For admission to medical colleges, thousands of students take the NEET exam each year. This will be one of the finest education articles for you if you are studying for the NEET exam since we will be talking about how to strike a balance between theory and MCQs in your NEET exam. The National Eligibility and Entrance Test, or NEET, is held for admission to the MBBS and BDS programs. It is an accomplishment to pass this exam because it will open up countless opportunities and pay handsomely, which can contribute to the creation of a stable and bright future.

Many students think they should only concentrate on MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions) because these are thought of as the “genuine” exam questions, whereas they think there will be many false notions in the theory section. Although there are two components to the NEET exam—the theoretical component and the multiple-choice component—you should strike a balance between the two in order to receive the best preparation and keep your motivation to pass the NEET examinations.

Reasons to have a balance between both theory and MCQs

  1. It’s important to answer questions topic by topic since it enables you to determine which topics are weak and how to focus on smaller areas to raise your score.
  2. Topic-specific theory is also crucial as again you can identify your strengths and weaknesses. 
  3. By answering topic-specific questions each day after studying a certain topic, balance is achieved. Make it a practice to ask 20–30 questions daily on the subject you are studying so that you can fully absorb the information. Without practice, the brain will forget the topics.
  4. The purpose of theory is to provide context and help in understanding. Always begin with a fundamental theory, ask questions, and then go on to a more advanced theory or repeat the original theory if a problem arises.

Tips for balancing theory and MCQs:

1. Thoroughly review the theories

The secret to being able to correctly answer questions during your NEET exam is theories. The main quality that one must retain during the exam is accuracy if one wants to perform well. But one shouldn’t disregard the theory portion because of these issues. Avoiding theory questions won’t help much because they typically have higher grades. Therefore, if you want to perform well in the NEET exam, you should concentrate on the theory portion of the course.

2. Regularly solving problems

Regularity is a crucial component of your planning. For instance, if you begin studying for your NEET exam today and tomorrow, you won’t be reading any of the NEET notes. You will then forget everything you have learned and need to learn. Additionally, you’ll lose interest and be unable to balance the MCQ and theory portions of the questions.

3. Before answering, read the questions thoroughly

Revisiting the questions frequently can help you restore your confidence. Additionally, you will comprehend the guidelines for the inquiries that are provided within the lines. You can give accurate responses to the questions by carefully reading the questions.

4. Take assistance from expert

You might not always be able to understand a theory or a topic, so don’t be afraid to inquire who the subject matter experts are. Online learning apps frequently offer subject-matter experts to assist you with any questions you may have.

5. Revision

The more you revise, the more you will be able to understand what is being conveyed between the lines, say the experts. You will therefore be able to respond more accurately and quickly during your final NEET exam if you review your courses twice or three times.

6. Time devoted

When preparing for the NEET, reading theory and understanding concepts require more time than selecting the correct answer to a multiple-choice question (60:40 ratio). In the days before the exam, devote the majority of your time to reviewing your notes, preparing MCQs, and taking practice exams.

7. Attempts per day

You should only practice questions during the time allotted for each subject because the MCQs must be completed in a timed way. Every day, start with 30 MCQs and work your way up to 50, 70, and 100. You improve as you solve more problems.

8. Book Resources

Numerous NEET exam experts have recommended the three categories of books you should read in order to pass the NEET 2022 & 2023 exams.

These consist of:

  • For the NEET exams in 2022 and 2023, the ideal reference books
  • NCERTs (Class XI and Class XII).
  • The collection of sample papers or test questions from earlier years is the last.

You must choose books that are based on and adhere to the NCERT syllabus because this exam has 200 questions, of which you may anticipate that 50 percent will come from the NCERT curriculum.

You should try out books that offer you everything under one roof in order to save time and money as well as the unnecessary trouble required to look out for several books, which also leads to more confusion than assistance. You should also keep an eye out for reference books that have a lot of MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions) for you to practice whatever you learn.

It is crucial that you look for the most recent editions of the books, as well as updated syllabuses, curricula, and question papers from past years.

Regarding the best books for NEET examinations that Toppers typically choose, there is a sizable selection of publications that you will encounter. However, the Universal Books Smart Errorless Series for NEET is the only well-known name you would encounter here in general.

The only reason the NEET exam winners use these book series is that the Universal books are among the most extensively used and well-liked resources for NEET and JEE exam preparation. With all the content and the entire curriculum offered to the applicants under one roof, they are unquestionably the top publishers today.

They have extensive experience in the publishing sector and are adept at framing the books’ material in the most effective manner. With the use of the proper examples, graphs, tables, figures, data, and other tools, they have made sure to provide students with complete knowledge in the easiest way possible to aid in their learning of the topics.