The next two weeks are going to be very crucial for every student who will be taking CSE Prelims on 10th Oct 2021. For the last one year, you have been waiting for this day. This article intends to help you chalk out your next two weeks so that you utilize them optimally and give your best on the D day. Guidelines for next 15 days
As humans, we tend to spend a lot of time in the past or the future. This is more true for students. As the exam approaches, we spend much time thinking about what more we could have done in the entire year or repent on the amount of time we wasted during last year of preparation in watching movies, chatting, etc. And thus we spend much time left in projecting into the future and wondering about what may happen. Guidelines for next 15 days
Thinking of the past and future will make you feel nervous and anxious. Anxiety doesn’t help. The key to solving this problem is of course to live as much as you can in the only moment that you ever really live in and control. This moment right now. Focus on the present moment. Don’t think and speculate about what would happen on the day. Guidelines for next 15 days
Strategy for remaining calm and focusing on the present moment:
- Focus on what is in front of you: Just focus on what you are reading now. More on what to read in next 15 days has been discussed below.
- Focus on your breathing. Take a couple of deep breaths every half n hour and just focus your mind on your inhaling and exhaling. This will align you with the present moment once again.
- Develop an attitude of surrender in next 15 days: It is easy to get stuck in a loop of old memories. You may want to move away from them but there is a feeling there that brings them back over and over. So you need to decrease the power that feeling has over you. And you don’t do it by fighting it. You do it by surrendering to it. Observe the feeling in your mind and body without labelling or judging it. Just being aware of negative feelings will dissolve them.
- Remind yourself of the above quote every time your mind wanders into the future. Guidelines for next 15 days
- You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.
- Tomorrow will take care of itself, so take care of today, otherwise tomorrow will take ill-care of you today — thus losing today.
- If you lose today, you are lost every-day. Thus take charge of your day
One day before the exam:
Do’s:
- Try to relax by meditating and praying. It helps to cool the nerves.
- Spend some time with family and friends who will boost your confidence.
- Check your centre and travelling plan in advance. Reaching before time at the centre is of paramount importance.
- You may revise some important stuff, but don’t strain yourself.
- Get your admit card, pen ready. Always keep extra copy ready .Put them in the bag which you would carry to exam.
- Go for evening walk or engage in some light physical activity so that you are tired and get good sleep automatically.
- Take dinner before 8 and get to bed by 9:30 PM. Guidelines for next 15 days
Don’t:
- Never take too much tea, coffee or cigarettes (in case anyone is smoker) on day before exam. Consuming these in large quantity will cause difficulty in sleeping and will increase anxiety.
- Never sleep during the day, because it may create difficulty in the night. A sound sleep in the night is important for optimal performance during exam.
- Don’t rely on any stranger to get to exam centre.
- Don’t discuss about exam with other aspirants one day before.
On the day of the exam:
- Get up early in the morning.
- Go for morning walk if possible to get some fresh air.
- Meditate for 5 mins and thank God for everything you have in life.
- Feel satisfied that you have done your best.
- Have a sense of gratitude towards your teachers, parents and friends who have helped you during preparation.
- Get ready, before leaving home again cross check admit card, pen, etc.
- After reaching centre check your roll number in the notice board ,note down the floor number and room number carefully
- Once you enter the room, check the roll number on the desk carefully.
- After OMR sheet is given, check if it’s damaged, return immediately if so.
- Read instructions and fill your details carefully.
- Never fill OMR in haste .Double check it.
- Once the bell rings, take a deep breath and thank God and then starts attempting the paper.
During exam:
General guidelines
Round1
- Never mark OMR before reading all options given in question.
- Read the question twice if possible before marking the answer.
- Be careful of the wordings like correct /incorrect statements.
- Solve and mark questions you are confident about in the first go.
- In this round don’t spend time on questions which you have not even heard about, this happens in ancient and medieval history sections and sometimes in science and tech section. Speculating the answer in the first go will waste precious time.
- Circle questions on the question paper where you are not confident but have some idea, also circle the option which you think is right.
- Cross the questions which you have no idea at all.
- If you have really prepared well, I am confident that in the first round you will mark around 50-60 questions in the OMR and circle 25 -30 questions.
- Keep track of time. After every thirty minutes, do take a cursory look at how many questions you have done and speed up if needed.
Round 2
- Devote 30 sec each and read the circle questions and options again and see if in the second reading as well you feel the same option is correct .If this is the case you may go ahead and mark it on OMR.
- If in second round you come to conclusion after reading the question that some other option is correct that this is a dicey situation. Personal call should be taken in this situation.
- At the end of round two you will have marked 75 -80 questions in OMR.
Round 3:
Again the read the crossed questions and try to solve them by option elimination method if possible.Don’t take too much risk in such questions because the probability of getting them wrong is very high.
So what should you read in next 15 days?
- Focus on basics .Don’t waste time solving random free mocks .Every second is precious now.
- Revise subjects where there is more certainty of asking questions seeing the trend of past few years like Polity, Economy, and Modern India. This will pay you rich dividends.
- Take test only to boost your confidence, in this regard best thing to do would be solve previous years CSE prelims paper
- Try to relax by meditating and yoga .This would bring out positivity in you.
- Visualize clearing prelims every day. Train your sub conscious mind by visualizing exercises.
