I took JEE Advanced two years ago. I remember that I was sweating profusely in the examination hall. The examiner saw me and asked, “Nervous?” but I chose not to respond.
As the clock struck 9, he started distributing the test booklets and I kept my fingers crossed hoping for the best. I had barely scored 170 in JEE Mains so had to do well in this paper. When I got the paper, the instructions were:
Question Paper Format
The question paper consists of three parts (Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics). Each part consists of two sections. Section 1 contains 10 multiple choice questions. Each question has four choices (A), (B), (C) and (D) out of which ONE OR MORE THAN ONE are correct. Section 2 contains 10 questions. The answer to each of the questions is a single-digit integer, ranging from 0 to 9 (both inclusive).
Marking Scheme: For each question in Section 1, you will be awarded three marks. If you darken all the bubble(s) corresponding to the correct answer(s) and zero mark if no bubbles are darkened. No negative marks will be awarded for the incorrect answer in this section. For each question in Section 2, you will be awarded three marks if you darken only the bubble corresponding to the correct answer and zero marks if no bubble is darkened. No negative marks will be awarded for incorrect answer in this section.
These instructions were perceived differently by different candidates. Some thought that since the entire paper is nonnegative, they could have an upper hand in the exam if they are lucky while others felt that 10 MCQs with multiple answers meant that it was quite tough to score in this section as there is no partial marking scheme for multiple answers. So it was clear that IIT wasn’t going to distribute marks for free among the candidates. Though objective pattern, yet JEE asked subjective questions through 10 integer type questions.
The instructions for second paper were:
Question Paper Format: The question paper consists of three parts (Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics). Each part consists of two sections. Section 1 contains 10 multiple choice questions. Each question has four options (A), (B), (C) and (D) out of which ONE is correct. Section 2 contains three paragraphs each describing theory, experiment and data, etc. Six questions relate to three paragraphs with two questions on each paragraph. Each question pertaining to a particular passage should have only one correct answer among the four given choices (A), (B), (C) and (D). Section 3 contains four multiple choice questions. Each question has two lists (Lits-1: P, Q, R and S; List-2: 1, 2, 3, and 4) The options for the correct match are provided as (A), (B), (C) and (D) out of which ONLY one is correct.
Marking Scheme: For each question in Section 1, 2 and 3, you will be awarded three marks if you darken only the bubble corresponding to the correct answer and zero marks if no bubble is darkened. In all other cases, minus one (-1) mark will be awarded.
It was obvious that the second paper would definitely be an entirely negative paper. It was also clear that JEE is no longer a test of your knowledge or memory but an examination of the application of concepts which you have studied, with comprehensive and analytical skills.
An engineering aspirant must be ready for “surprises”. JEE is full of surprises, there’s no fixed paper pattern, even the total marks or marking scheme of the paper is not fixed. It changes every year.
A candidate should be able to tackle a variety of questions and should not panic or be nervous on seeing tough questions in the paper. With a little bit of imagination, tactical thinking and presence of mind, one can solve the tough questions.
Just remember one thing, never give up till the end. Your battle doesn’t end until the second paper of JEE is over. So stay focused and if you are determined, success is sure to come.
Wish you all the best.
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