Prepare all you want, but what use is it if you aren’t aware of where you stand and where you need to reach. Mocks are a way to test your preparedness for the exam and each mock is unique in its style and structure. Giving mocks is the best option in order to know whether you are on the right track as it is the closest simulation of the exam.
With UniVoyage Mocks, you are provided with the exam like TCS environment along with detailed analysis of each mock. This includes the number of questions attempted, correct and wrong as compared to the class average and their respective times taken. Mocks done, but not analyzed are equivalent to no mocks done. Analyzing the mistakes you have made, revising the wrong ones and revisiting the confusing concepts is crucial in the last one month of the preparation.
Mocks not just help you analyze your level of preparation in the last one month but throughout your journey towards IPMAT. Doing them in increasing frequency i.e. 1 after 2 months, 2 after 3 months and so on would help you know where you stand, where you are heading and even find out whether the topic you are doing is your strength or weakness which is one of the main objectives of mocks. Let us now address the FAQs of how many mocks to do, when to do them and how to analyze them:
When is the right time to do mocks: Mocks shouldn’t be taken immediately after prep is started. One could be taken before starting prep to figure out your timetable. And then the frequency of the number of mocks taken per month can be increased gradually so that you don’t cram all of them in the last one month, see no results and eventually burn yourself out. For those who start their prep late, it is better to simply revise the concepts you know and start giving mocks and focus more on analyzing them and thereby acting upon the topics that need work.
How many mocks are to be done before the exam: There is no fixed number that is required to be done. It differs from person to person. You might need 30 mocks to reach a pre-set level of yours and the other person might need just 25 of them. What matters in this case is the spacing between mocks, their level and the score improvement.
Coming to the elephant in the room- how should I analyze mocks: One could use either of the two routines to space out and attempt mocks- Each day consisting of a mock and its analysis or alternative days with 2 mock attempts and alternative days with the analysis of the two mocks given. To analyze any mock
1. Have specific time blocked primarily for analysis
2. Have a book/paper and pen with you
3. Understand the level of the mock you just gave (easy/medium/hard)
4. Find a pattern / common topics in the questions you have attempted within 1 minute, they are your strengths. Focus on these types of questions first, in your exam.
5. List down the questions that went wrong. Understand the reason for the mistake- reading the question incorrectly/ copying data incorrectly/ not knowing the concept/ half knowing the concept/ calculation error
6. Make sure you don’t commit the same mistake in the next mock (the mistake you made in majority in this mock.)
7. Note down the questions that you were
a. Able to attempt only half of it
b. That were wrong due to calculation error
These are the kinds of questions with medium difficulty. Revise these concepts and place them next in line for your priority list for the exam.
8. Note down the concepts of all the questions which you couldn’t even figure out the first step or couldn’t understand the question altogether. These are your weak areas which you need to work upon and place last in your priority list for the exams.
Once the priority list is made and you have started achieving your required or aimed score in the mocks, focus on the time you take for each of the questions, reduce it as much as possible and keep amending your priority list accordingly.
Hope this helps you fine-tune your mock analysis and reach the final goal. It is natural to start with low mock scores. It happens to everyone. What differentiates the toppers from the crowd is that they don’t stop by seeing low scores, they improve gradually by analyzing their performance. Keep at it and you are sure to reach there in no time.