Preparing for the board examination along with CUET can be quite cumbersome for the students but it is the absolute need of the hour. The CUET 2023 exams will be conducted a few days after your board exams, therefore gearing up your CUET 2023 exam preparation along with your boards, you will get an added advantage. CUET (UG) – 2023 will be based on the Class XII syllabus and hence you need not prepare for it separately. A good knowledge of the CUET 2023 examination pattern, syllabus, and the subjects you read in Class 12 will definitely make your task easier.
In this article, we’ll discuss how you should prepare for both CUET and board exams simultaneously to achieve your dreams.
Understand the CUET Examination Pattern
A good beginning almost assures success. Begin with understanding the examination pattern for the CUET 2023 exam. Getting familiar with the pattern and having an overview of the syllabus for the CUET UG 2023 examination will help you design an effective plan of action to prepare for the examination.
CUET (UG) examination shall consist of the following 4 Sections:
- Section IA – 13 Languages
- Section IB – 20 Languages
- Section II – 27 Domain-specific Subjects
- Section III – General Test
The following table would help you understand the exam pattern better:
| Sections | Subjects/Tests | Questions to be attempted | Question Type | Duration |
| Section IA -Languages | 13 languages available | 40 questions to be attempted out of 50 in each language | Reading Comprehension (based on different types of passages– Factual, Literary, and Narrative, [Literary Aptitude and Vocabulary] | 45 Minutes for each language |
| Section IB - Languages | There are 20 Languages. Any of these languages may be chosen. | |||
| Section II - Domain | 27 Domains specific Subjects offered. A maximum of Six (06) Domains as desired by the applicable University/ Universities can be chosen | 35/40 Questions to be attempted out of 45/50. |
• Input text can be used for MCQ Based Questions • MCQs based on the syllabus given on the NTA website |
45 Minutes for each Domain Specific Subject. |
| Section III - General Test | For any such undergraduate programme/ programmes being offered by Universities where a General Test is being used for admission. | 50 Questions to be attempted out of 60 |
• Input text can be used for MCQ Based Questions • General Knowledge, Current Affairs, General Mental Ability, Numerical Ability, Quantitative Reasoning (Simple application of basic mathematical concepts arithmetic/ algebra geometry/ menstruation /stat taught till Grade 8), Logical and Analytical Reasoning |
60 Minutes |
Comprehend the Syllabus
Before preparing a study schedule, you must go through the syllabus for the board exams and NTA CUET 2023 syllabus. You'll find that in both exams, the weightage of a lot of topics is common. This common part of these exams must be marked and studied thoroughly to ace both- CUET 2023 and board exams. After comprehending the syllabus, the next step would be to create a proper schedule. While giving proper time to each subject, you'll be able to clear your basics and understand topics deeply. Prepare a timetable for study and follow it religiously. Give extra time to difficult subjects as this will increase your knowledge and understanding.
Click here to download NTA CUET Syllabus.
Make a Proper Study Schedule
Cracking a competitive entrance exam not only requires knowledge but also consistency, regularity & effective time management. To balance your board exam preparation with CUET, you must make a proper study plan, where you are able to give an adequate amount of time to both exams. The study plan should be realistic enough so that you can stick to it throughout your preparation. Since the board exams would be conducted earlier so you’ll have to prioritize things accordingly.
- Identify the important topics for both Boards and CUET exams and prioritize including those topics in your study plan.
- The CUET (UG) exam would be based on the Class XII syllabus only. Hence, you can directly refer to the NCERT study material to prepare for your CUET exam.
- Initially, you can give 1-2 hours for the CUET exam preparation and the rest for the board exams. Once the board exams get over, you can devote the complete time to the important subjects of the NTA CUET 2023 exam preparation.
- The study sessions should include a good mix of theory, problem-solving, attempting mock tests, and analyzing them as well.
- Prepare the schedule in a way that you’re able to attempt 2-3 CUET mock tests (full-length) weekly and 1 CUET quiz on a daily basis.
Create short notes during the preparation
While preparing the chapters for your boards, making short notes of the important topics that are important for boards as well as the CUET exam would be extremely helpful and time-saving during your revision
- Prepare short notes on the important topics, short tricks, and formulae that can come in handy during your revision for the CUET examinations.
- Make a list of the topics that troubled you during your board exam preparation and consider them as your weak areas, and practice them individually for the CUET exam.
- Do not write down everything in your notes. Too much information would make your revision a cumbersome task. Just include the key points that you struggle to remember.
- Revision is the key! Make sure you dedicate enough revision time to the topics at the end of every study session to retain the concepts you study and boost your preparation further.
Be Flexible to perform as per the requirement of the Exam
You have to be flexible between writing long theoretical answers for the board exams as well as solving the problems swiftly. Since the board exams have a step-wise marking scheme, you need to write in points, and also use diagrams as per the requirement of the answers. While for CUET, you would require the shortest possible approach to get an answer to a question in the minimum time.
Therefore, to familiarise yourself with the CUET examination pattern and develop the necessary skills such as speed, accuracy, and time management for competition, make sure you attempt CUET mock test regularly. Do not forget to analyze your performance in each CUET mock test after attempting it. Through a detailed analysis of your attempted mock test, determine the areas where you need to work hard to boost your score.
To attempt a free CUET mock test based on NTA pattern, Click here
Practice Regularly using CUET 2023 mock tests
Just the theoretical knowledge of the subjects is not enough for the CUET exams. Your board exams and CUET might be very similar in terms of the syllabus. But it is crucial to understand that board exams are subjective, while CUET is an objective test. Competitive exams like CUET are less process-oriented and more result oriented. Therefore, the theoretical part for both would be the same but the preparation part would still differ.
