CBSE stands for Central Board of Secondary Education and to claim that it stands tall as the backbone of the Indian education system would be an understatement. CBSE came into being in 1952 and primarily consists of both public and private schools, as approved by the Union of India. And naturally, its curriculum is flexible, tough and detail oriented, with changes scripted into the curriculum each year. And naturally, the question papers, especially the ones for the board exams reflect this and are considered to be equally tough. It should also be pointed out that the board exam question papers are based on the pattern issued by the NCERT or the national council of educational research and training.
Most parents understand the importance of these board exams, and like the children they too are eager for their kids to crack these exams. And with the CBSE issuing a sample paper each year, per subject – the sample papers themselves have taken on a hue of importance and are naturally considered essential by both students and parents alike. Here’s why the CBSE sample paper is considered both salient and a must have, by every student sitting for these board exams.
While it is highly recommended that the student completes studying the NCERT issued textbooks, before sitting down for the boards, it is always a good idea to review the sample papers as well. Here’s why –
- Brushing up: Granted, brushing up the knowledge from the NCERT issued textbooks sounds like a dream come true but the CBSE papers are inherently different from other board exams. These papers are designed so as to prevent any student from merely memorizing the given text books and even goes to the extent of testing the practical application of the various principles contained in the NCERT textbooks. It challenges the student to apply the principles learnt, and to apply them to varied scenarios. And one of the effective ways for students to understand, comprehend and even to apply the principles learnt is with rigorous practice. And that’s where the sample papers come in.
- Overcoming the fear: No matter how well prepared the student may be, it is but natural for them to have stage fright. And one of the effective methods for any student to overcoming stage fright is to replicate exam conditions and even to work on question papers, which are similar. And the CBSE sample papers should definitely come in handy.
- Rigorous practice: When it comes to the actual exam, “practice makes a man perfect”. And that saying, while trite happens to be true, all the time. The CBSE sample papers, especially the ones from the last few years, rigorously follow the NCERT patterns and working on these papers should enable you to cover all the main concepts effortlessly. What’s more, you need to purchase only a good set of papers and you should be set for the boards.
- Time management: When it comes to the boards, it is always a good idea to practice with actual sample papers. And in this case, sample papers based on the actual NCERT samples. Moreover, working on these sample papers should enable you to plot your strategy vis-à-vis the boards and you can practice accordingly. As it is, every student will get only three hours to complete each paper and you need to practice on these sample papers, so that you can manage your time more effectively. For example, there’s bound to be a question that’ll trip you up, and common sense dictates that you move on to the easier sections of the paper. As per research, nearly 60% of the students, who had sat for the boards last year, complained that the time was too short. That should clue you in as to how essential time management is and why you should get the hang of it, prior to sitting for your boards.
- Working on mistakes: No matter how well prepared you may be, sitting down for the actual boards is stressful. As a result, you are bound to commit errors, mistakes that you would not normally commit. And that’s why you should work on these sample papers. These papers should help you spot the errors you have often committed, so that you can work on the same. Moreover, working on the same principle often causes you to develop muscle memory which should come handy, when it comes to excelling at these boards.
- Replicate the D day conditions: If you are appearing for your boards, then you need to use the CBSE sample paper 2021 class 10, or opt for the CBSE sample paper for class 12, as per requirement. And more importantly, you need to create the actual exam conditions, ambience that you are bound to experience during examination day. And that means, setting aside three hours, maintaining absolute silence and working on the papers, under the same rigorous exam conditions. And as tempting as it may seem, you need to avoid looking at the solutions. Try and see if you are able to solve the problems on your own, failing which, you can refer to the solutions and make sure that you note down the problem areas, so that you can focus on the same when reviewing your notes.
- Be honest: When working on these sample papers, recreate the exam conditions, as much as you possibly can. And try to work on these papers honestly. You are not going to learn much, if you keep glancing at the solutions every two minutes. The whole point of this exercise is to enable you to become confident with the various concepts that you had learnt in your classrooms, NCERT textbooks, and to use that confidence to tackle myriad problems on your own.
Just remember to use the sample papers and work on the same prior to the exam. Do not keep it off until the very last minute. And when working on these papers, remember to replicate the exam conditions and that includes no breaks either, good luck.
