Top 5 Reasons Why Solving Previous Years’ Papers is Crucial for Success at Competitive Exams

It’s a highly competitive world and more so for students. Most career choices require you to appear for an entrance test, which is quite a challenge to crack. And, if you are aiming for a competitive exam, it only gets tougher. However, there are ways to navigate through these exams and come out tops. Along with hard work and sincere study, solving previous year’s question papers goes a long way in prepping you up. Now, you may wonder why you must practice solving these papers. There are scores of reasons why you must. Here we touch up on the top 5, so read on…

They offer loads of practice

Previous years’ papers acquaint you with the paper pattern of the exam. Competitive exams usually have some questions that are repeated over 5-10 years. The same questions may be repeated in alternate or consecutive years. Thus, you get an idea of which questions are asked most often. However, do remember that only the basic pattern of the question may be the same and not the entire question. Practising these papers will help you spot these easily, thus giving you an edge over others.

They help to improve time management skills

Now every exam is time-bound, and you have to deliver your very best in the given time frame. When you solve previous years’ papers, you improve your speed and even your accuracy in answering the questions. You get an idea of which questions you must tackle first and which ones later. This also helps in evaluating the best way you can answer a question. Also, as your speed increases, you have some buffer time left to go through the paper towards the end.

They are a great way to self-evaluate your prep

How are you performing? Where do you lack? What are our strengths? You will get an insight into all this when you practise solving previous years’ question papers. This is truly a great way to assess your preparation and your performance on the test. You can jot down your weaknesses and mistakes and then focus on eliminating them. Then, you can compare these the next time you practise and measure your progress. You can even segregate the questions into three categories – easy, moderate and difficult. This way, you can analyse the easy ones and the ones that will take more time.

They help you plan a solid exam strategy

Since solving these papers gives you great insights into your level of prep, you can build a solid exam strategy as well. You are familiar with the paper pattern, your time management skills are enhanced, you can assess your exam prep, and now you need a good study plan. It will help you fill in any knowledge gaps and also competency gaps. If there are any questions that you weren’t able to answer while solving these papers, you can focus on that and develop a strong strategy to tackle the exam.

They boost your overall confidence

When you practise solving previous years’ question papers, your overall confidence level about the exam goes up. As we know, most competitive exams have a set pattern, and when you become familiar with it, it naturally boosts your confidence. However, you must practise rigorously for this. Because some questions can be confusing if you haven’t solved similar ones earlier. Thus, solving these papers will make you familiar with the paper pattern in every way, thus enhancing your confidence.

Any competitive exam needs a lot of hard work. However, if you are aiming for the JEE or NEET, solving the JEE Main previous years’ question papers and NEET’s previous years’ question papers will do wonders for you. Similarly, even if you wish to take the IIT JEE, solving JEE Advance’s previous years’ question papers will help you excel in it.

While we did mention five main reasons to solve these papers, there are some more perks to that as well:

• Solving these papers is a superb way to enhance your knowledge of the subject
• They are also a great way to revise your syllabus thoroughly
• Since the actual paper pattern is followed, your brain will be conditioned to think accordingly and hence help in your prep
• While attempting these papers, you can develop shortcut methods to apply to Mathematics and Physics problems
• Most importantly, when you practise solving the papers, you automatically get the feel of the actual exam

You definitely are at an advantage when you solve these papers if you are appearing for a competitive exam. However, following this practise is also beneficial for the Boards. So, do solve 12th Science previous years’ question papers, if you’re appearing for your Science Boards, And, likewise practise the 12th Commerce previous years’ question papers if you are a Commerce student. TG Campus offers sample papers for the JEE, JEE Advanced, NEET, 12th Science and 12th Commerce. They are easily accessible and even free to download. So, access these to practise and sail through your exams.