How to Start Preparation of CSIR-UGC NET/GATE/JEST/TIFR/IIT-JAM

If you want to become assistant professor or to go into research field then you have to crack CSIR NET/JRF exam. If you prepare for NET exam then preparation of other exam GATE, JEST and SET is done simultaneously. There is no need to prepare separately. I want to share some steps to start preparation for NET exam.

First Step

Let us understand the pattern of exam.

1. NET (National Eligibility Test)

Schedule:- NTA (National Test Agency) conducts online computer based test (CBT) CSIR-UGC joint NET exam twice a year, on 3rd Sunday of June and December. The notifications of June net exam and December net exam come out in the months of march and September respectively. The result of the June and December examinations are declared in the months of December and June respectively.

Scheme of Test CSIR-UGC:-(NET) exam for award of junior research fellowship and eligibility for lectureship shall be a single paper test having multiple choice questions (MCQs). The question paper shall be divided in three parts. There will be 25% negative marking for each wrong answer.

Part ‘A’:- This part shall carry 20 questions pertaining to general science, quantitative reasoning analysis and research aptitude. The candidates shall be required to answer any 15 questions. Each question shall be of two marks. The total marks allocated to this section shall be 30 out of 200.

Part ‘B’:- This part shall contain 25 multiple choice questions (MCQs) generally covering the topics given in the part a (core) of syllabus. Each question shall be of 3.5 marks. Thetotal marks allocated to this section shall be 70 out of 200. Candidates are required to answer any 20 questions.

Part ‘C’:- This part shall contain 30 questions from part B (advanced) and part a that are designed to test a candidate’s knowledge of scientific concepts and/or application of the scientific concepts. The questions shall be of analytical nature where a candidate is expected to apply the scientific knowledge to arrive at the solution to the given scientific problem. A candidate shall be required to answer any 20. Each question shall be of 5 marks. The total marks allocated to this section shall be 100 out of 200.

S.no.	Sections	No. Of questions given	No. Of questions to be attempt	Marks on each questions	Total marks	Duration of exam
1	Part a	20	15	2	30	3 hours
2	Part b	25	20	3.5	70
3	Part c	30	20	5	100

2. GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test)

Schedule:- GATE exam is conducted once in a year, in first week of February. The notification of the gate exam come out in the months of September. The result of gate exam is declared in march.

Scheme of Test:- The examination will be conducted in an online computer based test (CBT) mode where the candidates will be shown the questions on a computer screen. Gate examination will be for 3 hours duration and they consist of 65 questions for a total of 100 marks. A virtual scientific calculator will be available on the computer screen during the examination. There will be a total of 65 questions carrying 100 marks, out of which 10 questions carrying a total of 15 marks (5 questions each carrying 1 marks and 5 questions each carrying 2 marks) will be on general aptitude (GA), which is intended to test the language and analytical skills. The general aptitude section will carry 15% of the total marks and the remaining 85% of the total marks (25 questions each carrying 1 marks and 30 questions each carrying 2 marks) is devoted to the subject paper. Gate exam would contain questions of two different types in all the papers :

(i) Multiple Choice Questions:- (MCQ) carrying 1 or 2 marks each. These questions are objective in nature, and each will have a choice of four answers, out of which the candidate has to select (marks) the correct answer.

Negative marking for wrong answers:For each wrong answer of 1 mark questions, 1/3 mark will be deducted and similarly for each wrong answer of 2 marks questions, 2/3 mark will be deducted.

(ii)Numerical Answer Type:- (NAT) questions carrying 1 or 2 marks each in all the papers and sections. For these questions, the answer is a signed real number, which needs to be entered by the candidate using the virtual numeric keypad on the monitor (keyboard of the computer will be disabled). There is no negative marking for a wrong answer in NAT questions.

3. JEST (Joint Entrance Screening Test)

Schedule:- JEST exam is conducted offline mode once in a year, on 3rd Sunday of February. The notification for the jest exam come out in the months of October. The result of JEST exam is declared in the months of march.

Scheme of JEST Test:- Part A contains 15 questions, and carry 3 (three) marks each for correct answer, and -1 (negative one) mark for incorrect answer.

Part B contains 10 questions and each carries 3 (three marks). These questions must be answered by integers of 4 digits each. Answer these questions on the OMR by filling in bubbles in the OMR sheet. There are no negative marks for these questions.

Part C contains 25 questions, and each carries 1 (one) mark for the correct answer, and -1/3 (negative one third) mark for incorrect answer. Multiple choice questions have only one correct answer.

4. TIFR (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research)

Schedule:- TIFR exam is conducted once in a year, on 2nd Sunday of December. The notification for the TIFR exam come out in the months of October.

Scheme of TIFR Test:- This test consists of three parts: section a, section b and section c. You must answer questions according to the program you are applying for. Section A has 20 questions: 1-10 are multiple choice; 11-20 are numerical Section B has 15 questions: 21-30 are multiple choice; 31-35 are symbolic Section C has 15 questions: 36-45 are multiple choice; 45-50 are symbolicindicate your answer on the OMR answer sheet as follows.

Multiple Choice Questions have four options (a), (b), (c) and (d), of which only one option is correct. Indicate the answers by filling up the bubble on the answer sheet corresponding to the correct option. If more than one bubble is filled in, it will be treated as not answered.

Numerical Questions have answers which are 3 (three) digit integers. Indicate the answers by filling in the corresponding bubbles on the answer sheet. Unless all three bubbles for a given question are filled, it will be treated as not answered. (see inside for details)

Symbolic Questions have answers which are a number, a short formula or a word. Indicate the answers by writing in the boxes on the answer sheet next to the appropriate question numbers. (see inside for details) state eligibility test (SET) exam the state conducts for eligibility test for assistant professor. There is no negative marking. As per the revised scheme, the test is consist of two papers as below :

Paper-i Total marks-100,total number of question-50. All questions are compulsory, duration-1 hour (09:30 am to 10:30 am) this paper consist of 50 objective type compulsory questions each carrying 2 marks. The questions which will be of general nature, intended to assess the teaching/research aptitude of the candidate. It will primarily be designed to test reasoning ability, comprehension, divergent thinking and general awareness of the candidate.

Paper-ii Marks-200, number of questions-100,. All questions are compulsory, duration -2 hours (11:00 am to 1:00 pm) this paper consist of 100 objective type compulsory questions each carrying 2 marks which will be based on the subject selected by the candidate.

5. IIT-JAM

Pattern of Test Papers:- The JAM examination for all the seven test papers will be carried out as online computer based test (CBT) where the candidates will be shown the questions in a random sequence on a computer screen. For all the seven test papers, the duration of the examination will be of 3 hours. The medium for all the test papers will be English only. There will be a total of 60 questions carrying a total of 100 marks. The entire paper will be divided into three sections, a, b and c. All sections are compulsory. Questions in each section will be of different types as given below:

Section–A contains a total of 30 multiple choice questions (MCQs) involving 10 questions of 1 mark each and 20 questions of 2 marks each. Each MCQ has four choices out of which only one choice is the correct answer. Candidates can mark the answer by clicking the choice. In section-a (MCQ), wrong answer will result in negative marks. For each wrong answer of 1 mark questions, 1/3 mark will be deducted and similarly for each wrong answer of 2 marks questions, 2/3 mark will be deducted.

Section–B contains a total of 10 multiple select questions (MSQs) carrying 2 marks each. Each MSQ is similar to MCQ but with a difference that there may be one or more than one choice(s) are correct out of the four given choices. The candidate gets full credit only if he/she selects all the correct answers only and no wrong answers. Candidates can mark the answer(s) by clicking the choice(s). In section-b (MSQ), there are no negative and no partial marking provisions.

Section–C contains a total of 20 numerical answer type (NAT) questions involving 10 questions of 1 mark each and 10 questions of 2 marks each. For these NAT type questions, the answer is a signed real number, which needs to be entered using the virtual numeric keypad on the monitor. No choices will be shown for these type of questions. There is no negative marking in section-c (NAT) as well. There is a provision for using online virtual calculator hence, the candidates should not bring any calculator with them.

Second Step

Read and remember the syllabus at least five times carefully read and remember the syllabus. Also see which topic you will study first time. Syllabus can be downloaded from here

1. CSIR-NET/JRF  syllabusphysics
2. SET exampaper syllabus physics
3. JEST syllabus physics
4. GATE syllabus physics
5. IIT-JAM syllabusphysics

Third Step

Set to target to get marks. We can see highest cutoff ever for JRF for general category- 54% and for lectureship for general category 51% in June 2018 exam. From analysis of previous year cutoff you will have to set target as per your category for JRF/NET. For example a general category you should get 110 marks to crack net exam. How to get 110 marks. If you attempt following questions from different parts then will get 110 marks. Part A-at least 10 questions×2 marks =20 marks part B-at least 12 questions×3.5 marks =42 marks part C-at least 10 questions×5 marks =50 marks total marks = 112 for example OBC category you should get 90 marks to crack net exam. SC/ST category you should get 75 marks to crack net exam. You have to set own target.

Fourth Step

Analysis of previous years questions paper after analyzing we got two things one is marks distributions second thing is important topic it’s very important to know important topics from which continuous questions are asking. You will have to cover this important topic in different paper. There are some important topics in each paper which are helpful to qualify CSIR-NET/GATE/JEST/SET exam. We can see important topics in my website https://www.mphysicstutorial.com/

Fifth Step

Collect study materials, Prefer some good study material to prepare well for the CSIR NET exam in physics. Make sure it covers up the complete syllabus and is designed in a very interactive manner. Study material is contain following

1. Books
2. Class room notes
3. Previous years solved questions paper of net, gate & jest exam
4. Assignment

The following books are good for the preparation of CSIR-NET/GATE/JEST/SET exam in physical science.

1. General aptitude– CSIR-NET General aptitude-A new outlook- Christy Vergheese 
2. Mathematical method of physics– Mathematical Physics– H.K. Dass
3. Classical mechanics – Classical Mechanics- J.C. Upadhyaya
4. Electromagnetic theory- Introduction to Electrodynamics– David J. Griffiths
5. Quantum mechanics- Introduction to Quantum Mechanics– David J. Griffiths, quantum mechanics concepts & applications– Nouredine Zettili
6. Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics- Statistical Mechanics– R. K. Patharia, Fundamentals of Statistical & Thermal physics– F. Rief
7. Electronics & Experimental Methods- Digital Electronics - Malvino & Leach, Electronic Devices & Circuits – Jacob Millman & Christos C. Halkias
8. Atomic & Molecular Physics- Atomic and Molecular Physics – Raj Kumar
9. Condensed Matter Physics- Solid State Physics- Puri and Babbar
10. Nuclear and Particle Physics– Introductory Nuclear Physics– Kenneth s. Krane, Introduction to Elementary Particles– David J. Griffith,

All above books, class room notes, previous years solved questions paper of NET, GATE & JEST exam and assignment can be downloaded from my website.

Sixth Step

Start study! Now start study with following important tips.

1. Start studying with a paper that you find easy paper.
2. If you have basic knowledge about topic then start study class room notes otherwise start from book then class room notes. Can also do together.
3. Firstly start any one paper and complete it then start second paper.
4. After each paper, solve previous year CSIR-NET, GATE, JEST questions and assignment.
5. Prepare well the all important topics from all the papers.
6. Read at least four papers very well. Mathematical method of physics, classical mechanics electromagnetic theory, quantum mechanics are very important paper so study very well.
7. Practice as much as you can.
8. During the study make short note book including formula, trick and important point. It will be helpful in exam time and revision time. Notes should be very clear and well written so when you have to revise you can just open your short notebook and read it.
9. Don’t spend a lot of time in preparing a single topic by reading whole book or from internet.
10. Some topic those you don’t understand leave it and some topic which not important also leave it.
11. Proper time management is required, fix a time limit, and complete your decided task into it. Study at least 5–6 hours a day with a time table. Fix small target every day.
12. Always keep in touch with the person who is preparing or qualified exam and discuss about preparation.
13. Before the exam, solve some test series question paper of coaching center which can download from websites.
14. In the exam make sure you attempt question in proper manner. Because it is meaningless to prepare well for the exam and do not give the exam properly. Make a down to top approach. Find out the easiest of them. Do the problems according the level of ease. Attempt those about which you are sure. Never ever stuck on a single problem. Be clear about the think which are asked in question. Stay focused. Because these are the hours for which you have prepared a lot.
15. It’s normal to get nervous before exams and you begin to feel like you do not remember this topic or that topic. Don’t lose confident in such situations. Have the confidence you can crack it and start studying.

Read also

• Click here For downloading Books.
• For reviewing of books you may click here.
• Online Physics Quiz