Further thoughts on Prelims after contemplation. I believe giving raw and frank thoughts is my virtue. So gave my real feelings also:
My score in mocks were as follows: Mostly I would score from 80-95 before giving my first prelims. Before giving my 2nd prelims I used to score 95-110. This time as I was awaiting the results, I practiced few papers and was scoring ~120’s. So with each year the scores have increased for me. But I distinctly remember in 1 Abhyas Test before my 2nd prelims I had gotten only 54/200. But never let these go to your heart.
To remove this guilt feeling simply solve one easy mock soon after the bad mock and revise the mistakes you have done in both papers. This is the best method to avoid disappointment associated with mock scores. This motivates a person for further studies. Otherwise we would be sulking about our performance and waste 2-3 days. Please solve few CSAT paper’s also.
1st iteration used to take me around 50 min. 2nd iteration would take me 35 min. Last iteration would also take me 35 min. One major distinction I remember between mock and real exam is that I was much slower in the real exam. It would take me entire 2 hours to solve the questions but I could solve the mock completely in 1.15 hours. This is because in mocks there is no fear of taking guesses but in real exam stress is more. This reduction in speed can also be used in positive way to your advantage as it helps carefully read the question and apply logical elimination.
In the 1st iteration, I never stop at any question and break my flow. I would do only questions I was sure about and which were not time consuming. In 2020, I had managed only to do 18/100 questions in first iteration. In 2021, this number increased to 33. In fact I couldn’t solve first 8 questions in the beginning in 2020. Don’t worry about this at all. That’s what 2nd and 3rd iteration are for. In my 2nd iteration, I used to just give reasonable time for each question and apply my skills. In my 2nd iteration, I used to attempt around 30-35 questions. Rest were left for the last iteration.
Solve questions one by one from first to last. Don’t jump questions in between at any cost. This will break your flow and also make you nervous. The correct method would be to mark it and again attempt it in second iteration with fresh mind. Many times I noticed that questions which at first glance I found difficult were very easy to solve in my 2nd iteration. Also the time taken to solve each question by 3rd iteration would drastically decrease as I am already exposed to the question twice. In addition, few options were already eliminated by me before.
You can revise factual things like modern history, global reports, environment (parks, rivers, etc) & british laws now. Don’t take too much stress about anything now. Just be in positive frame of mind. Stay away from negative people who are like a poison in your life. I would actively never cross their path. Just Ctrl+Del them from your life. Don’t engage in any discussion good or bad with them. Unfortunately, there are many such.
When I was in exam hall, I used to repeat to myself that you are the one who is going to be selected. Half the people didn’t even turn up for the exam and this acted as a confidence booster for me. I would take deep breaths just before the 9.00am bell so that I become calm and composed. This actually works because your brain receives more oxygen and is stimulated. Please take atleast 10-15 breaths. I would close my eyes for few min & look down.
My score in mocks were as follows: Mostly I would score from 80-95 before giving my first prelims. Before giving my 2nd prelims I used to score 95-110. This time as I was awaiting the results, I practiced few papers and was scoring ~120’s. So with each year the scores have increased for me. But I distinctly remember in 1 Abhyas Test before my 2nd prelims I had gotten only 54/200. But never let these go to your heart.
To remove this guilt feeling simply solve one easy mock soon after the bad mock and revise the mistakes you have done in both papers. This is the best method to avoid disappointment associated with mock scores. This motivates a person for further studies. Otherwise we would be sulking about our performance and waste 2-3 days. Please solve few CSAT paper’s also.
1st iteration used to take me around 50 min. 2nd iteration would take me 35 min. Last iteration would also take me 35 min. One major distinction I remember between mock and real exam is that I was much slower in the real exam. It would take me entire 2 hours to solve the questions but I could solve the mock completely in 1.15 hours. This is because in mocks there is no fear of taking guesses but in real exam stress is more. This reduction in speed can also be used in positive way to your advantage as it helps carefully read the question and apply logical elimination.
In the 1st iteration, I never stop at any question and break my flow. I would do only questions I was sure about and which were not time consuming. In 2020, I had managed only to do 18/100 questions in first iteration. In 2021, this number increased to 33. In fact I couldn’t solve first 8 questions in the beginning in 2020. Don’t worry about this at all. That’s what 2nd and 3rd iteration are for. In my 2nd iteration, I used to just give reasonable time for each question and apply my skills. In my 2nd iteration, I used to attempt around 30-35 questions. Rest were left for the last iteration.
Solve questions one by one from first to last. Don’t jump questions in between at any cost. This will break your flow and also make you nervous. The correct method would be to mark it and again attempt it in second iteration with fresh mind. Many times I noticed that questions which at first glance I found difficult were very easy to solve in my 2nd iteration. Also the time taken to solve each question by 3rd iteration would drastically decrease as I am already exposed to the question twice. In addition, few options were already eliminated by me before.
You can revise factual things like modern history, global reports, environment (parks, rivers, etc) & british laws now. Don’t take too much stress about anything now. Just be in positive frame of mind. Stay away from negative people who are like a poison in your life. I would actively never cross their path. Just Ctrl+Del them from your life. Don’t engage in any discussion good or bad with them. Unfortunately, there are many such.
When I was in exam hall, I used to repeat to myself that you are the one who is going to be selected. Half the people didn’t even turn up for the exam and this acted as a confidence booster for me. I would take deep breaths just before the 9.00am bell so that I become calm and composed. This actually works because your brain receives more oxygen and is stimulated. Please take atleast 10-15 breaths. I would close my eyes for few min & look down.