UGC NET ENGLISH

Introducing Myself and this Blog

A little intro:

Hi UGC NET aspirants. This blog is specifically for English subject, code 30 in UGC NET. Since NET comprises of two papers, namely Paper 1, which is General for all, and Paper 2, which is the subject paper, I will post notes, tips and tricks for both the papers. 

By the way, Hi! I'm Ria. I've qualified NET of December 2019, and I've finished post-grad in June 2019. Today's 22nd July 2020. Yeah, that's very recent, I know. But you know what, there are various things to do. 

What after qualifying NET? 

Qualifying NET is only the first step of becoming an Assistant Professor in any college or university. It is basically eligibility. No fresher is preferred for a permanent post. I hope you people know that in any college or university, there are two kinds of posts, temporary posts and permanent posts. So NET is what it says: National Eligibility Test. It just makes you eligible, it does not guarantee anything. So, 

Stop living in wonderland. 

Now, let's discuss reality. As soon as you qualify NET, you need to start publishing research papers in journals, attend seminars and conferences, do a presentation of your papers in seminars. You won't get a job easily if you don't have these to your credit. By job, I mean post of Guest faculty or a temporary post in a college. Don't expect a permanent post right now. They prefer applicants with experience and a degree of PhD from a prestigious institution.

Even for enrollment in PhD in prestigious institutions, you need to have research papers. They want you to fill the details in the form, so you can't escape.

So, I would advise you all to write papers during your masters. Don't just prepare for semester exams and NET. Start writing, and start publishing. Take help from your college professors. And yes, try to form a harmonious relationship with your professors. Whenever you apply for a job, or for PhD, their references are required. You have to fill in their name, phone no., email ID and address. Moreover, they are your mentors, isn't it?.....so respect them always.

My story of preparation:

I qualified NET in the third attempt, and I haven't joined any coaching for preparation. You must be thinking, How then? Well, to share my personal experience, in my first attempt, I gave exam unprepared. I've just filled the form and gave the exam,.... as simple as that. I had a passion for literature and so I became overconfident. In the examination hall, I found that the question paper was alien to me. I scored near about 40% in that attempt. 

For the next attempt, I started preparing early. You must have read in Shakespeare's Hamlet, that even madness has a pattern. This made me think that if even madness can have a pattern, this is only an exam. So, I started looking for a pattern in previous year papers. Truly speaking, I could not find much, but I've found that they asked more from Romantic Age, Victorian Age, Modern and Postmodern Age, and Contemporary literature. And that they have flair for certain writers. This was not enough for clearing the exam. You won't believe but I made it a habit to read nearly all the question papers every day (only second paper, of course). I started analysing the options that the questions followed. But again I could not qualify, because I wasted all the time in analysing question papers. But this time, at least I knew the writers and theories asked in the exam.

In my third attempt, I used all the analyses and then started preparing. Luckily I qualified this time with 56.xx% (I don't remember the decimal places). I analysed paper one also, but not much. I only knew that a few questions get repeated every time. I'm sure JRF can be qualified if paper 1 is also given importance while preparation. 

Why I'm writing this blog?

Firstly, I'm preparing for Jrf these days. Teaching is the best way to increase one's personal knowledge of a subject. I don't have anyone whom I can teach. So, I'm starting with this platform. 

Secondly, I'm making notes these days. I've applied to many colleges across our country. During the preparation, I couldn't get time to make notes. Now I'm doing this to teach if I get selected anywhere. I'm sharing the same notes with you all. 

What I'll post?

Like I said, I'll share my notes that I'm making. But for NET, you don't have to delve deep in every topic. I may post extra than what is required. You may use it for enhancing your personal knowledge of the topics. Wherever it is required, I'll state what is relevant for NET, and what is not. In fact, I'll post two kinds of posts:

1. NET PREP headed posts

2. IN-DEPTH STUDY headed posts

I'll try to post as much as possible. I'll post: 

• Notes (for English and General paper)

• Tips and Tricks for both the papers (you can't clear any exam without a proper strategy. You need to know what to read and what to leave. How to do a little guesswork if you get stuck in any question in the exam. This part is most important for qualifying this exam).

• Research paper in English tips, and publishing tips (I'm myself not good at this, but I'll share whatever little I know).

Good luck to you all. Hope you all would find this blog useful for your preparation. I've activated the comments section, feel free to give your suggestions and remarks. 

Thank you!