Saswati Gangopadhyay,

head, department of mass communication, Burdwan University

To qualify in NET, it is important to have a thorough knowledge of the subject. My advice to those appearing for the exam would be to revise their whole syllabus at least two to three times. There is no shortcut to success in this exam. You cannot leave anything to chance. At least three months’ intensive preparation is required to ace the exam. While preparing, a candidate should take a look at the NET syllabus, find out the chapters that he or she had not studied at university and read up on those.

There are three papers in NET. The first paper consists of objective questions on simple mathematics, test of reasoning, teaching ability and data interpretation. One should try to do well in the first paper as the questions are basically of Class XII standard. The second paper comprises objective-type questions relating to the subject. Again, this is not a difficult paper and one can score high marks. The third paper comprises descriptive-type questions. Since I teach communication, I have found that questions in the descriptive paper generally relate to communication research, traditional folk media, communication models, advertisement and public relations. To do well in the exam, one should solve questions from the model test papers available in the market.

Anadi Ray Choudhury,

lecturer in physiology, Serampore College

It is not difficult to crack NET provided one takes a serious shot at it. The most important thing is to approach it with the intention of passing the exam in the first attempt. To do that, one needs to take a good look at the syllabus and then start solving model question papers within the allotted time. It helps if one starts preparing for NET while still in the final year of postgraduation. The longer one takes to prepare for the exam, the more difficult it becomes to ace it.

Now let’s get down to the basics. Since I teach physiology, I think the first paper should be a cakewalk for any student from the science stream. For the second paper, a student should concentrate on physical chemistry, mostly questions relating to chemical equations. For the third paper, one should concentrate on biochemistry, molecular biology, genetics, classical geology, botany, ecology, genetics and bio-statistics. It is important to concentrate on the analytical questions. A score of 65 to 70 per cent in the exam would see you through.

(As told to Avijit Chatterjee)