0UGC-NET An Introduction to Paper 1
UGC-NET Examination consists of two papers.
Paper 1 is a common-syllabus paper for all. It consists of 50 questions with two marks each.
Paper 2 is the main-subject paper having 100 questions with two marks each.
The 50 questions of Paper 1 come from various topics.
1. What all are the topics?
2. Why should we study these topics?
3. How can we explore these topics?
Let us find out.
1. What all are the topics?
Paper 1 has topics divided into ten units.
• Teaching Aptitude
• Research Aptitude
• Reading Comprehension
• Communication
• Mathematical Reasoning
• Logical Reasoning
• Data Analysis
• Information & Communication Technology
• People, Environment, Development
• Higher Education and Polity
We can expect five questions from each unit.
2. Why should we study these topics?
We know, NET qualification makes us eligible for being a teacher and also to join for research. One may go for teaching after research again.
So, for teaching students or doing research, one should know about some general topics other than their teaching or research subject.
• First of all; Teaching is a profession.
So a teacher should have some general skills to perform well. Reading comprehension, Data analysis, and Mathematical reasoning are thus necessary. Logical reasoning also helps to infer and conclude precisely from a given set of statements.
• Then; Teacher interacts with the students. Knowledge should be imparted in simple language with maximum clarity. Many are well-educated but cannot speak well and share it clearly to the students. The process is a success only when the student gets the message correctly and give his/her feedback which again affects the next message. So a unit on Communication has been included in paper 1.
• Teaching as a profession also demands knowledge about the characteristics of learning and teaching, teaching modes and evaluation methods etc., i.e., Teaching aptitude. Similarly for doing research, the unit on Research Aptitude is a must.
• Teaching-learning process and various steps of the research are now carried through digital media. A teacher or research student must have the necessary knowledge in Information & Communication Technology (ICT) and know about innovations in the field.
• Teacher is also a responsible citizen of the country. He/she should know about the government, especially different laws and policies on education.
• Teacher is a human being, a part of the ecosystem. Various levels of human-environment interaction and related matters must be studied. A teacher should also be able to bring up such an eco-friendly character in the students.
3. How can we study these topics?
Our approach decides whether it is tough or easy to study these topics. If you love the process of learning, if you are curious to know more and more about each case, if you can be sure that the knowledge you thus acquire will help you to be a skilled professional, a responsible citizen and an eco-friendly human being, then the whole course of study will not be a burden for you.
Instead, an approach considering merely the marks you want to score in the exam may trouble you, where you will be trying to fill up your brain with a lot of stuff that does not appear exciting or useful to your heart.
Most of the questions won't be direct. So we should be thorough with the concepts. Practising previous-year questions as many as possible will help a lot.
I hope you do well.
All the best!
