Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Important instructions during preparation.

During preparation it is very important that you keep in mind some basic important things. You would feel them unimportant at initial phase but they would really help a lot later.

1) Concentrate on what you read during college examination :- Your college examinations are the best way to prepare for GATE, unless you have read and understood every topic to its utter basics do not think it to be complete. If you are preparing for GATE the results in the university examination will take care of themselves (this is my personal experience and may vary from person to person). If you want to prepare for GATE then prepare with only one aim and i.e to understand and assimilate the subject and not for just clearing the examination, that will help you a lot. Although i do not preach that you should ignore your university examinations, but you should also keep somewhere at the back of mind that you are going to appear for gate. If you prepare for your examination in this manner it shall help you a lot for you GATE preparation.

2) Prepare a separate notebook :- This according to me is one of the most important thing which you have to do. This is not optional it is compulsory. You have to make a detailed notebook of whatever you prepare for GATE. Write down all the topics that you have read, draw nice detailed figures of the topics that have one. Writing down the numerical is optional. Do not clutter your notebook with too much numerical. Instead make notes of something that you have understood in your own words which you will never forget. Also keep the notes concise, do not copy the whole text from the book instead write it in your own words only. The note book should be self-sufficient, it should give you all the information that you require about a specific topic. You should have understood the topic perfectly once it is in your notes. The notes should be referred regularly. Prepare a separate note book just for the formula's if you can prepare one cause on the last moment you can refer it. I have met many people during my admission procedure and i found that everyone use to prepare notebook's so this is an essentiality.

3) Plan your studies :- Planning of studies is very important, you should plan on basis of the time period in hand and your level of comfort with various topics. The more comfortable you are the less time it should take to prepare. Give ample time for preparation considering all the external factors which may affect your studies. But prepare the subject thoroughly. Best method will be to start back calculating from the day of exam but you can plan in the manner you want to. Every subject should be given enough justice, do not skip or overlook any topic. The most important part of your planning is to plan your revisions. Revision of the topics you have already read is very important. Revision from my personal experience i can tell takes almost 2 months. So you need to start you revision at least at the end of November or start of December and if you need to do that you should finish your preparation by that time so you can easily back calculate the months you require to prepare. Also keep a track of what amount of course has been completed and what amount is left, this shall help you to plan your studies in a better manner. You can also allot percentages to various topics and track exactly what amount of studies are left. Well allotting percentages is more of a personal task as no one can decide the percentage you need to allot to a give topic its your own gut feeling.

4) Writing down paper :- Writing down papers is the best method to keep a track of your performance and to keep on motivating yourself to prepare for GATE. Try writing at least 2 papers in one month i.e on alternate Sundays if you can accommodate more its well and good. If you want you can join any of the test series of GATE-FORUM or BRILLIANT, but remember that they are nothing but tests the actual preparation has to be carried out by you. You may score good or bad in those papers is not of that much importance. Important thing is to appear for them and make an habit of sitting in one place for 3 hours with your mind full of concentration without getting bored. Also it helps you to get a feel of things to come during actual GATE. Writing the papers prepare you for the type of question you are most likely to face during exams, you will never have same questions being repeated ever in any of the test or final GATE but you will have an aptitude for the questions you will face. This is of much importance and should not be ignored.

5) For doubts and clarification refer authentic books :- We have used books during our college examination which would fetch us good marks but when preparing for GATE clearing our basic understanding of the subject is of utter importance. So it is imperative to opt for books which are considered "the book" for a specific subject. Whenever in doubt do refer this books, if possible prepare from them, but then its not always possible to prepare from the reference books as they are far more in detail then one may required during preparation for GATE. But having them for reference is very important.

6) Take help of your Professor :- Whenever their is a topic going on during regular lectures or during preparation that you fail to understand kindly get your doubts clarified, this is of much importance as this will clear your basics. The professor will give you inputs which would prove invaluable for your preparation. Their might be some facet you would be missing on the given topic which might be made clear by them so always stay in touch with them and get it clarified.

5 comments:

  1. Touching :) Good point!! I will maintain a small note book

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  2. IS THERE A WAY TO AUTOMATICALLY FOLLOW THIS BLOG. I mean, CAN WE SUSSCRIBE THIS TO OUR MAIL.

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  3. Yes you actually can. Just make a profile in www.blogger.com and then come to this blog and follow this blog.

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  4. hey tanmay...very good work...keep it up..all these stuff reminded me of my CAT preparation days..nd i thought all these points are valid for appearing in any competitive exams..i must admit that u were a great motivation for me..u used to go to library for preparing during coll days ..that really helped me to perform better...thanks...

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  5. I don't know what i should reply i can only say thanks...

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