UGC NET December 2018: Explore The Preparation Tips For Paper-I

The UGC National Eligibility Test (NET) will be conducted between December 18 and 22, 2018. NET is conducted twice a year to select candidates for the posts of Assistant Professor and Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) in Indian universities and colleges.

Candidates who qualify for JRF are eligible to pursue research in their respective postgraduate subject and are also eligible for the post of Assistant Professor. On the other hand, candidates qualified exclusively for the Assistant Professor post will not be considered for the post of JRF. NTA will conduct NET in 84 subjects in 91 selected cities spread across the country.

UGC NET consists of two papers and paper-I plays a significant role in shortlisting the candidates for the next round. Prior to exploring the preparation tips for paper-I, let's tour the changed exam pattern of UGC NET.

UGC NET Exam Pattern

• Both the UGC NET papers consist of objective-type questions and carry 2 marks each.
• Paper-I will be of general nature, intended to assess the teaching and/or research aptitude.
• Paper-II will be conducted on the respective subject selected by the candidate.

Know What To Read In UGC NET

As paper-II deals with a specific subject, candidates should be familiar with the syllabus. While coming to paper-I, there is a lot of ambiguity about the syllabus amongst the aspirants. The paper-I in UGC NET requires a different approach to tackle the questions. The official notification says that the candidates will be tested on their teaching/ research aptitude. It also stated that this paper is designed to test the reasoning ability, comprehension, divergent thinking and general awareness of the candidate.

Aspirants are suggested to consider the syllabus meticulously. Try to analyse what topics are going to be covered in the syllabus. Once you are done with this task, start preparing accordingly.

UGC NET Paper-I Tips

• Apart from the teaching and research aptitude, one should be good at reading comprehension and communication.
• Be familiar with the reasoning questions including the questions on mathematics.
• The questions are likely to be asked on both verbal and non-verbal reasoning.
• Test-takers will also find questions on data interpretation. Practise at least five sets on graphs, bar diagrams, pie charts, etc.
• The NCERT textbooks are good enough to tackle the questions related to the environmental topics.
• General awareness consists of history, polity and economy. Pick a good general knowledge book of your choice and start preparing.
• Never refer too many book on general knowledge because this practise will just lead to ambiguity.
• Make a note of all the recent happenings related to the higher education system.

5 Mistakes To Avoid In UGC NET Paper-I

• Most of the candidates ignore paper-I and focus more on paper-II. This should not be done because both the papers are considered for shortlisting the candidates.
• Most of the reasoning and mathematical questions will be based on the basic concepts. Never ignore reading them while preparing for the exam.
• Ignoring data interpretation thinking that the questions will be based only on statistics.
• Not reading the abbreviations, terminology and definitions in Information and Communication Technology.
• Giving least importance to the previous years' question papers and test series.

Also Read: All You Need To Know About Career As A Teacher