How to Prepare for UGC-NET?

💬Hey English Fresher! If you wonder how people prepare for such big examinations as the National Eligibility Test (aka UGC-NET), we are here for you with some crucial tips and tricks by people who made it. Here are some insights by BBMKU Alumni, Sudipa Mukherjee (2019-2021) to hit the mark.

Back in school, I used to read Indian popular novels keeping them inside the pages of my bulky physics book. Little did I know that the English teacher wasn’t my favourite because she used to interact with me, rather it was literature that used to keep me awestruck.

–Sudipa Mukherjee

Sudipa Mukherjee, BBMKU Alumni, (2019-2021)

Hi! I am Sudipa. I did my graduate and postgraduate from Binod Bihari Mahto Koylanchal University, Dhanbad. I successfully cleared the UGC-NET exam with 98.9 percentile in my second attempt. Here I am sharing with you some of the important ideas that helped me cracking this exam. I hope this would help you some way.

As obvious a lot of hardships came my way. The syllabus was the first source of my perplexity. If you have seen the NTA syllabus, you might have discovered that it is vague and is not thoroughly explained. So I had to struggle with the difficulty of choosing what to study and what not.

  The Strategy

If I talk about strategy, first of all, I tried to find out how is it possible for me to prepare without feeling drained or how I may never have the urge to give it up. So, I started early when I was in the first year of my post-graduation. I never forced myself to complete a big chunk of the syllabus in a day or two. Instead I made sure I was studying daily–be it for one hour or four. I, quite literally, studied every day. So, I would say it was “consistency” that worked for me and would work for anyone.

Another important aspect of my winning-strategy was that I tried to focus more on the important part of the syllabus first. I completed British literature, Literary Theory and Literary Criticism. I tried and solved all the previous years’ questions, then I moved on to study the other parts like World Literature, Postcolonial Literature, American Literature etc.

My Phase of Demotivation

Last year, I scored 97.8 percentile and missed it by only 0.8. I felt heartbroken. My mental health took a toll and I couldn’t study anything till the very end of April 2022. However, my parents and my best friend didn’t want me to give up. They motivated and helped me a lot to get the ball rolling once again. Now that I have achieved what I wanted to, there is a sense of relief and also a profound feeling of fulfilment. I must confess that this success is extraordinarily special to me as it is the first competitive exam that I have ever cracked. For a long time, I have been through a phase of low self-esteem but now, I guess, it is high time that I ought to work on it.

My Aspirations

In future, I wish to pursue a career as an academician where I can impart knowledge without any partiality at minimum to no cost. I also wish to encourage people to read books. Surprisingly, despite the efforts made by the various book clubs online and the government, a book-reading culture hasn’t developed in India. Undoubtedly, the Internet is an effective way to gain knowledge but too much use of it, I fear, would leave this generation and the coming ones dumb.

My Admonitions

If you wish to crack NET or have any other goal, one most important thing to do is to have a rock-solid determination. This is the most important thing that is going to help you a lot. One thing you should avoid is relying too much for strategies or motivation on the internet or the other candidates who have passed the exam before. Remember, one thing that might work for one, may not work for another. You will need to know yourself, be determined enough, develop a plan, and a strategy and have a lot of courage to fight the questions. Don’t start preparing because someone you know has cracked it. Do it because you want it, because you have a reason for it. Remember the “Why?” factor! You must start with a “why?”: why you want to do this?

Click here to read the second article of the “How to Prepare for UGC-NET? series.

©2023 Md Rustam Ansari [profrustamansari@gmail.com]