Mock tests are tried and tested strategy, but don’t forget to catch and fix your mistakes too.
The exam season has begun. The next four to five months will see students going in for various scholastic and competitive exams. UPSC IAS exams will be held in the June of 2018, This is also the time of the year when all serious aspirants attempt Up PCS Exams UGC NET Exam Mock tests to optimise their performance. Amidst all these, a point which is largely ignored by a student is self-analysis.
When we write an exam we commit mistakes which we fail to recognise later; we hence run the risk of repeating them in the future. A thorough self-analysis is the way forward. It should cover the following areas:
Concept-wise tracking: Gain insight on how well a concept has been mastered Reasons for losing marks: Root-cause analysis is important. Seek your teacher’s help at this juncture, if necessary.
Average time taken to solve a question: Speed and accuracy have to be in sync. Speed with less accuracy is pointless. Low speed with high accuracy will affect overall performance.
Find a middle ground Performance rating: Rate your overall performance in a mock test on a scale of 1-10 based on your level of satisfaction
By systematically following these steps, you will start approaching mock tests with a whole new perspective. Your focus will gradually shift to a learning approach. Next, you’ll need to follow the stepsbelow:
Remedial measures: Once you have tracked your concept-wise preparedness and have identified the loose ends, it’s time to revisit those portions of the chapter and your revision notes.
Marks earned: If you find that you have scored more from a specific topic, or that you have scored more on specific types of questions, you have to devise a plan to distribute your dependency across topics. So, on a given day, irrespective of the question distribution, you will end up doing well across topics.
Marks lost: This will clearly tell you the topics/type of questions that you need to focus on.
Iterative performance rating: Verify whether your latest attempt shows any improvement from your last mock test. An upward trend will give you the much needed confidence for optimised performances in future attempts. Strive for a 10 on 10 level of satisfaction.
Attempt as many mock tests as possible.
If you do the above, the actual exam should appear to you as just another mock drill, thus insulating you from exam-related stress and helping you maintain your peak performance level.
The author is secertory/Manager of PROMAK FOUNDATION (NGO)
Lucknow Centre.
