You are an English literature student. Data interpretation and maths scare you, and in your last attempt Paper 1 pulled your total down.
This is one of the most common worries in my comment section, so here is how I would handle Paper 1 if I were you.
The short answer
Start with research methods and higher education, because they are factual and only need memorising. Then move to communication, ICT and environment.
For DI, practise the few maths ideas it keeps using: average, percentage and ratio. Never lose marks in the reading passage.
Give Paper 1 30 to 60 minutes every day, not just the last two weeks.
How Paper 1 counts
Paper 1 has 50 questions for 100 marks, and Paper 2 has 100 questions for 200 marks. You write both in one three-hour sitting, and there is no negative marking.
There is no separate pass mark for Paper 1. To be considered at all, you need an aggregate of at least 40 percent across both papers (35 percent for reserved categories), and after that your category cut-off decides the result.
So you do not need 20 right in Paper 1 alone, which is something students panic about every year. But every Paper 1 mark goes into the same total, and that is why Paper 1 decides so many results.
If you get only 30 to 32 right in Paper 1, it is your weak area. In the last cycle, students who got 35 to 42 right in Paper 1 were among those who got JRF.
What to study first
Begin with research methods, then higher education. Both are fully factual.
If you know the fact, you get the answer. If you do not, common sense will not rescue you, so these need memorising.
Teaching aptitude comes later, because your own experience of teachers gives you some common sense there. Maths and DI also come later, with practice.
For self-study I suggest K.V.S. Madaan’s book along with the free lectures on YouTube. Make a 50-page notebook for each unit.
In the first round fill 30 pages in small handwriting, using short forms like e.g. and b/w, and leave the other 20 pages for updates later.
Topics that give marks without maths
Rahul, one of our students, does not come from a maths background. He qualified and built his Paper 1 score on topics like these:
- The reading passage. He says he never lost a mark there in any attempt. As he puts it, you are a literature student, so you cannot afford to lose marks in a passage.
- Commissions in higher education, such as the Kothari Commission, NEP 2020 and the UGC.
- Communication, especially encoding and decoding.
- ICT basics such as email and phishing.
- Environmental protocols, such as the Montreal Protocol.
- Indian and Western fallacies in logical reasoning. This took him the longest, but he got there.
By his estimate, these topics alone can give you 10 to 12 questions.
DI is smaller than it looks
DI questions keep using the same few ideas: average, percentage and ratio. That is Class 10 maths.
Raghvendra Pal, who qualified JRF with 36 right in Paper 1, practised around 20 questions on each of these before touching full DI sets. Meghna Roy told me she was never confident in maths, but with practice she got every DI answer right in the attempt she qualified.
Read something in English every day
Comprehension is not only about the unseen passage. In Paper 2, a large share of the questions also come with long statements and long options.
Read a newspaper editorial for 15 to 20 minutes a day. If you studied in Hindi medium or another regional-language medium, I would say this is not optional.
Books and note-making for Paper 1 and Paper 2 (Hindi).
In the exam hall
| Step | What to do |
|---|---|
| First 90 minutes | Do Paper 2 first. In literature you either know the answer or you do not, so do not get stuck. Mark doubtful questions for review. |
| Next 90 minutes | Paper 1, then the questions you marked for review. |
| Inside Paper 1 | Do the short factual questions first. Keep the reading passage, DI and maths, which take time, for the end. |
| Targets | At least 4 of 5 in the reading passage and 3 of 5 in DI. There is no negative marking, so answer every question. |
My rule of thumb: 30 or more right in Paper 1 along with 60 or more right in Paper 2 puts you in a good position.
Why I ask students to start the exam with Paper 2.
Get out of your comfort zone. Many students keep revising only what they like and never touch DI or maths because those scare them.
The topics you avoid are usually where your marks are hiding. Nakul Grover
Want Paper 1 covered for you? Our Paper 1 course is built for literature students who do not come from a maths background.
See the Paper 1 courseFrequently asked questions
Is there a minimum score in UGC NET Paper 1?
No separate one. You need an aggregate of at least 40 percent across both papers (35 percent for reserved categories), and then your category cut-off decides.
How much time should I give Paper 1 every day?
30 to 60 minutes a day, from the start of your preparation, alongside Paper 2.
Which Paper 1 topics should a literature student do first?
Research methods and higher education, because they are factual. Then communication, ICT, environment and the reading passage.
Practise DI through average, percentage and ratio.
More help: the UGC NET English guide and the Paper 2 syllabus.
