How to Use Previous Year Papers Effectively?

Previous year papers are important from the exam perspective.  Solving the previous year papers makes you aware of the exam pattern. It helps you to understand how prepared you are for the examination. We all know that these prove to be invaluable resources for the preparation for the board exams. But do we know how to make the best out of these?

Here are some tips on how you can solve these papers to reap maximum benefit: 

Start early – Solving these papers just the night before the exams will be of no help. To reap the benefits you need to start solving them as early as possible. Usually, the students complete their syllabus by December that is just before the pre-boards. That is the best time when you kick start this process.  Try to solve one paper in a day. Starting early will give you more time to work on your weak areas.

Set up a timer – Solve the paper in the stipulated time just like you would do it in the exam hall. Set up a timer for 3 hours and try t complete the paper before the buzzer goes off. This will help you work on your speed and you will come to know how much time to devote to different types of questions .

Avoid Distractions– Try to avoid any distraction and disturbance while you are solving the paper. Solve the paper in a quiet atmosphere and recreate the exam scene. You can ask an elder to invigilate while you solve the paper. Avoid taking breaks in between as it would lessen the concentration and disrupt the whole process.

No cheating– Solving paper yourself does not mean that you are free to refer to books and cheat. Be honest and solve the paper on your own without referring to books or mobiles etc. if you do not know the answer just leave it blank. Doing this will help you , as you will become aware of the areas where you need to put in the extra effort.

Speed up – Once you have mastered the art of solving the paper in the stipulated time, try to speed up and solve it before time. This will give you a sense of confidence and you can use the spare time to revise your answer sheet.

Solve more– The more the merrier. Try to solve 10 years papers or at least 5-year papers. The more paper you solve the better you will become. Solving more will give you an insight o how the questions are asked, the pattern, important topics etc.

Assess performance– just solving the paper is not enough, you need to assess your performance too. Evaluate your strength and weaknesses, the topics in which you had difficulty or confusion. The incorrect or unanswered questions should be evaluated too.

Clear confusion – Once you are done with the paper, tally the answers with the solutions. For this purpose, you can use the textbook or the solved previous year papers provided on the various sites.  cbse previous year question paper downloadare available online for free.  If you still have confusion in some solution you can take the help of your teacher for clearing your confusion.