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How to prepare for IIT-JEE?

If you are interested in Science and Maths, or you have already chosen Maths, Physics, Chemistry (PCM) stream after 10th class, then there’s a high chance that you are aiming to clear IIT-JEE exam. As scope for pure science research in India is limited and a little off-beaten, most science students want to become an engineer and secure a safe career.

Or maybe you are really interested in engineering – the application part of pure science. There’s a lot of scope of research and innovation even here. Getting into IITs, NITs, or such other good colleges ensures that you get a brand name attached with you.

It will hep you a lot in any exam interview you will appear in your life. It will help you get loans easily from banks if you want to become an entrepreneur later on in your life. Good people will like to collaborate with you. In the short term, you will get a good company and package even before you complete your B. Tech. or B. E.

Whatever be your reason and aim of life, if you want to become an engineer, you must aim for IIT-JEE. Once you prepare for IIT-JEE exam, you can appear for any other engineering exam too, without any extra preparation.

About Me

I appeared in IIT-JEE, 2001 and got an AIR of around 6000. It was not good enough for me to get admission in any IIT, as at that time you had to secure a rank within 2500 or 3000 to get into one of the 6 IITs. I started preparing for IIT after 12th. That was my biggest mistake. However, I got around 1500 rank in UP State engineering entrance exam, and got a pretty good college.

I did my B. Tech. from HBTI, Kanpur in 2006. Got selected in a software company in 3rd year itself at an age of 21 years. I was a software engineer for a few years till 2009. Then I joined MBA program of IIT-Mumbai in 2009.

Now, I develop websites using JAMstack, and apps using Angular (JavaScript) and Ionic. I also train students for Aptitude exams such as GRE, GMAT, CAT, and Physics for IIT-JEE.

In this article, we will try to acquaint ourselves with IIT-JEE exam pattern, and understand how to prepare for it. Our focus will be more on B. Tech/B.E.

So, let’s begin.

Table of Contents
  • IIT JEE Exam Pattern
  • Study Material for IIT JEE
  • Subject-wise Preparation Strategy for IIT JEE

IIT JEE Exam Pattern

IIT exam is held in two phases – IIT Mains and IIT Advanced. In both the phases, students have to face three subjects – Maths, Physics, Chemistry

The exam is conducted in online mode, i.e. it’s a Computer Based Test (CBT).

IIT JEE Mains Pattern

IIT JEE Mains has three papers:

Paper 1

For B. Tech or B.E. courses. 75 questions in 3 hours.

25 questions each from Maths, Physics, Chemistry. Each section has 100 marks. So, total marks are 300. In each of the three sections:

  • 20 questions will be objective type, i.e. Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) and
  • 5 Numerical Value Questions, wherein you will need to fill in the numerical answer in the blank space. (You will be given 10 questions, out of which you will have to attempt 5)

There are 4 marks for correct answer, and no marks for unattempted question.

In case of MCQs, -1 marks will be deducted for incorrect answer. However, there will be no negative marking for Numerical Value Questions.

Paper 2 for B. Arch courses

82 questions will be there, and a candidate will need to answer 77 questions out of these in 3 hours. The distribution of questions is as follows:

  • 50 Aptitude MCQs, for 200 marks.
  • 25 Maths questions, for 100 marks. 20 MCQs and 10 Numerical Value Questions will be asked. You will need to attempt only 5 out of these 10 Numerical Value Questions.
  • 2 drawing test questions, for 100 marks

So, total marks are 400.

There are 4 marks for correct answer, -1 for incorrect answer and no marks for unattempted question.

Note

The whole exam is conducted online, except the drawing test. Drawing test is conducted in offline mode.

Paper 2 for B. Planning courses

Its pattern is similar to Paper 2 conducted for B. Arch.

105 questions will be there, and a candidate will need to answer 100 questions out of these in 3 hours.

The distribution of questions is as follows:

  • 50 Aptitude MCQs, for 200 marks
  • 25 Maths questions, for 100 marks. 20 MCQs and 10 Numerical Value Questions will be asked. You will need to attempt only 5 out of these 10 Numerical Value Questions.
  • 25 Planning-based MCQs, for 100 marks

So, total marks are 400.

For MCQs, there are 4 marks for correct answer, -1 for incorrect answer and no marks for unattempted question.

For Numerical Value Questions, there are 4 marks for correct answer, and no marks for unattempted question.

IIT JEE Advanced Pattern

IIT JEE Advanced is a little more difficult and trickier than IIT JEE Mains. Here, pretty creative questions are asked, and so students need to use their reasoning powers and apply the theory in innovative ways.

It has two papers, both of which are conducted in online mode, each having 54 questions. There will be questions from Maths, Physics, and Chemistry in both the papers. Just like JEE Mains, here also you will encounter two types of questions – MCQs and Numerical Value Questions (NVQs).

Paper 1

There are 54 questions for 183 marks. Total time is 3 hours.

There are three sections in this paper:

  • Maths – There are 18 questions.
  • Physics – There are 18 questions.
  • Chemistry - There are 18 questions.

In each of the three sections, you will get three types of questions:

  • 6 MCQs with one correct answer, or more than one correct answer (Total Marks 24)
  • 8 Numerical Value Questions, NVQs (Total Marks 24)
  • 2 paragraphs with 2 MCQs each (i.e. 4 questions). Each MCQ here has only one correct answer. (Total Marks 12)

Paper 2

There are 54 questions for 183 marks. Total time is 3 hours.

There are three sections in this paper:

  • Maths – There are 18 questions.
  • Physics – There are 18 questions.
  • Chemistry - There are 18 questions.

In each of the three sections, you will get three types of questions:

  • 6 MCQs with one correct answer, or more than one correct answer (Total Marks 24)
  • 8 Numerical Value Questions, NVQs (Total Marks 24)
  • 4 Matching Type Questions. (Total Marks 12)

Candidates first appear for IIT Mains. Around 2 to 2.5 lakh students are selected for the next round, i.e. IIT Advanced. IITs admit students through IIT Advanced exam.

Note

In our times, i.e. around 2000-2001, we used to fill separate forms and give separate exams for IITs, NITs, state engineering colleges, IIITs, etc. Also, there were only 6 IITs. Nowadays the process of getting admission into an engineering college is pretty streamlined. Students can focus on one exam.

Also, as this exam can be given multiple times a year, it reduces the stress on students – one bad day won’t waste your whole year.

Study Material for IIT JEE

Though many students join some online or offline coaching class for IIT-JEE preparation. However, you may prepare for this exam from your home too. Nowadays there’s so much study material available – both as online articles and videos, and as books.

But you can still get material of some good coaching class, e.g. Bansal classes, Vidyamandir, Byju’s, Vedantu, etc. You can enrol in their correspondence program, or get their material from a friend or a shop.

Note

If you want to study these subjects from a teacher, then it would be better to study them from a good IIT-JEE preparation coaching, rather than from your school teachers. Once you have prepared for IIT-JEE, school syllabus will look like a child’s play. So, preparing for IIT will improve your board marks too.

Just make sure that your teacher is teaching in an interesting way, and he’s discussing IIT-JEE Advanced level problems too (and not just NCERT or IIT-JEE Mains level problems).

Even if you do not enrol in regular classroom program of a coaching, do enrol in their test series. IIT-JEE preparation is all about practice, especially in case of Maths and Physics. Do ensure that you give at least some tests in an actual exam centre. It will allow you to get used to exam conditions, and complete the paper under time restraints.

Apart from these, you need to solve previous year questions of IIT-JEE. Attempt previous year questions after completing any given chapter. For example, solve Mechanics questions after completing your Mechanics chapter. It will give you a good estimate of your preparation level.

Apart from this, you may refer to these books for IIT-JEE preparation.

Study material for IIT-JEE Maths

The most prevalent and suggested books for Maths are:

  • Cengage publication book for IIT-JEE Maths.
  • Vinay Kumar of TMH publication

Apart from these, you may read:

  • R. D. Sharma – Especially for Permutation & Combination, and Probability.
  • S. L. Loney – For Coordinate Geometry and Trigonometry

Study material for IIT-JEE Physics

You should start with H. C. Verma books. There are two volumes. They form the basics of the Physics preparation for IIT-JEE. You will also get the solutions of the exercises in H. C. Verma easily on the internet.

Apart from this, you may read:

  • B. M. Sharma books
  • D. C. Pandey – Do the objective book. The 5 volumes D. C. Pandey series is not required.
  • Interactive Physics Series (around 8 small books) – By R. Ravi, P. Kamaraj, P. Ranganathan. No need to buy all volumes. Just buy those where you need extra conceptual clarity. Concepts are very beautifully described in these books.

Apart from this, if you have a lot of time, you may also solve I. E. Irodov. It has many challenging questions. Its solutions are also readily available in the market. However, be selective in your approach. If you want to attempt Irodov after H. C. Verma, then you need to have at least 2 years of preparation time. Many people suggest I. E. Irodov and Resnick Halliday, but these books are not essential for you to crack IIT-JEE. You may read them if you are excellent in Physics and your aim is to get a rank in top 100.

Anyways, rather reading a lot of books, you should focus more on revising your concepts and developing the analytical skills to apply those concepts to solve new problems. My suggestion would be to just read H. C. Verma and coaching material for theory (maybe B. M. Sharma books too, if you have a lot of time). Then solve a lot of questions from other books. Read a particular chapter from other book, only if you think that you need more conceptual clarity or if you have a lot of doubts.

Study material for IIT-JEE Chemistry

The most prevalent and suggested books for Chemistry are:

  • For Organic Chemistry - M S Chouhan or O. P. Tondon (stick to one book)
  • For Inorganic Chemistry – NCERTs and K. Kumar
  • For Physical Chemistry - N. Avasthi

For Organic Chemistry you may also read Morrison and Boyd of Pearson publication (Robert Neilson Boyd and Robert T. Morrison). It will make you fall in love with organic chemistry. It almost feels like you are reading a novel. However, revising it may prove to be difficult. So, make notes while you are reading it, or mark the important parts in the book itself.

Note

In Delhi, you will get many IIT-JEE preparation books and material near IIT-Delhi area, i.e. near Hauj Khas.

Note

To develop the basics, do read your NCERTs or ISC board books. In NEET exam around 80-90% of questions come from NCERTs itself. However, in case of IIT-JEE this is not the case. Just reading NCERTs won’t be enough. You need much deeper understanding of concepts and will need to learn their various applications. That is, the topics will be the same as you have studied in 11th and 12th class, but you will need to go in much more depth.

Though you must read Inorganic Chemistry from NCERT. Questions may come directly from NCERT here. NCERTs will also help you in other sections of Chemistry and Physics too (to some extent). However, NCERTs are almost of no help in Maths.

Subject-wise Preparation Strategy for IIT JEE

Almost all of the subjects in IIT-JEE require you to do a lot of practice. Just reading and memorizing a lot of theory will not be sufficient, especially in case of Maths, Physics and Physical Chemistry. You won’t be able to solve questions from these topics if you haven’t solved a lot of questions.

So, for Maths, Physics and Physical Chemistry: Focus on theory 25%, and Focus on question practice 75%

However, in case of Organic Chemistry: Focus on theory 50%, and Focus on question practice 50%

Inorganic Chemistry is all about memorizing various facts. You can solve Inorganic Chemistry questions if you know the theory. Just solve a few questions to get a feel of the kind of questions that you may encounter. So, here Focus on theory 90%, and Focus on question practice 10%

Note

Do have a look at and solve previous year questions; at least of the last 5-6 years. It will solve two purposes:

  • It will guide your preparation in the initial stages of your IIT-JEE preparation. You will know what topics you need to study, how deep knowledge and practice is required, etc.

  • Once you have completed a chapter, say Coordinate Geometry, you may then solve some previous year questions from that topic and see if your preparation level is good enough, or you need to dig deeper. So, keep a previous year questions compilation with you, wherein questions are listed chapter-wise.

You need to get around 40% marks in IIT entrance tests to qualify it. It’s doable, if you are good in at least one of the subjects and average in other two. You should not be bad in any subject. Just ensure that.

Focus more on the subject in which you are good. Yes, play on your strengths. Some IIT questions are really tough or creative. You will only be able to solve them if your concepts are very clear and you have practiced a lot. Ensure that you master your strong areas in such a manner that you can easily solve questions framed on that topic.

Say, if you are good in Physics and like to study it a lot. Then invest 40-45% of your time in Physics. Here your goal should be to solve even the tough questions. Your favourite subject should be good enough to make you one of the toppers.

Study Maths and Chemistry in the remaining time. Here, your goal should be to be good enough to solve easy and medium level questions. Even if you cannot solve some difficult questions, it’s ok.

Note

There may be strong and weak areas within a subject too. For example, many students like Physical and Organic Chemistry more than Inorganic Chemistry. It’s ok. Focus more on Physical and Organic Chemistry then. Inorganic Chemistry is anyways very unreliable, as it’s based on whether you know a fact or not.

Or maybe in Physics, you like Mechanics, Optics and Modern Physics. Maybe you do not like Thermodynamics. It’s fine. Focus more on the topics you like.

However, some chapters are very important from exam’s perspective. Maybe many questions are asked from that topic, or concepts of that chapter are used in various other chapters too. So, you cannot skip these chapters.

For example, Mechanics and Electro-Magnetism chapters are very important in Physics as almost 50% questions are asked from these topics. So, you cannot afford to leave them. You cannot afford to leave Newton’s laws as they are used in various other chapters in Physics.

Winding Up

Give your 100% without any pressure. There are so many good colleges apart from IITs that take admissions through this exam, that you will definitely land in a good college. If you can get into a good IIT, it will be a bonus. Getting into an engineering college is just the start of your career. A lot happens after that.

21st century is a century of knowledge. Companies want people who have engineering knowledge, be it software companies, chemical companies, paints companies, PSUs, etc. If you have knowledge, and you can perform in your job, no one will ask you which college you were from, 10 years down the line. Take this exam as a challenge and give your best. That’s it.

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