Top ways to prepare for CSIR-UGC NET/JRF Exam

CSIR NET exam is one of the toughest and important exams in India. It’s an important decision for your career and you must take a cautious decision before starting your preparation. Because if you are doing PhD after CSIR, it will take almost 5 years. It takes 4-5 months for preparation of CSIR NET JRF syllabus when you study 10-15 hours daily. The time length of study differs from person to person, you should decide how much time you need to invest.

Read the syllabus and make your list of weak topics and strong topics according to your B.Sc. or M.Sc. subjects. Weak topics need more time than strong topics. Here in we are enlisting top ways to prepare for CSIR NET exam in Life Sciences. Focus more on important topics. Prepare well for Developmental Biology, Plant Physiology, Evolution and Ecology because these subjects are scoring for everyone. These suggestions will also help to clear other exams like DBT, GATE, TIFR, ICMR etc.

Basic Requirements for the Preparation

Here are the basic required things that would be needed to clear the CSIR UGC NET Life Sciences exam-

• Preparation strategy
• Timetable
• Materials
  • Notes and lecture series
  • Practice Test
  • Previous year questions with explanation
  • Mocks
  • Mind map

We have covered everything one by one in details in this blog.

1. How to start preparation and make schedule?

Watch this video to get a idea about making schedule, solving MCQ, and PYQs. 

👉 Check Youtube Link or play video below

Here is a brief overview of the plan from the video:

2. Prepare timetable for exam

Here we have prepared the timetable for your exam. However, you can make own according to your convenience and time.

(Recommended to paste it on a wall.)

3. Free lectures and coaching

Watching videos/lecture or joining coaching

YouTube can be your best source for understanding the topics. So many videos are available like IFAS (chapter and topic wise videos), Teaching Pathshala and other channels by students who have already cleared CSIR or other exams. YouTube videos become really helpful when you have not covered these topics during self study.

👉 YouTube Channel: IFAS CSIR Online

Training at a coaching center as a great coach can change your life

This can be one of the methods to clear. Do check coaching’s success record, study material, test series and ask your friends or whosoever have attended coaching there. Success doesn't depend on coaching only, hard work from both the sides is needed. Don’t just depend on the coaching because sometimes due to lack of time, teachers skip some part of the syllabus. So, do independent study too. You can also join online coaching classes.

A great coach can change your life

4. Notes and books

4.1. Books specially prepared for CSIR NET exam

For MS students it better to follow reference books. But for a short period of time during preparation you can follow different study materials such as Pathfinder Books, Shomu’s Biology Books, IFAS Study Materials, and so many. This will save your time and you can focus on important topics. Reference books are not written in CSIR NET point of view, so it is better also following any of these study materials. These books will also help to enjoy the boring chapters. IFAS or Unacademy notes are well written in depth.

👉 Unit-wise Notes Module from IFAS, Unacademy

4.2. Standard reference books

There are countless reference books for CSIR NET JRF, in Life Sciences. So, we have compiled a list of top reference books for CSIR NET exam according to the units in CSIR NET Life Sciences syllabus.

Although it depends on you what to study first, try to cover the Biochemistry followed by Metabolism, Cell Biology, Genetics, Molecular Biology etc. Parallelly read two different subjects like Biochemistry and Immunology.

Understand the concepts not just complete the syllabus. Completing or just reading the whole syllabus is not going to help. Follow smart study pattern i.e., go through the old papers and focus more on important topics. CSIR NET JRF Exam not only requires hard work but also needs proper guidance and patience. Review the material you covered every week and evaluate how well you did at retaining the information. If you are lacking in any topic, go back and study those topics again.

4.3. Make efficient short hand notes

Prepare notes and then concise those notes too because reading through those 6 months you must have learned some points by heart; so why to just waste time in reading all those things again and again. For working people who are preparing for CSIR NET/JRF, do scan your notes in your phone and make a pdf file so that, whenever you get time you can work on your goal by reading them whenever you get spare time.

5. Practice test series

It is important to practice test series available Books, CSIR website to get an idea about questions pattern of CSIR and to get confidence. After every topic completed just try to practice MCQs on daily basis. So always practice MCQs from different resources and CSIR old papers as you read your topics. You may use IFAS, Catalyst, or Pathfinder book for daily practice. For PYQs you can prefer IFAS PYQs with explanation.

👉 Book for daily practice from Pathfinder MCQ book, IFAS, Catalyst

👉 PYQs from IFAS

6. Revision

Revision is important as "Success doesn’t come from what you do occasionally, but what you do consistently"

Whatever you have studied revise it. Most of the students make this mistake during this exam. Because they keep reading new topics but not revise older ones. So, it is necessary to daily revise the topics. Don’t attempt questions that you are not very sure. Daily revision and solving the questions is key to success in CSIR exam. For revisions you can use mind map notes which contains short notes, table and flow chart.

👉 Mind map notes by Shomu’s biology or by Neha Taneja

7. Mock test 

the expert in everything was once a beginner

After preparation for your exams try giving mock. It is always good to check your preparation before siting in main exam. This will help to check your preparation and time management. Unit-wise mock and total mocks are available in different platform.

8. Proper time management and self-care

Failing to plan is like planning to fail.

• Spend maximum time in your studies daily and allow 1-2 extra hours for revision.
• Completing important topics should be your priority and as soon as you complete a topic, revise it instantly.
• Also perform the combined revision of the topics which you have studied during the whole day long, before going to sleep at night.
• Try to cover your maximum portion in Morning and Noon hours and dedicate evening hours for refining your performance by solving the questions.
• List out important topics and make a proper schedule of every unit.
• Fix the sleeping/rest hours to relax your body from stress.
• Eat proper food, do not get sick and drink an adequate amount of water. Try doing some activity like games, videos or other activities to not get bored. This will make your mind fresh and help to memorize.

👉 If you need any help for CSIR NET, The Biomics is always here for you.

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