Are you aspiring to hop into the realm of engineering? Do you wish to be one of the lucky students who roam the campuses of UET or some other public or private engineering institutes in the state?
It’s a yes, right?
Are you actually equipped for the test? Do you think you realize what you are signing up for when you fill out the application form for ECAT and await the day of the test?
It’s not a yes, right?
Why? That’s a long debate. Some aspirants might feel they have not yet covered the entire syllabus for the test. Others might believe they need to work on their time management. Some others may just panic around, fearing the negative marking and how to avoid its pangs in the paper, etc.
About the test syllabus… the panic is justified.
Most of the times, the ECAT aspirants are not entirely aware of the test format or the division of the MCQs and the most crucial aspect – weightage of each topic in the sectioning.
With these preoccupations disturbing the minds of the enthusiasts when, in fact, they need to relax and focus on last-minute preparations, the ECAT aspirants are most likely to end up feeling frustrated for the test.
So how exactly are we going to cater to this problem of knowing the DESIGN of the test beforehand? Yes! Past papers!
Before you decide to ignore having a glance at past ECAT papers, just scroll down and sift through the advantages of preparing them.
Advantages
Practice makes a man perfect
How often do our teachers use this maxim to convince us of its forever relevant charm and efficiency? Well, this magical rule holds its significance in every age, regardless of any technological advancements.
For ECAT aspirants, this advice will work like magic because students will be able to
- Comprehend the weightage of each topic and subtopic in a subject
- Manage the time-MCQs ratio so they may complete the entire paper satisfactorily
- Combat their stress
- Assess and work on their weak points beforehand
Comprehending the weightage of each topic
Despite knowing the division of marks and subjects in ECAT, students are usually ignorant of the statistics working behind “what are they actually going to include in the exam?”
With this enigma disturbing the students’ minds almost the entire course of time while they prepare for the exam, they are likely to feel frustrated and helpless. Piles and mounts of syllabus and we don’t even know what matters to them is the common problem.
The easiest way to predict the thinking patterns of the examiner and paper setter is to study their previous attempts at devising the paper.
Here’s what you need to be doing once you cross this tab and decide to take some practical steps:
- Print out past papers stretching back to 2015 or 2016
- Read through them (it doesn’t matter if you have prepared the entire syllabus or are just starting to dust your books)
- Take a rough guess at the type of questions asked from a topic or subtopic
- Make notes of those important topics
- Give weightage to the topics accordingly
Job done? Not yet! Bear with us for some more pertinent points.
Manage the time-MCQs ratio
Tick tock! Tick tock! That’s all a student hears while attempting the test. Often this annoying recurrent sound creates a situation of panic among the students. They end up either altering the sequence of filling the answer sheet bubbles or feeling stuck at a simple problem.
100 minutes for 100 MCQs seem just fine when you hear this scheme for the first time. Not in the arena!
How to tackle this issue? A myriad of problems, one solution!
Consult the past papers! Get their print outs and start solving them by timing your attempts.
Don’t worry if the first attempt extended way beyond the time limit or if the second left tens of questions unsolved. Just keep going with the practice session once every week during the initial days of preparation and twice or thrice every day during the last week of preparation.
With these practice sessions, you’ll have a 99.99% chance of managing your time in the final test.
Combat the stress
How often do you feel your fingers are slowly freezing while taking a test? Or you’re losing your grip on your pen? Or you’re unable to hear what the examiner is saying?
Sometimes? Usually? Always?
Not good for ECAT! This test determines your status of admission in an engineering institute as it constitutes 30% weightage in the selection criterion for engineering degrees.
So how to combat this stress while attempting the paper? Apply the simple rule of familiarity! Your mind puts patterns and items into order when these elements are familiar to your brain beforehand. Past papers will help build a familiar image of 100 MCQs spread on a white sheet with an answer sheet bearing the 5 options in bubbles form.
Practicing past papers will engage your sight, reflexes and mind simultaneously and you will be able to feel calm and composed for the real test. No finger frosts to be sure!
Assess and work on weak points
The most crucial part that cannot be stressed more!
Teachers and academy owners leave out sessions for past papers practice so students may feel confident about their preparation for ECAT. This strategy is commendable. But what’s more important is YOU practicing from these past papers in the following manner in the last week of your preparatory days:
- First Attempt
Take a past paper for ECAT from a credible website. Get a stopwatch. Start attempting. Drop your pen as soon as you reach the time limit.
Check your paper and note the topics you had the most number of wrong attempts from. Get back to your textbooks and notes and work on the topics still not prepared well.
- Second Attempt
This will be a reinforcement! Before going for the 2nd attempt, you need to revise the topics marked unprepared in the first one rigorously. The MCQs attempted wrong in this phase and the topics concerning them will make your preparation more progressive and satisfactory.
- Third Attempt
This last assessment will determine your status for the final exam. During these last preparatory days, shortlisted topics and past papers solved in the three assessments shall be revised with utmost diligence and focus.
With these perks associated with concerning past papers for the preparation of ECAT, the significance of this practice cannot be stressed more. Having said that, one need not press on the notion that MCQs are repeated over the years in ECAT. This can never be confirmed or endorsed.
Consult the past papers, but do not ever try to cram them!
With that, good luck with the test, fellas!
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