For an entrance exam highly competitive in nature like the JEE (Joint Entrance Examination), it is essential to have a perfect study plan in place. Aspirants all across the country have developed several mechanisms throughout these years, which helps them to crack JEE Main 2020. One of the most significant contributors to JEE success is undoubtedly making short notes and index cards for quick revision.
Also read: Fast-Track your JEE Main 2020 Preparation
Notes are made for some simple reasons. Let’s take a look at a few of them.
- When you make notes, you can revise all essential topics in one go without going in-depth. In these last few days of JEE preparation, this can save a lot of your precious time.
- If you want to avoid the hassles of referencing multiple textbooks, again and again, making notes should be on top priority for you.
- You will be able to understand and retain a particular concept properly if you prepare notes.
The JEE exam is such that it requires specific study hacks to help you solve questions faster. You can quickly discover these hacks when you study a topic written down in your self-made notes.
Lately, students either make notes on their own or get them online. However, it is advisable to make notes on your own due to the reasons mentioned above. Here are some topper-recommended tips to make notes that will help you to ace JEE Main 2020.
- Create memory maps/ index-cards
Do you know that the human mind can recall images more quickly when compared to text? If you create memory maps using images of different concepts and formulae, you can easily remember them for a longer time. In the case of concepts like electricity and optics, you can create images of topics like Snell’s law and basic logic gates. Make these notes concise and crisp so that they are easy to recall for you.
- Maintain a separate notebook
Some JEE aspirants have the habit of making notes in the textbook itself. This should not be done. When you make notes in the book, you can’t create memory maps due to the limited space available. It is essential to maintain a separate notebook for all your short notes and index cards. Devote an hour each day specifically to manage this notebook. It is also recommended that you go through your index cards each morning as the human mind can retain a lot during the early morning hours.
- Use color-coding for different formulae
In the case of a subject like Chemistry, where there are so many compounds and complex reactions involved, use different colored highlighters to mark essential concepts in the textbook. When you write down several chemical reactions in your notebook, use the same color, which you used to highlight that particular reaction in your book. Since the human mind has a picture memory, color-coding helps to remember the actual reactions written in the textbook when you read these notes again and again.
- Make notes during class
Even though making notes in class seems like a tough task due to the limited time availability, it is nonetheless crucial. Your teacher is the master of that particular subject. At times, the teacher often teaches things that are not present in the textbook. With JEE, it is highly essential to have out of book knowledge and an in-depth understanding of concepts. While solving JEE Main past year papers is a good idea to boost your preparation strategy, it is equally essential to be very attentive in class and jot down everything necessary that the teacher says.
- Organise your notes
If you have the habit of making notes, but not organising them from time-to-time, it can be disastrous. During these last few days of preparation, it is important to have well-structured notes so that you don’t have to go to and fro and refer to multiple textbooks. Remember to always divide your notes into headings and subheadings. When you go through your notes after a very long time, this will help you to understand them properly.
In a nutshell, it can be said that creating notes and studying from, again and again, is the key to securing a place for yourself in the topmost engineering institutes of the country like the IITs. It may seem like the most strenuous task on this whole planet but is only beneficial for you in the long run.
All the best!
