topic in given in Chemistry as atomic structure. So, if you do these topics, you will have dual advantage. There are other topics in Chemistry like chemical killers and electrochemistry or solid state - from where the problems have come in the past five years. In organic Chemistry, one should focus on hydrocarbons. You can also do alkaylides and carboxylic acids.
 
Q. What are the topics in Physics one should focus on, especially right now when there is little time left to prepare for IIT-JEE? What strategy should be adopted while solving the paper?

Maheshwari: In Physics, one can study thermodynamics, modern physics, light, waves and electrodynamics. Students should remember the chapters in this order. Usually, students give more importance to mechanics, which is not required. Mechanics is important but advanced questions of mechanics get very tough. If you analyze the questions that have been asked in the past five years, you will find that such advanced questions are usually not asked. And therefore, you are less likely to get difficult questions from mechanics. Just take out the phobia of mechanics from your mind. You focus on the topics mentioned above. Besides this, form a strategy so that you score a minimum of 35 to 40 per cent.
 
Q. How important is coaching for IIT?                                                   

Maheshwari: To decide whether you need coaching or not, you should first do a self-analysis. If you think you don’t need it, then you should not go for coaching. Study on your own. There is no rule as such. Many students who got selected never went for coaching.

Q. If one doesn’t get through IIT, what are the exams one should prepare for besides IIT-JEE?

Maheshwari: Besides IIT-JEE, you can also prepare for All India Engineering Entrance Exam (AIEEE). AIEEE will be held on April 29. There is a basic difference between IIT and AIEEE. While IIT-JEE judges on the basis of concept applications, AIEEE is all about speed game. You should focus on improving speed more than accuracy. In IIT-JEE, the stress is more on developing accuracy. AIEEE exam will be held 20 days after IIT. All students who are taking up this exam should prepare from the point of view of AIEEE. It is a myth that IIT and AIEEE are similar. One should take up mock tests after IIT-JEE.

Awasthi: You will not get more than 15 days to prepare for AIEEE. Mark important topics and revise them. Don’t do new topics. Clear your doubts. You should revise the topics that you have studied for IIT-JEE. Don’t waste your time in preparing new topics. It is time to capitalize on your strength and not time to learn new things. If you have joined a coaching institute, don’t go by what is being taught. Ask your teacher the questions where you have doubts and the questions that could not be solved in one attempt. Relax. Don’t get nervous.

Rana: Revisit the old topics which have studied during the past one and a half years. Don’t start with new topics as you wouldn’t have time to do new topics in depth. If you have done 20-25 topics in chemistry and you have to revise them in the 15 days that have been left, then finish two topics in one day. Cover both objective as well as subjective questions.

Q. What are the cut-off percentage marks for the last year?

A. The cut-off percentage has never been more than 30-32 per cent. There are two types of cut offs- individual cut-off and overall cut-off. In 2006, the estimated cut-off percentage for physics was 26 per cent, for Chemistry 30 per cent, Maths 16 per cent, whereas overall percentage was 29 per cent. Therefore, you are in a safer zone if you secure 35 per cent in IIT-JEE.