Tips and Tricks for NTSE Stage-I 2020-21

The National Talent Search Examination (NTSE) Stage-I as announced by the NCERT is scheduled for December 12 and 13, 2020. However, in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, a few states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh have already announced a change in the NTSE Stage-I date varying between December end to February 2021.

Whether NCERT announces a later date or not, if you are an NTSE aspirant, you should make the best use of the remaining days before the exam as nothing makes a person more productive than the last minute.

How to make optimal utilization of the remaining days

• NTSE Stage-I exam is based on the State Board syllabus.  Hence, you should focus on your respective State Board syllabus for any changes or new additions done in the recent times.
• Though every subject is important, pay attention to the preparation of Mental Ability and Social Science as they play a crucial role in your selection.
• Solve 3-5 previous years’ papers of your state in a time-bound manner. Even if you have already solved these papers, solving them again will improve your recollection and stimulate your memory.
• Attempt at least two Mock Paper each of SAT & MAT every week during this period to familiarize yourself with the paper pattern and difficulty level.
• Every question is important, therefore attempt all the questions in the stipulated time frame.

Tips & Tricks for NTSE Stage-I Exam:

Paper-1: MAT (Mental Ability Test)

• Questions based on water image, mirror image, folding of paper, Venn diagrams, Syllogism are relatively easy. Solving them at the very beginning can keep you in good stead.
• After that you should target questions based on blood relation, direction test, ranking test.
• Now, carefully move on to the questions based on number series, Analogy based on numbers and Classification. There can be a mix of easy, moderate and difficult questions on these topics. So, if you are able to understand the patterns in one go, solve immediately otherwise leave them for the end as it can be time-consuming and may cause unnecessary pressure. However, also note that 70-80% questions of these types can easily be attempted.
• The paragraph-based questions should be dealt with towards the end. It’s quite likely that you may have to read the paragraph twice or thrice to solve all the questions based on it. This may take a while. Hence, keep your pace from the very beginning and save sufficient time to solve these types of questions.

Paper-2: SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test)

• It’s highly recommended to start with Social Science or Biology section in order to save time and avoid pressure. Maintaining a good speed and accuracy in these sections will help you save time for calculation based questions of Mathematics.
• Try to complete theoretical questions of Social Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics and direct questions of Mathematics in 60-70 minutes. This way you will get sufficient time for difficult questions of Mathematics or lengthy calculation-based questions from Physics or Chemistry, if any (around 20-30 in number). Attempt these lengthy and trickier questions towards the end.

Points to Remember:

• Sometimes, in both MAT & SAT, use of elimination method comes quite handy to get the correct answer. Apply it wherever necessary.
• Keep filling the OMR at regular intervals instead of keeping it for the last.
• Since there is no negative marking in NTSE Stage-I, do not leave any question unanswered. However, before guessing answer to any of the questions, ensure the same as per the marking scheme, as sometimes certain States may change the marking scheme.

Having said that, a good speed and accuracy plays an important role when it comes to competitive examinations. Solving more and more mock papers will help you enhance your speed and accuracy and also build your confidence for the exam. Apart from that, study well, follow a proper schedule, and plan efficiently.  All the Best!