The last two months before the board exams are crucial for exam preparation. This is when students have completed their syllabus and are done with the revision. At this stage, they should evaluate their exam preparation to check how ready they are for the board exams. The best study resource for assessing exam preparation is solving the previous years’ papers.
The Central Board of Secondary Education, popularly known as CBSE, uploads the previous years’ papers on their official website. Solving the CBSE Previous Year Question Papers benefits students in various ways, such as knowing the marking scheme, important questions, question patterns, etc. Students can download these papers from their official website and the answer keys. Solving the CBSE previous years’ question papers benefits students in various ways, such as knowing the marking scheme, important questions, question patterns, etc.
This article will discuss the benefits of solving the past years’ papers for CBSE board exams.
Advantages of Solving the Previous Year Papers
There are numerous benefits of solving the past years’ papers, and we have listed a few of them below:
1) Understand the exam pattern and types of questions asked in the exam
Solving the previous years’ question papers helps in understanding the exam pattern. Students get well-versed in the section-wise marks division and the number of questions asked under each section. For example, while solving the CBSE previous year question papers for Class 12, students get well-versed in the number of questions asked for 1 mark, 2 marks, 3 marks and 6 marks. They also know how a question can be framed in the examination.
2) Know the difficulty level of the paper
Practising the previous years’ paper will help students know the difficulty level of the exam. They can analyse how many easy, moderate, and high-level questions are asked in the paper. Analysing the past years’ papers will help them prepare for exams better. They will be able to score good marks even if the paper is at a difficult level.
3) Time management
Time management is a crucial skill that is tested during exams. Most students prepare well and work hard throughout the year, but they cannot answer the questions during the exam due to time constraints. Even though they know the answers, they cannot write them on the answer sheet. Solving the previous years’ paper comes as an opportunity to improve their time management. Students need to build a habit of solving the last years’ paper in the allocated time duration as mentioned in the paper. Initially, they may face a problem in managing time, but gradually, they will be able to complete the entire question paper within the time limit.
4) Know strengths and weaknesses
After solving the CBSE previous years’ question papers, they must go through their answer sheet to check how many questions they have answered correctly and how many incorrectly. Students can use the previous years’ papers to check their weaknesses and strengths in a particular subject. With the help of self-evaluation, students identify the topics which require more effort and working on them will improve their overall performance in the board exams.
5) Set exam strategy
While practising the previous years’ papers, students should analyse the changes in the exam pattern, the paper’s difficulty level, and variations with which questions can be asked in the exam. After knowing them, students must plan their exam strategy. Once the exam strategy is ready, they must solve mock tests and sample papers by following their strategy. If they are scoring well, they must go ahead with it; otherwise, they must change their exam strategy and discover a new one to help them achieve high marks.
By following the points mentioned above, CBSE students can score excellent marks in their final exam. After solving the previous years’ papers, students should also start solving the CBSE Sample Paper. These sample papers are provided by the CBSE board every year. Students can download these sample papers from their official website. Teachers and mentors also advise students to test their preparation to solve the previous years’ papers and sample papers.
