Jagran Josh
Catch us as we engage in a conversation with CBSE Class 10 Topper 2023 Madhur Choudhary from Sri Chaitanya Techno School, Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh where he shares his exam preparation experience, tips, suggestions for juniors and much more.
Madhur Choudhary from Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh has made his parents, teachers and friends proud by scoring an unbelievable – but not impossible – 99.6 percent marks in CBSE 10th Class Board Exams 2022-23. He is a student of Sri Chaitanya Techno School, Muzaffarnagar. Madhur’s father Shailendra Kumar, is in the Agriculture sector and his mother, Geeta is a Teacher. Interested in Content Creation, UX Design and Scriptwriting, Madhur is also a national gold medalist in WorldSkills India JuniorSkills Championship. Find below Madhur’s candid conversation with Jagran Josh where he shares his exam preparation journey, the thrilling experience of getting his scorecard and his aspirations ahead.
Que 1: How do you feel about this feat of scoring as high as 99.6 per cent? Did you expect this beforehand and how are you celebrating this?
Answer: I was in my school (I had started my 11th as a PCM student) when the result came out. That day I had my English test and was resting in class after the test when called down. As I reached the ground floor, a bunch of teachers shouted ‘congratulations’’ in unison. I was shocked, joyfully. My school, my parents and even my classmates were very happy so it was apparent for me to be very proud and happy. I had already expected more than 98% because I was sure that I would score fully in the subjective part. However, I was not sure how much I would score in the tricky objective-type questions.
I was praying for 99.6% and got what I wished for! I celebrated by calling and thanking all my teachers from middle school to high school and went to watch a movie later.
Que 2: What kind of a student were you while preparing for your exams: someone who would study day and night or someone who would balance study, rest and fun? What was your exam preparation journey like?
Answer: I never attended any evening coaching classes. I consistently attended my classes in school and engaged in at least 2 hours of self-study, each day. From January to June, I only focused on school lectures and revised the same at home either by reading or YouTube. From June onwards, I got more serious towards academics and completed the entire syllabus by the end of August. (Yes, it is possible to complete CBSE Class 10 syllabus within 3 months!) After August, I started revisions, focusing mainly on Maths, Science and Social Science. I relied on only school lectures, online resources and self-study for exam preparation. During the last 3 months, I studied for 4-5 hours a day other than school (Sometimes staying awake as late as 4 am and sometimes waking up as early as 4 am).
Que 3: Did you follow a set study time-table or just went with the flow every day?
Answer: No, not a timetable but I had a monthly planner where I decided in advance the portions to complete by the end of a specific month. In addition, I also made a to-do list, every night, for the next day where I specified not only what to study the next day but also non-academic tasks.
My annual to-do list, in a nutshell, comprised of the syllabus to complete, my weak points (chapters I didn’t understand well), eliminating weak points, revising the syllabus, practising sample papers and previous year paper, revising again with focus on diagrams and map works, make mind maps for quick revisions, revising again. August onwards, I also gave 2 tests daily to increase my speed and presentation skills.
Que 4: Any specific sets of reference books that you referred to during your preparation to perform better?
Answer: NCERT is enough when it comes to concepts. Anything and everything came from NCERT books in the 2023 CBSE Board exam for class 10th. So one should make sure to know every topic discussed in the book. In English and Hindi papers, questions will require more critical thinking and your ability to form an opinion. I have personally referred to my school’s own publication books and previous year questions.
After completing NCERT, I referred to the following books,
– NCERT Exemplar for Science and Maths
– RD Sharma or RS Agarwal for Maths (only some questions/exercise and not the entire exercises)
– Educart or Oswaal Question Bank Books (for competency-based questions, optional*)
– Sample Paper and Previous Year Paper (available on Jagran Josh and CBSE website)
– For SST: No need to purchase any extra book since NCERT in itself is very huge
Que 5: How important is it to complete your syllabus beforehand and practise the sample papers and previous year’s question papers from CBSE?
It is very important that you have completed your syllabus by the end of November (Diwali break) because revision and practice also require time. Yes, you can score above 75% even if you start studying from January but then you won’t be able to attempt the questions which were selectively made for Toppers to attempt.
“The earlier you complete the syllabus, the lesser the stress and more time.”
Sample Papers and Previous Year’s Question Papers are very important. While the sample papers introduce you to the format and difficulty level of the upcoming exam, previous year’s question papers contain a good amount of questions which are repeated every year. Many questions in the 2022-23 exam were similar to previous year papers. Practising the papers will also help you in improving speed and presentation skills which is very important to score more than 90%.
Que 6: How did Jagran Josh help you in your exam preparation journey throughout the academic year?
Answer: This is my completely honest response that Jagran Josh had a major part in keeping me updated for the Boards exam and providing relevant study materials. First, I received most of the tips for exam presentations from the JagranJosh website. In Grammar and Writing Skills (English and Hindi), I referred to their website for quick revisions. Last thing, the website also had NCERT Maths solutions and previous year question papers. Thank you to team Jagran Josh for that 🙂
Que 7: What were the ways in which you coped with the exam and performance-related stress in day-to-day life?
Answer: Stress is a major problem when preparing for board examinations or any other exam. I remember falling ill before my pre-board exam due to late-night studies. Eventually, I started taking care of my health and sleep routine. I remember doing either 5-minute meditation or physical exercises or morning walk before studying and going to school. Digital Detox can really help in improving your focus and mental health. It is also okay to use mobile phones and social media but not more than 1-2 hours in a day. You can deactivate your social media accounts in the last 4 months before the exam. You can listen to music beats while doing Maths problems, (don’t listen to music with vocals as they can distract). I also played Violin once in a while to relieve my mind. So I would suggest you keep a balance between health, academics and social life. Pursue your hobbies and passion simultaneously as you’ll get less time moving forward academically.
Que 8: Any tips that you’d like to share with your juniors for their CBSE Class 10 Board Exam 2024?
Answer: Tips for my juniors going to appear in 2024 CBSE Board exams class 10th:
- Stay consistent in studies from starting
- Focus on what is taught in class
- Take care of your health
- During summer break, try out new skills in fields of programming, designing, marketing, entrepreneurship etc. so that you’re sure of the stream you wish to choose in 11th before itself.
- Treat all subjects equally
- Keep a good reputation in the classroom, 20% out of 100% is in your school’s hand
- Don’t believe in any unofficial blueprint as it can impact your marks
- Study enough for the entire year so that you can sleep well a day before and after the exam
- Give your best in exams and then don’t worry about the result. All the best!
Madhur is currently pursuing Science stream in class 11th. Also working on a YouTube channel, he is ideating a startup and writing a book, simultaneously.
Jagran Josh conveys best wishes to Madhur Choudhary for all his future endeavours.
Stay tuned to jagranjosh.com for more such content and CBSE Board Exam preparation resources.
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