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If you are in Class 12, your first JEE Main attempt is close. The NTA public notice of 24 October 2026 sets the Session 1 exam for 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 28 January 2027, with the online form open until 22 November 2026. In Class 11, the same plan works with more time in the early phases. And "first attempt" is really two attempts in one year.
What does JEE Main actually test?
Paper 1 (B.E./B.Tech) has 75 questions worth 300 marks: 25 each in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry, according to the JEE Main 2027 Information Bulletin. Each subject has 20 multiple-choice questions in Section A and 5 numerical-value questions in Section B, where you type an integer answer.
Every question carries +4 for a correct answer and -1 for a wrong one, in both sections; an unanswered question scores 0, per the same bulletin. The paper runs for 3 hours, in a morning shift (9:00 AM to 12:00 noon) or an afternoon shift (3:00 PM to 6:00 PM). The detailed syllabus is on jeemain.nta.nic.in; use it as your checklist.
That marking scheme gives you simple arithmetic:
A blind guess among 4 options: 0.25 x 4 - 0.75 x 1 = +0.25 marks on average. Barely worth it.
If you can rule out 2 options with confidence: 0.5 x 4 - 0.5 x 1 = +1.5 marks on average. Worth answering.
A numerical-value question has no options to eliminate, so a guess there is close to a pure -1 risk. Skip it unless you have worked it out.
How should you plan from Class 11 to the January session?
A widely cited review of ten study techniques, by Dunlosky and colleagues (2013), rated practice testing and distributed practice (spreading study over time) as the two highest-utility techniques, and rated highlighting and rereading low. So: test yourself early, and keep returning to old chapters.
Class 11 (learn it once, properly). For each chapter: the idea, textbook questions, then mixed problems. End each week with a short timed test.
Class 12, April to September (two tracks). New Class 12 chapters on weekdays; one Class 11 chapter revisited every weekend with a timed test.
October to November (register and switch gears). Fill the form before the 22 November deadline for Session 1. Move to mixed-chapter tests and your first full 3-hour mocks.
December to mid-January (full mocks). Sit mocks at your likely shift time, 9 to 12 or 3 to 6. This plan for mocks per week at 6, 3 and 1 month out gives numbers by stage.
Last week (light). Revise your error notebook, sleep on time, start nothing new.
After every mock, sort each lost mark into one of three boxes: concept gap, wrong method, or slip. Concept gaps go back to a lesson; the Fermi Concept Library covers every concept in physics, chemistry and mathematics, each with its own lesson. Wrong-method mistakes need worked solutions you can follow step by step; the Fermi Problem Library has a step-by-step solver that explains the reasoning rather than printing an answer. Slips need a slower final check, not more chapters.
How do you use both JEE Main sessions?
The Information Bulletin says you need not appear in both sessions, and if you sit both, your best NTA score is used for the merit list. NTA adds that the first session shows you your mistakes so you can improve in the second.
The same bulletin sets the Session 2 form for 5 January to 3 February 2027 and the exam for 2 to 7 April 2027. So:
Before Session 1: prepare as if January is your only chance.
Before 3 February: apply for Session 2 using the same application number, and write down the three chapters or question types that cost you most.
February to March: if your board exams fall in this window, they come first. Fit in a few mocks a week and target only those three weak areas.
After results: your NTA score is normalised across shifts; see how JEE Main normalisation and percentile work.
If pressure affects your sleep or mood for days, talk to someone you trust, or call Tele MANAS on 14416, the Health Ministry's free 24x7 helpline.
Where do you start this week?
Tick off finished chapters on the official syllabus, sit one full mock at your likely shift time, and sort every lost mark into the three boxes. That list is your plan until Session 1.
