51

TIPS TO CRACK THE

NET LIFE SCIENCE
EXAM( CSIR-UGC JRF)
By Bishnu Goswami
<51 tips to crack the NET Life Science Exam(CSIR-
UGC JRF)
Books, Online Resources, Strategies and last minute
tips!>

 INTRODUCTION
This book is written to serve the purpose as a guide to
successfully prepare and crack the CSIR-UGC NET Life
Science examination.
It includes 51 tips, which often have sub-sections to deal
with the matter in hand. The writer himself has qualified
NET with JRF in his second semester in the University,
and thus provides a first-hand experience of the
examination itself.
This book does not contain any direct course materials.
Instead, it offers strategies, memorization tips last minute
hacks and thoughts on how to attempt each individual
sections. A separate discussion on each unit from the
syllabus is also included. To save important time for the
aspirant, the text has been kept concise and to-the-point as
much as practicable. The author aimed at reducing
irrelevant and space-filling text to a minimum.
This book covers tips on preparation, book-choices,
online materials and last minute tips for the examination.
Most tips have sub-tips for greater clarification, including
'Unlucky 13- bad habits an aspirant should never have',
'12- A dozen pro-tips' and memorization techniques. For
each of the sections in the syllabus, there is a guide for
studying for the aspirants not familiar with the preparation
strategies.
Besides some tips on time-management, there is also the
inclusion of aptitude answering techniques, and avoidance
of traps which often results in depressing negative marks.
Rare but golden online resources from the top universities
of the world are also pointed to the aspirant, which were
used by the writer himself to clarify the concepts in his
early years of study.
That being said, this is not a guide with respect to “direct
the behavior or development of”. That is because no two
persons are alike, with regard to their background
knowledge, study habits, devotion, topics they are strong
or weak at and so-on. Thus to benefit from this guide, the
aspirant should take the tips and mould it with their own
style.
Best wishes for cracking the NET examination!

Contents
#51- Be clear about what the NET exam is about, and
your short and long term career goals.
#50- Do you need to cover in depth the full 100% of the
syllabus?
#49 What is the exam format and syllabus?
#48- Do you need out of the course separate coaching?
#47-Where to start in the big syllabus?
#46-What timeframe is required to crack NET?
#45- What will be the rest of the tips about?
#44-What is the cutoff? How much marks should I get to
qualify the examination?
#43-How will be the exam different from the previous
ones I have taken?
#42 I have decided to crack NET. Which books to get?
#41-How many hours per day should I allocate for the
preparation?
#40-But part A/ Aptitude gives me the creeps!
#39-Aptitude solving algorithm
#37-Hold on your fire! It is a bait!
#36- An algorithmic example- How to solve aptitude.
#35- Another algorithmic example-How to solve aptitude.
#34- Online resource on solving aptitude
#33 Unit 1 tips- Molecules and their interactions
Relevant to Biology.
#32-Unit 2 Tips-Cellular Organization
#31 Unit 3 tips- Fundamental Processes
#30-Unit 4 Tips-Cell communication and Cell Signaling
#29-Unit 5 Tips-Developmental Biology
#28-Unit 6 Tips-System Physiology-Plant
#27-Unit 7 Tips- System Physiology-Animal
#26-Unit 8 Tips- Inheritance Biology
#25-Unit 9 Tips-Diversity of Life Forms
#24-Unit 10 Tips -Ecological Principles
#23-Unit 11 Tips- Evolution and Behavior
#22-Unit 12 Tips-Applied Biology
#21-Short term Shot Preparation
#20-Should I take the NET even if I am not fully
prepared?
#19-What if I had a poor exam last time?
#18-Mock tests, an important part of preparation
#17-Increasing speed- English comprehension.
#16-Lottery attempts- You WILL fail!
#15-How many questions I can safely attempt to
minimize my chances of wrong answers and still have
extremely high chances of success?
#14 One study secret of successful candidates!
#13-Unlucky 13 bad habits!
#12-A dozen pro-tips for entry into your professional
NET life(Cracking the exam).
#11- Last Day/Minute Preparation Before the Exam
#10- Tips for part A during the examination!
#9- Tips for Part B during the examination.
#8-Tips for Part C during the examination
#7-Global Tips for all the sections during the examination
#6- Improving your weak areas.
#5- Strengthening your strong areas.
#4-Two alternative means of preparation.
#3- MEMORIZATION TECHNIQUE- Picture that!
#2-Memorization Technique- An example of the picture
technique.
#1-You CAN do it!
LIST OF BOOKS USEFUL IN THE PREPARTION
FOR CRACKING CSIR-UGC NET
#51- Be clear about what the NET
exam is about, and your short and long
term career goals.
The National Eligibility Test, or NET is a national level
entrance test for mainly two objectives for the test taker.
The first one is for the attainment of research fellowship.
And the second one is eligibility for lectureship. Both of
the above are quite coveted positions, and competitions
can be tough for the uninitiated. Thus, you must ask
yourself this question- “Do I really want to take the exam
and work for it?”
Do note that the successful completion of the exam does
not guarantee a position for lectureship or research. There
will be interviews, but that hurdle is much easier than the
test for the people who have tasted success in the first
hurdle.
Read every detail about the exam in the official site. You
must know what gold is waiting for you in the finish line,
that will be most handy for motivation. Speak to your
professors and research fellows and get your questions
answered and doubts cleared.
#50- Do you need to cover in depth the
full 100% of the syllabus?
Unequivocally no! The NET Life Science exam is made
for a wide variety of graduate students. From Botany, to
Microbiology, to Biological Science, to Biotechnology, to
Zoology, everybody takes a common exam on Life
Science. The number of questions will be much greater
than the number you can maximally attempt. Thus, it is
not required; rather it is an overextended effort to try to
read in detail each and every topic in the syllabus. Do
note that if you do cover 100% in depth that would fetch a
little more marks. But can you? If you are determined and
willing to do it, then by all means go for it. But many of
us cannot, or who would read this book?
But you do need to cover 100% at varying levels of
depth. For example, even if you are a non-botany student,
you have to read Photosynthesis at very detailed levels.
Why is it so? Because that topic is very fundamental to
life sciences. It is the only process that creates energy
from sunlight, thus linking the mighty power of the sun to
whole of life’s continued existence. But you can safely
exclude detailed studies on the taxonomy of certain
angiospermic families. There would be enough different
questions from your own topics to justify the detailed
study required. Is there a chance that many questions
come form that exact topic? Yes, but there are also
chances of you winning a lottery.
#49 What is the exam format and
syllabus?
From the official link at
www.csirhrdg.res.in/mcs_exam_ls.htm-
Total Time-3 hours Total Marks- 200
Parts in the Paper-3 Parts
Part A- 20 Questions (MCQs) pertaining to General
Science, Quantitative Reasoning and Analysis and
Research Aptitude. The candidates shall be required to
answer any 15 questions. Each question shall be of two
marks. The total marks allocated to this section shall be
30 out of 200.
Part B- 50 Multiple Choice Questions(MCQs) generally
covering the topics given in the syllabus. A candidate
shall be required to answer any 35 questions. Each
question shall be of two marks. The total marks allocated
to this section shall be 70 out of 200.
Part C- 75 questions that are designed to test a candidate's
knowledge of scientific concepts and/or application of the
scientific concepts. The questions shall be of analytical
nature where a candidate is expected to apply the
scientific knowledge to arrive at the solution to the given
scientific problem. A candidate shall be required to
answer any 25 questions. Each question shall be of four
marks. The total marks allocated to this section shall be
100 out of 200.
There will be negative marking @25% for each wrong
answer.
The syllabus can be downloaded from-
http://www.csirhrdg.res.in/mcs_ls_sylbs.pdf
#48- Do you need out of the course
separate coaching?
For the majority of the people, I believe not. Consider the
following points- 1) NET exam is the final exam you are
taking in your own subject after you have completed your
bachelors and close to complete your masters in. You
probably know, and can learn by yourself more than what
most coaching institutes can offer. 2) Most of the batches
are larger than your bachelors class and even the masters
ones. Individualized attention is less common than you
might think. 3) The quality is often substandard. Just take
a look at the last years paper they had solved and you
yourself can spot a lot of errors in them. Especially they
are error prone in the Aptitude section, which is quite
inexcusable.
But some people prefer separate coaching for more
practice and clarity of concepts. If that is the case,
remember to try at least a few coaching institutes and find
out which suits you. Concepts might be difficult to learn
without a sustained effort from your side. The coaching
classes will probably not be able to cram your head with
all the useful knowledge for such a complex and
conceptual exam like NET. You have been warned!
Thus if you take coaching, remember to put in your own
effort as well. Take the responsibility in your own hands.
Believe in yourself.
#47-Where to start in the big syllabus?
The best place to start depends on your preparation level.
But if you are starting from scratch, you should focus on
the fundamentals of life science first. A good starting
point would be the Cell, which is the unit of biology.
From there the fundamentals of Genetics, and Molecular
biology should be read. Then the aggregated topics like
Biotechnology should be learned. As the exam is over the
whole of Life Science, the fundamental concepts and a
grasp of everything in the syllabus should be with the
aspirant.
Everything does not mean all of the concepts at the depth
of Mariana Trench. That would be very difficult to
execute, and many successful aspirants, like me, did not
read all of it at that depth. But three things you must do-
1) Read and practice all of the syllabus at undergraduate
pass course level depth. 2) Read and practice your
favorite topics at considerable depth, but you do not have
to mug up the entire Biochemistry book by Lehninger.
3)Practice MCQ’s regularly, and identify and work on
your weak points.
#46-What timeframe is required to
crack NET?
As Einstein showed to the world that time is relative, the
time-frame varies considerably from individual to
individual, and definitely is based on the amount of
learning one has before starting the focused preparations.
But as most of the aspirants have worked for four to six
years in the undergraduate and/or graduate levels in the
same or similar topics, the required time is not much.

Six months should be a reasonable amount of time to
prepare for the NET. But the work should be diligent and
enough practice must accompany it so that the scores on
the mock test improve gradually, but definitely. Have a
plan, and work gradually to attain it. Work in groups if
that is your forte. Never believe that the exam is hard.
Think you are a winner and prove it through sustained
effort. Remember to get adequate rest (7-8 hours
minimum) and take breaks. People often crack their NET
during their graduate, or even in some cases at the end of
their undergraduate courses. Cracking the exam is not that
big of a deal.
#45- What will be the rest of the tips
about?
A section of the tips will be on the books I followed and
what experts recommend. Many will have snippets from
the preparatory strategies and quick shortcuts. One more
will be on the very vital online resources which I greatly
recommend following with extreme diligence and some
other miscellaneous points.
The tips can be read at any order. This was done so that
you can use more of your time in learning more about the
topics itself. This book will only serve as a guide to your
own studies. There are shortcuts to a successful
preparation, but the absolutely distance that you are
required to cover is not very small. You do have to put in
a dedicated effort.
#44-What is the cutoff? How much
marks should I get to qualify the
examination?
The cut-off for the last few years have been well under
sixty percent, for both Lectureship and Junior Research
Fellowship. Thus you need to score just above 120 to
have a very good chance at cracking the exam. This varies
somewhat from year to year, thus it is just a loose target. I
recommend answering at least 70% successfully to be
doubly sure.
If you are from the reserved categories, the cut-offs are
much lower. Additionally, those content with just the
Lectureship will have the corresponding required
percentage even lower! Still, a healthy attempt should aim
at much higher, because believe it or not, inaccuracies
creep in for everyone, be it a naïve attempter or a
‘hardened’ professor!
#43-How will be the exam different
from the previous ones I have taken?
For the first timers, the NET exam will be very different
compared to any other you have taken previously. The
NET exam is not mostly about how much knowledge you
can memorize (they have the IAS and state civil services
for that). It is not mostly about your raw calculative ability
(CAT tests you for that), neither it is for your grasp on
comprehension of English passages (Many exams have
that). The NET exam instead looks for your viability as a
researcher and as a professor. This includes some aptitude
questions, a fair share of questions that requires you to
memorize some abstruse topics, but mostly the exam is
about how you can think by yourself, and apply the
concepts you have learned to new novel questions which
require a fair amount of insight. For some, that is very
welcoming, and for some that sounds difficult. But only
very few things in life cannot be obtained with an
unflinching attitude and the willingness to work a little
hard. I believe cracking NET is not one of them.

So decide that you will crack NET.
#42 I have decided to crack NET.
Which books to get?
Finally on the major questions!
Due to the long list, I will get to the books separately per
units, but here are a few which are highly recommended
personally. You really need to read these books!
1) Biology- Raven et al- A masterpiece which
threads together pearls on a gold chain necklace. It
connects most of the huge macrocosm of topics in
Biology. With great illustrations and simple ways of
explaining complex topics, this is my favorite book
for a bird’s eye view of Biology, and of course, for
cracking NET.
2) Class 12 Biology books- From reputed authors,
especially the books recommended by ISC and
CBSC. The NCERT books(+2 level) are particularly
reliable. You must be able to score almost 100% on
the topics that are common in NET from these books.
These books are the base. If you do not have the base
and basics cleared, no amount of foundation can
make up for it. These books are crucially important
for the memorization of overused cycles like
Glycolysis, Photosynthesis etc. You will additionally
need to learn more, so do not stop after reading these
books. Obviously.
3) MCQ books for practice- Choose any book from
publishers like Arihant. Most of the MCQ books do
not have their answers marked and explained
properly, so you will have to work on the difficult
problems yourself or with your friends.
#41-How many hours per day should I
allocate for the preparation?
The question has no definite answers, but many people
ask me this question every now and then. So, here is my
response. The answer is that it varies widely from
individual to individual and their preparatory styles. Some
people do not have a fixed schedule or set hours. Some
do. Whatever strategies in this regard worked for you in
your previous examinations, follow that.

Alternatively, take the number 6. 6 hours. Can you put
that effort? Great! Use that. Too short? Add two hours.
Too long? Substract two. You are going to be a Professor,
deceiving yourself in the time you allot for yourself will
be a very pathetic thing to do.

#40-But part A/ Aptitude gives me the
creeps!
Unequivocally, this is a common complaint I am hearing
from aspirants from a wide background. From Botany, to
Microbiology and Zoology, many people are complaining
that the aptitude questions are difficult and they lack the
expertise and/or time to complete those. Exceptions are
also found, many people find this section, including me,
very easy. So what is going on?

The Aptitude part tests your reasoning skills, pattern
recognition and middle school level mathematics. Some
questions can be tricky and might be difficult to prepare
for, but many can be prepared for by building just a
reasonable grasp on the school level mathematics. Some
common areas for preparation is Speed and Distance,
basic probability, basic mensuration, profit and loss and
word puzzles. But the books specifically for NET which I
read were very much substandard. I did not like any of
them, among the ones I tried. Hence, I recommend a book
from the management preparation field. A solid book for
preparation will be the books by Arun Sharma for CAT
examination (management entrances). The book titled
‘Quantitative Aptitude ’ is especially helpful. The
concepts are explained in a very fundamental and easy-to-
understand way. You can buy other books of your liking,
but the quality will be hard to find. Note that I have no
link with the author recommended other than I read his
books.

It is probably sufficient to solve only Level 1 (Easy)
problems from the books mentioned above.
#39-Aptitude solving algorithm
Aptitudes are difficult to stomp over by memorization.
This, added with the time constrains of the three hour
exam, and 85% of the questions being NOT from this
section adds to the problem of attempting them. The
algorithm I applied was-
a) Read the question and understand what exactly it
is asking for.
b) Do a clear algorithm to the solution emerge?
c) Can it be solved in under 3 minutes?
If the answer is ‘yes’ to all the three questions, then I
solved them in the first go. A full reading of the whole
question paper should be complete by 75 to 110 minutes.
Then the questions stuck in point c should be attempted.
If there is enough time, only then questions stuck at b
should be re-attempted. Do not get stuck on a question for
long. There are many more questions to solve and the
clock will be ticking. It can be tense, but given enough
mock tests, you should be at ease.
Some questions out of your comfort zone should be
discarded immediately. I was pathetic at complicated
questions involving time and distance. So I avoided it, but
made it up with fluency in other topics.

 #37-Hold on your fire! It is a bait!
This applies mainly to the Part A questions. Maybe you
are not that good in Aptitude, but a question came and it
looks that option B is correct at a glance. Wait. Hold your
fire! Probably it is just a bait, or else you should be really
good at Aptitude, but you are not. Contradictions!

Sometimes one or two questions in part A are really so
easy that they can be solved in a glance. But that is very
rare. So read the question again if the answer seems too
easy for it to be true. If something does not look right,
find out what is wrong. If you cannot, in a reasonable
amount of time(see #38), skip that. Do not attempt any
question because it ‘looks’ right. Beauty is, often, skin
deep!
An example would be the pie-chart problem in December
2016 NET examination. I am not putting up a picture of
that here so that you obtain that paper yourself (from the
internet, (un)/official site) and solve the paper, that will be
very beneficial.
#36- An algorithmic example- How to
solve aptitude.
a) Question from Dec 2016 NET- In how many
distinguishable ways can the letters of the word
CHANCE be arranged? 1.120 2.720 3.360 4.240
The serious aspirant should immediately notice that the
question is from Permutations and Combinations, as it is
based on the rearrangement of the letters. He should
intuitively grasp that not everything in this field can have
an answer by obtaining a factorial. Hence he will think
before blindly obtaining a factorial of 6. He will not put
720 as the correct answer. If he does not remember the
method or the formula, he should skip the question.
An irrational aspirant would see six letters. He vaguely
remembers the concept of factorials. He will multiply 6
with 5...until 1. And find 720. And will probably mark it
without further ado. Wrong !
The correct answer is option 3, i.e. 360.
#35- Another algorithmic example-
How to solve aptitude.
This is my personal favorite from the NET 2016 Dec
paper-
a) Comparing numerical values, which of the
following is different from the rest? 1. The ratio of
the circumference of a circle to its diameter. 2. The
sum of three angles of a plane triangle expressed in
radians. 3. 22/7 4.The net volume of a hemisphere of
unit radius, and a cone of unit radius and unit height.
This question does not require any significant numerical
calculations. What the aspirant needs to know is the
simple mensuration and simple formulae pertaining to the
above. The first choice yields (2pi*r/2r) which is pi. The
second is again pi, as pi radians equal 180 degrees. The
third also looks like pi and the fourth is
(2/3*pi*r^3+1/3*pi*r*r*h). As the values for r and h are
both 1, we get-
(2/3*pi*1*1*1+ 1/3*pi*1*1*1)=((2/3*pi)+(1/3*pi))=pi
Then the aspirant should remember that pi is an irrational
number and it is NOT a rational number, thus cannot be
expressed in forms such as p/q, where p and q are both
integers. Thus pi is NOT equal to 22/7. The answer
should be option 3.
An irrational aspirant might calculate the value of first
three, or two, and think the fourth one looks complex
enough. He might choose option 4. Do not do that.
Option 4 is tempting also because it speaks of a volume,
but notice the question states ’comparing numerical
values’. Thus reading the question with attention is also
important.
#34- Online resource on solving
aptitude
Online resources pertaining to solving aptitude are a dime
and a dozen. Other than being mostly free, the online
resources have an edge in the fact that they allow you to
solve questions at any free time, bolstered by the fact that
almost everybody uses a cellular internet connection.
However there are some drawbacks. Most of the sites for
solving aptitude, especially those specific to the NET
exam and the other sites based in India, are heavy on
advertisements and low on quality content. That will be
problematic for an applicant wanting to focus on solving
and practicing aptitude questions.

Another difficulty lies in the fact that most online
resources will not give you the detailed solution so you
might not learn what you did not know. Without further
ado, let me introduce you to the online site I found
particularly useful.
http://www.indiabix.com/aptitude/questions-and-answers/
The above site has specific sections and detailed
solutions. It is also low in ads. Note that like any other
sites listed in this book, the author has no connection and
affiliation with the site.
Try to solve all the sections in the above link. Trust me, if
you are weak in aptitude, the exercises will definitely
improve your score.

#33 Unit 1 tips- Molecules and their
interactions Relevant to Biology.
In this section, you must be comfortable with basic
chemistry. First chapter you can start from is chemical
bonding. The concepts you will learn in that chapter will
have far reaching consequences in the long run, as most
of the biology is being explained gradually on the basis of
these chemical bonds and weak interactions. pH and
Buffer should also be covered extensively. Many
numerical problems often come from pH and Buffer. The
concepts of pKa and molarity, normality related sums
should be practiced. Nothing too deep is required. But
you must understand the concepts. If you do not do that,
you will have to skip question from that part in NET.
Simply because such problems are not widely covered in
most general courses in Zoology or Botany.
Bioenergetics and Metabolism should be studied
extensively. Down to the molecular level. Questions often
come with the form of which particular molecule is
involved in a mechanism. Glycolysis, Oxidative
phosphorylation and the cycles involved must be
memorized. I myself do not like too much memorization,
but in these parts you have no other option. Fortunately,
the memory techniques I described at the end will
probably help you a lot in this regard.
Enzyme Kinetics is one chapter worth learning
extensively. Questions from the section are quite
abundant in NET. If you are reasonably good in
mathematics and physical chemistry, you will be greatly
rewarded by studying this chapter.
#32-Unit 2 Tips-Cellular Organization
This is one of the easier sections. You can start with cell
organelle study, which will sound very familiar due to the
topic being common in middle and high school syllabus.
The intricacies of the cellular organelles will not be
difficult because a concrete picture of them can be
visualized in your mind. If you have problems
remembering the organelles and their related functions,
you can try the following-
In a large art paper, draw a rectangular plant cell with a
pencil. Draw the cell wall, the bilayered membrane (take
help from a reputed book like Karp) and the organelles
with abundant spacing. Do not shade or put details the
organelles. Next, write down the main functions of the
organelles, and any pathways that you find difficult.
Additionally, you can make photocopies of the art paper
(Possibly in an A4 paper) and then use it to illustrate any
organelle related process you find difficulty in
remembering. It will really help you. Make the
mitochondria large sized so that processes like Beta-
Oxidation and Krebs cycle can be drawn on the same.
Membrane function is also a very important topic for the
examination. Many processes that you will learn later
would be based on the uniqueness of the biological
membrane. The associated intracellular transport, and
mechanism for the action of pumps and channels are also
to be learned, but those can be postponed until an
adequate cover of the basics in the syllabus is complete.
#31 Unit 3 tips- Fundamental
Processes
This is one chapter which can be quite mind boggling, but
can be transformed into something very simple if you do
your study smartly.
In a word, Concepts!
There is some memorization required in this section, but
the task becomes much easier if you follow some specific
resources to clear your concepts associated with it. I have
seen people putting in an herculean amount of effort, but
still unable to answer not too complex questions. A great
online resource is there which really helped for me. A lot.
Open Course Ware from Massachusetts Institute of
Technology is one of the best courses to learn the
fundamental processes related to the central dogma in
Biology. This is an extremely important, probably the
most important part of Biology where you should learn
only the best concepts. The courses are so good that I am
tempted to stop my writing and head in there to learn
some more concepts, even from a different subject.
Eric Lander is my favorite professor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=TnpCMgtDPgk&list=PLF83B8D8C87426E44
Not only this specific topic, but also manyother topics in
biology are taught with extremely high standards in this
course. Here is another playlist for more examples, but
Dr. Lander was my favorite.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK1afo-
GMag&list=PLUl4u3cNGP60xwJdwhP6Ado1IbQjvLsPD

Do note that detailed studies on Protein Processing and
Control of Gene Expression will fetch you a little more
marks, but let’s keep it aside for now until we finish the
basics of the syllabus. Or go take a shot of it if Dr
Lander’s lectures made you feel charged up!

#30-Unit 4 Tips-Cell communication
and Cell Signaling
The basic study should start with Cancer, and the
characteristics that cause it and the effects on the body.
Then the student should read the materials regarding the
Innate and Adaptive Immune System. Host-parasite
Interactions would be a little unfamiliar, but the materials
are not too complicated for the unaccustomed reader.
Advanced students should foray gradually into Cell
signaling mechanism and communication. There are
numerous difficult pathways to mug up. If you can
persevere, it would pay. But you might skip that for the
initial preparation if it feels too terse for you.
Do remember that many subsections in the so called
‘difficult’ sections are quite easy. For example, in the
subtopic Hormones and their receptors, the site of
synthesis and the name of the hormones are taught in
middle school. You should never miss those questions.
Not one question from Hormones should be missed if the
complexity of the question is in school level. If you still
have problems, read the class 11-12 NCERT book first.
Devour the book entirely.
#29-Unit 5 Tips-Developmental
Biology
This portion was quite difficult for me, so this might
sound odd to you if you are strong in this. This section
requires a lot of memorization without straightforward
conceptual connections. The reading required is quite
huge. But ‘impossible is nothing’, let’s remember that
‘the bigger they are, the harder they fall’. Let us bring
down developmental biology to its knees!
One problem is that this section was not common in
school level. So the immediate familiarity with the course
material is not evident. Fortunately, most of the
undergraduate and graduate level courses cover this, so
that is a relief.
Due to this portion being quite terse, a good book like
Developmental Biology by Gilbert is recommended. The
huge width is compensated by the fun and useful
diagrams that are provided in the book. A basic
understanding of the topic can also be gathered from the
MIT courseware denoted in Unit 3 Tips at #31.
To excel in Developmental Biology you have to work
hard, there is no way for going around it, that is my two
cents. Skipping this section would be a great mistake, as
not only the number of questions that come from this
section is big, but also more and more number of
questions are coming up in NET exams every half-year.
#28-Unit 6 Tips-System Physiology-
Plant
This section is a very scoring section. Remember-
1) Read, understand and memorize Photosynthesis.
Memorization of the process can be made easier by
following the memory tips at the end of the book.
You must know and have a concept of the key
molecules involved in photosynthesis. Where are
they coming from, where are the going? What do
they do? Practice until your concepts on these is
100%.
2) A high score can still be obtained by a through
preparation from high school books. Thank me for
that one, won’t you?
3) Keep a pencil and copy handy when you learn
this section. Draw the basic processes in a flowchart
whenever required. Remember, this section is a high
scoring section.
4) Remember to include portions of economic
biology in the study as well. In that way you can
connect the concepts yourself.
5) Study while make bulleted points (for the key
information and concepts), just as in this tip!

#27-Unit 7 Tips- System Physiology-
Animal
Here is a breakdown on the major subsections-
1) An overall picture of the different physiological
systems in an organism should be learned from
Biology- by Raven et al. Other books from reputed
authors might do good as well, but the Raven’s book
is tested to be gold standard in this regard.
2) Whenever you study for the first time in any kind
of comparative anatomy, you must work with tables.
Read from a table and write to a table. In this way,
you always keep a track of what belongs to which. In
more formal terms, which set is a subset of which
bigger set.
3) Like the preceding section, the focus on Unit 6
and 7 is more on width than depth. Focus on the big
picture.
4) Some medical books are also helpful for this
section. I used a book entitled ‘Medical Physiology’.
The quality need not be original-research level, as
most questions are based on common facts(the ‘what’
level), and not in the level of ‘how’, and remotely far
from ‘why’ level.
5) Also make bulleted points like this one while
studying this section.

#26-Unit 8 Tips- Inheritance Biology
The aspirant should start with working on monohybrid
and dihybrid crosses. After the reasonably mastery on the
same, he should start solving Pedigree analysis problems.
As the complexity of pedigree analysis questions which
come in the NET are solvable while sleeping (pun
intended) for the all but the most naive of the candidates,
that opportunity should be utilized. Still people often
make careless errors. For that the faith in practice should
be reinstated.
Next, the attempt should be on the extension of
Mendelian principles, and the examples for each one of
them. Any complicated question on the same is not
common in the exam, so that will probably suffice. Then
the structural and numerical alterations of chromosomes
should be studied upon, which in all probability the
candidate is already familiar with. After these are
completed, the candidate should start on the more
advanced concepts.
The book Principles of Genetics by Gardner, Simmons
and Snustad is highly regarded in this field. The advanced
student should try to delve to a reasonable depth in books
like this one. As the whole field of Biology is getting
more closer to Genetic methods, and as the number of
questions are increasing from this section, it would be
unwise to not have a solid foundation on this one.
#25-Unit 9 Tips-Diversity of Life
Forms
The quintessential classical biology, this is one of the part
and parcel of the subject and also the target for
memorization-headache complaint for most newbies in
the field. The take-home points from this one would be-
1) Make the topic more interesting. Learn it
firsthand from a colorful book at the library. If you
do not have access to one, you can always look up in
the internet. Know what Phylum what organisms
belong in. You should know most of these if you paid
attention in the Biology class in your school. Unless
you have an intuitive feel of most of the
characteristics in an organism based upon which the
organism is classified, you cannot even begin to
memorize the key characteristics of different taxa.
They will often go stunningly deep. But the questions
are often with a lever of shortcut using conceptual
understanding, so you need not worry too much.
Even then, you should really know the phylum which
is treated as the dumping ground of simple unicellular
eukaryotic species with few readily identifiable
characters. That Phylum is Protista, by the way.
2) The natural history of the Indian subcontinent is
specially mentioned and you have to learn it. The
Great Indian Bastard is not a swearword; it is a
critically endangered bird species native to India and
Pakistan.
3) A course in Parasitology is required as it is in the
syllabus. Simple diagrams based on the life-cycles of
parasites are an easy way to memorize the most of
Parasitology.

#24-Unit 10 Tips -Ecological Principles
This is arguably one of the easier sections where a little
effort can fetch good marks. The aspirant should start
with the concepts of Environment, and then move on to
Population Ecology. Then he should start on Ecosystems
and community ecology. For the advanced students, the
speciation concepts should be well-dealt with. Questions
of numerical nature are important, especially those
involving diversity indexes and basic growth curve and
energy flow equations.
The conservation strategies initiated by the Indian
government are to be studied with many examples.
Sometimes in match-the-following questions, the names
of specific biodiversity strategies initiated by the Indian
government crop up.
Overall, many questions from this topic are of the high-
school to college level. That is one of the reason it is a
high-scoring section.
#23-Unit 11 Tips- Evolution and
Behavior
This is one very important section for all aspirants. After
the introductory Darwinism, the mechanisms should be
learned. The Hardy-Weinberg Law must be learned very
well as questions come from it year after year. The
student should focus on the concepts of selection.
Origin of cells can then be taken on. Molecular evolution
should be studied later.
A separate treatment for the Geological Time Scale
should be given. This particular topic is very important
for NET, questions run aplenty from this section. You
have to memorize it as far as practicable. Draw
illustrations and read from books with diagrammatic
representation so that you can remember more.
Ethology is also a distinct subtopic which needs to be
dealt with separately. Mating systems is a crucial topic
which the examiners like (We are all animals, right)?
*wink*.

#22-Unit 12 Tips-Applied Biology
The last, but not the least section contains the materials
which you must have to know once you become a
researcher yourself. Thus, you better work on this section
and benefit yourself in the interview-stage for research
institutions as well.
As the topics have a very practical hands-on approach,
very few people should find it hard to understand.
Supplementary earning by the form of visiting research
institutes, reading national and international research
journals can also be practiced. This section adds a variety
to the workflow and can be a good section for taking
breaks during reading complex pieces of texts in other
topics.
Researchers who are currently working in an University
or research institute will find this section more easier to
work on than aspirants who mainly studies the theoretical
aspects and the practical experience is less.
#21-Short term Shot Preparation
The preceding tips where the syllabus was separately
dealt with in sections require at least six months of
planned study. What if you have fewer months to prepare
for? What can be the procedure to have a go at cracking
NET when you have, say only two to three months at
hand?
The answer is, you have to –
1) Finish all the previous year papers. When you
cannot solve a question, you must find the solution
with consultation from your teachers, friends or with
self study.
2) Check the syllabus to find if you do not know
some topic at all. This will be a big problem if the
question is from some fundamental areas of Biology,
but from sections like Physiology, covering the basics
is often sufficient. Consult class 12 NCERT books.
Or CBSE books if you have them.
3) Read the BIOS ‘Instant Notes’ books. You can
find them on the popular e-commerce sites as well.
4) You can consult Wikipedia for a quick look on
various topics. Contrary to the quite popular opinion
of Wikipedia being substandard, it is actively
moderated. Probably 90% of the books by Indian
authors are more backdated and more erroneous than
the content on Wikipedia.
5) Remember the tips here can also be used if you
want to quickly cover a topic. But the bottom line is
to fetch the maximum marks, the main subject books
should be read. A list of quality books on the subject
is listed at the end.
#20-Should I take the NET even if I
am not fully prepared?
The NET exam has a total time of three hours, or 180
minutes. It might seem like quite a long time, but most
aspirants will tell you that time flows much faster in the
real examination. That is why one of our Professor told us
once “Everybody who is aspiring to crack the NET should
take the exam every time and not skip it.” The reason he
stated that was it is fundamentally a different situation
when you take the real examination compared to the
mock tests.
So you must not skip an examination of NET if you have
the chance. It will reduce the chances of nervousness and
time-management errors. You will also get an intuitive
feel of the pattern of questions and how much time you
require for certain sections and topics from the syllabus.
Most aspirants have to take the examination multiple
times to get success. So take the exam. Have faith and
courage. Confidence in yourself is a significant part in
cracking the NET examination.
#19-What if I had a poor exam last
time?
Do not fret. As stated earlier, most people have to take the
exam multiple times to have a shot at success. As a matter
of fact, only very few people I know have cleared the
exam at the first go. The people who have cleared JRF in
their first, or even second try, is also vanishingly small.
Except at the few elite institutions, of course. Therefore, it
is not something new, even for the bright candidates.
There are many university toppers who have to try
multiple times to qualify NET.
That being said, do not be in denial. Do not offer lame
excuses like ‘I marked the answers wrongly in my script’,
or that the ‘reservation system is making our work more
and more hard’. Do not shift the blame. Take the blame,
and rise out of it better. You have to right to feel such
after a bad examination, but the best way forward is to
focus on the main study and preparations to crack the
NET exam.
#18-Mock tests, an important part of
preparation
After you have finished a certain level of preparation, it is
time to have a go at timed mock tests. Remember that the
answers, if they are given, from most preparation books
often have some errors. So it is best to check the answers
yourself by doing a little research if you think an answer
should not be what it is given.
Keep the following points in mind while doing the mock
tests
1) Try to do full 3 hour mock tests rather than small
ones.
2) Do not take breaks in these three hours. Focus
and think you are in the real examination
3) Keep a wristwatch with you and keep track of
time and the number of questions you have not
attempted yet.
4) Do not try to mark all the answers. Even out of
the maximum number of questions required, most
successful candidates do not mark the ones they are
not very sure of.
5) After you finish the test, notice how much time it
took you to finish attempting the last question in your
test.
6) You should aim for at least an hour remaining
after you attempted the whole paper at one go (But
probably have not put the bubbles in the answer
script just yet). If that is too difficult, aim for 30
minutes at least.
7) Gradual improvement of the scores at each
successive mock test is what you should aim for. So
read and understand more study materials in between
the tests. Have a goal.
#17-Increasing speed- English
comprehension.
Despite the paper having no comprehension part in the
strict sense, many unsuccessful candidates have the
problem in finishing the whole of the paper in the allotted
time. This is less of a problem for native Hindi speakers,
but for the others, it is often a problem. This is especially
true for candidates who did not use English as their main
language of education in their school.
Even though short term solutions are difficult, there are
some ways to improve your speed in comprehending the
NET questions. They are
1) Not focusing on other questions, or thinking
about other question, in the middle of comprehending
a problem. Try to compartmentalize the thought
process while answering a question. If that is
difficult, practice!
2) You can use the finger to follow the words you
are reading to get less distracted.
3) Try to read slowly if required, but understand the
meaning of the question and what it is asking for in
the first go!
4) If a question looks too difficult to comprehend
after an initial reading, you should have the liberty
to move on quickly to another question. This will be
difficult unless you have a reasonable grasp on the all
the topics from the subject.
#16-Lottery attempts- You WILL fail!
This is a stupid line of thought, but some new aspirants
say that “they heard that choosing a random option, like C
and using that option in all the questions can have a good
chance of success”. Some more ambitious insist on
“Answering every question randomly”, or a sophisticated
stupid (no insult intended) might think of answering the
questions they could not attempt randomly to have a
better chance.
A mathematical explanation would be long and I believe
that the majority of the readers will readily discard the
thought without requiring further proof. Two key points
are important. One is ‘Negative Marking!!’, and the other
is that the random distribution deviates much less than the
deviated thoughts of such schemes.
I know that many readers feel that this point was quite
moot to require an explanation, but many people think in
such weird lines. It is our duty to rectify that.
#15-How many questions I can safely
attempt to minimize my chances of
wrong answers and still have
extremely high chances of success?
An easy answer is 100%. But even the most dedicated and
intelligent of the aspirants find it difficult to answer all the
questions. So a safe estimate is required, where one can
be low on answering questions quasi-randomly based on
imprecise intuition, and at the same time more or less
guarantee a success in the cracking of the examination.
One of our professors told us to answer 60%, but all
correctly. He had very solid evidences in favor of it. The
main one is that the percentage required to qualify the
JRF and LS NET has always been less than 60% for
General candidates. It is even lower for the candidates in
the reserved categories.
But my opinion would be to aim for answering at least
70%. The reason is that some errors will creep in despite
your best efforts. Notice that the keyword here is ‘at
least’. You can answer more than that too, and it is
recommended, provided that you do not go about
answering questions randomly or on the guide of the
‘inner-me’, where you have no solid train-of-thought to
choose an option, but your heart tells you to choose that.
Not good.
#14 One study secret of successful
candidates!
NET aspirants usually study a lot. They are, like you,
have spent many years in college and universities and
they have the habit of studying and working hard ( well
most of them) which they have built over the years. Can
you crack the examination through purely grunt work?
Memorizing everything possible, working day and night
to cram everything without a general strategy ?
The answer is it will be very difficult that way. So what is
one of the study secrets of successful candidates?
I can personally vouch for, and based on some discussions
with other successful candidates I have found that the
study secret is quite simple. Prepare in connections!
Reading in connections is a very powerful tool. Thinking
in connections is a very powerful tool. Preparing notes in
connections is a very powerful tool too.
Thus, you should try to introduce this habit of connecting
things while preparing for NET. When you study
immunology, know how it relates to Physiological organ
systems. When you study Evolution and taxonomy, be in
the know about how it connects to genetics and modern
biology in general and Molecular taxonomy in particular.
If you create notes, reflect those in there too!
After all, the exam is on the whole of Biology, the whole
of Life Science. You must have the bigger-picture, a sky
view of the entire processes!
#13-Unlucky 13 bad habits!
Refrain from these 13 bad habits while preparing and
taking the NET exam!
1) Trying to memorize everything.
2) Trying to work in the final design without a solid
foundation.
3) Taking chances liberally in the exam.
4) Focus on a few key topics, and drop the rest
completely.
5) Thinking “This year I will take the NET just for a
try. No chances of me for qualifying”
6) Not remembering the basic cycles and pathways
of important biological phenomena.
7) Dropping of a whole section like ‘A’ due to time-
problems. Work on it.
8) Avoiding questions from just a recognition of the
section that they are in.
9) Thinking you can’t do it.
10) Telling others that the exam is hard. You only
need one seat.
11) Not keeping track of time while preparing mocks
or in the examination itself.
12) Thinking Aptitude will be by definition hard.
They are NOT!
13) Procrastination. Stop doing it now!
#12-A dozen pro-tips for entry into
your professional NET life(Cracking
the exam).
1) You can do it!
2) Identify the areas you are excellent, good and
weak at.
3) For the areas you are excellent in, practice only
the MCQ’s from good books. Solve a conceptual
problem every now and then even it is of the
descriptive type.
4) For the areas you are good in, read from general
textbooks to become excellent in those. But if you are
on the last minute, try the next point instead.
5) For the areas you are weak in, try to read in
details the NCERT or CBSE books from high school
level. Use online resources like Wikipedia whenever
required. Later on, if you have time, move on to
general text-books.
6) It is wise to be target oriented and having set
routine in your day for NET preparation.
7) Solve ALL the previous year’s questions from
NET.
8) Teach your subject friends a concept if you have
adequate time. Teaching greatly helps you to learn
and guess what questions might arise.
9) Take help from your friends and professors
whenever possible. Two minds work better than one,
most of the time.
10) Remember you are a person with one or multiple
degrees. You are as steady as the rock! Or The Rock!
*wink*
11) Smart study helps more than sustained rote-
learning studies without a vision.
12) Practice makes a man perfect.
#11- Last Day/Minute Preparation
Before the Exam
The following tips should be observed in the day before
the examination-
1) Make sure you have the admit card printed and
all the necessary documents with you before you go
take the examination, one day in advance.
2) It is ideal to go the examination city and live in a
hotel one day before rather than getting up early at
4AM or 5AM and travelling to the examination
centre. If your centre is allotted in your own
town/city, you do not have to worry about this.
3) Make sure you carry a watch! The centre will
probably not have one. And it is crucial to keep a
track of the time you have spent in the exam.
4) Have multiple pens or pencils so that you do not
have to borrow one.
5) Take the bathroom break before starting the
examination. You will probably be allowed to take
one (definitely) during the exam but five minutes
might mean three extra questions.


#10- Tips for part A during the
examination!
This is the approach I successfully took during the
examination itself. Here is the process in a nutshell-
1) Follow the questions one by one. From Part A,
then to B and finally to C.
2) Never skipping any questions. I went through
each one of them in the order of the paper.
3) Does a clear picture of the algorithm to the
solution emerge?
4) If Yes, I started solving the question, if No, I
skipped the question.
5) If the process is taking more than three minutes, I
skipped the question. If I was able to reduce the
options to two, I marked the question in the question
paper with a large circle!
6) Otherwise, if the question seemed very solvable
but I was missing out something, I also marked it
with a large circle like the previous one.
7) At the first run, I could solve only about 70% of
the problems.
#9- Tips for Part B during the
examination.
This was again my approach for part B in the examination
itself.
1) Part B has a lot of questions, and a fair amount of
them needs to be answered too (35 out of 50
questions).
2) I solved the problems in a trotting pace. Neither
too fast nor too slow. This is practicable as, for the
most part, in part B you either know the answer to
the question or you do not!
3) I did not put immense concentration on a single
problem for now because a fair number of part C
questions needed to be answered.
4) In the first go, only 22-25 questions I could
answer. The aspirant should keep enough time for
part C because they constitute half the total marks in
the paper.
5) In the second go, the rest of the questions which
were found to be solvable, or the aspirant has reduced
the choices down to two, should be attempted.
#8-Tips for Part C during the
examination
This was the approach I took-
1) The questions in part C can be tricky. It requires
insight, and concentration. Each question also carries
double the marks than the questions in the other
sections. Thus, the questions in section C tend to be
longer and more difficult to solve
2) This section has a lot of questions, but you can
attempt any 25. Thus, determining the correct
question to answer is the key.
3) The strategy followed by me was to determine if
a question, in part C, was entirely out of my comfort
zone. I was weak in Enzyme Kinetics, and the
problems involving Physical Chemistry. Thus I
steered clear of the questions from that section.
4) All the questions need to be read once. It is not
unlikely that a section you are quite weak in having a
very easy question. Or vice-versa.
5) Do not get stuck for too long in a particular
question. If you have solved some mock tests, you
will probably develop an intuitive sense when a
problem is getting out of hand and unsolvable.
6) Match the following type questions are a
preferred target for most successful aspirants.
Although the paper confuses you with
disproportionate left and right columns, you still can
choose the correct option through elimination if you
at least know some sections of that question.
#7-Global Tips for all the sections during
the examination
These tips are for all of the sections, which are applicable
for scoring higher in the test.
1) No matter what, you have to read and go through
ALL of the questions! If you cannot do this, cracking
the exam will be very hard!
2) Aim to have a single run through the paper in
under 90 minutes. I finished in 75 minutes, but you
can extend it to 110 minutes. Remember you can take
more time if you went deeper in each of the questions
(and aiming for a single run), but then you will have
to mark all of the answers in the answer script at one
go, if you follow the next point.
3) A wise strategy will be to NOT mark the answers
in the answer script immediately after finding the
solution. Many careless mistakes occur due to the
high adrenaline at the beginning or a too tempting
wrong choice. Thus if you mark your answers
separately in a second run, you can often
unconsciously check if the answer is indeed correct.
4) Thus try to have a second run over the questions
in the examination. In the second run mark the
answers in the answer script and also try solving the
questions which were marked with a big circle (check
tip #10).
5) Always keep track of the time and the amount of
questions you answered.
#6- Improving your weak areas.
Even with religious study, and the use of various books
and online resources you might find that some topics are
very difficult to understand. This varies from individual to
individual. You cannot do much about it if the next exam
is very close, but for the long term, and the latter
examinations if you failed to get through, the weaknesses
should be minimized.
Sometimes your own preparation might not be enough to
become strong in some complicated topics. In those cases,
you should consult with your university professors, or
even your old college professors if possible. In many
universities they offer NET coaching for a fee, which is in
some cases very nominal. You can try using those
resources. Unfortunately, the online classes are often of
poor quality, which is run by not so good quality teachers.
But you might find something of good quality, be it
online resource, a helpful professor or quality online
coaching if you keep looking. That level of determination
would be very helpful in your future life, whether you
become a Professor, a Researcher, or something else.
#5- Strengthening your strong areas.
The areas you are strong in are a blessing, but does that
mean you need to strengthen that further? Definitely! One
of the reasons is that the questions are bound to get a little
more difficult every year, and the cut offs tend to be
higher bit-by-bit. There are of course various exceptions,
but this is the general trend. Secondly, you will love to
learn more about the topics you are already excited about
and are strong at. So the extra effort will not be that hard.
If you are still in the University, or studying among a
group a friends, call yourself the
“YOUR_STRONG_AREA guy”, and ask other people to
ask any question from that area. Encourage your friends
who are strong on other topics to do the same.
In this way, not only you will get a mastery over your
strong areas, but also your morale will be raised, you will
start to feel more confident and will think of being string
in another area. Your friends will be benefitted to.
#4-Two alternative means of preparation.
These two methods are not often used, but these methods
can be very helpful to gain the mastery required to crack
NET as a JRF candidate.
1) Doing Research- Many people join institutes
which do not require NET while preparing for the
NET exams. These include exams hosted by an
university or some special qualifications, such as
topping their class. Some of them feel a little dejected
doing that. Don’t be! Many questions that come in
the examination are of the type that researchers can
solve them with relative fluency compared to non-
researchers. After all, who has the hands on
knowledge on the experiment part?
2) Teaching- Many people, sometimes for financial
constrains or other reasons, often join teaching as a
part time or in the lower-than-college level. That is
also by itself provides a momentum to crack NET.
Intelligent questions by the students, and the constant
preparation required for teaching is also very healthy
for cracking NET.
After all, if you want to be a top class researcher or a
professor, the best way might be to be a researcher and a
professor beforehand!
Note- This does not apply for students who have not
completed their universities yet. Let us aim at the top slot,
wont you?
#3- MEMORIZATION TECHNIQUE-
Picture that!
As some memorization is compulsory in all branches of
science, you have to memorize many things. But how? Do
you remember your text poorly? Do you hate reading the
same material more than two times? You have come to
the right place!
This memorization technique is based on creating images
in your head, the technical term is visualization .
Basically you have to turn abstruse terms like Di-hydroxy
acetone-1-phosphate to something more creative which
you can imagine, as in a photograph.
As a personal example, it really helped me ace the Botany
test in my college years. It was one of my pass subjects,
and thus I paid less importance to it. But the exams were
knocking at the door with only two days to spare. I did
not memorize some cycles like the Glycolysis at all, but
that was important So I used the picture method and I did
not have to learn the steps in Glycolysis ever again!
#2-Memorization Technique- An
example of the picture technique.
Let us understand parts of Glycolysis through the picture
method.
1) You are glucose. You get out of your house and
find your car parked outside. The weather is fine, the
greenery is lush around you. You get in the car. Six
spokes are present in your steering wheel. That is
hexokinase (Hexa-Six) . When your hands touch the
steering, glucose and hexokinase reacts to form
Glucose-6-Phosphate (Remember that enzymes with
a kinase group often adds a phosphate group and
requires conversion of an ATP to ADP). Phosphate is
the brand of your car. You should see it at the centre
of your steering wheel.
2) Next when you put your foot in the
accelerator/gas, the car moves to a state where the
wind flows over it. Think of the static car changing to
a car that is moving but isomeric to it. That will be
phosphohexose isomerase(Remember your car brand
is Phosphate) and the fluid state is Fructose-6-
phosphate.
This is the idea. If I manually specify each of the steps,
you will find it no less difficult than square one. Thus use
your imagination to create pictures out of the complex
terms and make it like a scene of a movie! This would
also add a fun element in your boring preparation, that
aids in remembering, along with the fact that the brain is
wired more into remembering such information more than
abstruse terms.
#1-You CAN do it!
Believe in yourself. You can do it. Do not let any
negativity creep in your preparation. Do not think about
just the NET examination; believe that your learning will
be helpful to you for a much longer time in your research
or academic career and also other spheres of life as well.
When I prepared for the NET, I was sometimes quite
erratic in my preparations. I took the exams with some
weaknesses in Developmental Biology and weaknesses in
enzyme kinetics and signaling pathways. If I can qualify
JRF, so can you! Just remember to put in your hard work
and smart preparation strategies you have learned in this
book and through your friends and professors over the
years. You do not need to be a savant to crack the NET
examinations!
All the best!!


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LIST OF BOOKS USEFUL IN THE
PREPARTION FOR CRACKING CSIR-
UGC NET
There are numerous books of very high level and quality
which can be helpful for a NET aspirant. However, most
of the good books are very voluminous and quite
expensive even for the Indian editions. Thus it is
unwieldy to study each and every good book in a topic.
There is no upper limit for the number of these reputed
books you can follow, but remember that reading any one
book in this list for covering a particular section is
more than enough to crack NET.
I cannot stress this one thing enough! Avoid cheap
gist-books/super-brief textbooks completely! Gist you
should have from the class 11-12 level NCERT or ISC
books. The gist books might be helpful for just before
the examination (if you did not make notes yourself) ,
but using them in other time might prove very
detrimental. You will be in substantial risk to learn the
wrong concepts, or even the factual information might
be wrong. Do not take the risk!
That being said, here is a list for the useful books in
preparing for the NET exam.
General Biology
 Biology by Raven et al- 6*s in a 5 *scale!
Outstanding book!
NCERT books(+2 level) - Especially Biology,
Chemistry may be learnt if the aspirant is weak in it.
Cell/Molecular Biology
Molecular Cell Biology by H. Lodish- The language
seems easier than other books by reputed authors like
Alberts, which is also an excellent book in the
subject.
Cell and Molecular Biology by Karp- The easier one
among the reputed textbooks. Recommended by
many people.
Developmental Biology
Developmental biology- Scott Gilbert
Fundamental Processes /Inheritance Biology
Principles of Genetics- Gardner , Simmons and
Snustad
Immunology
Kuby Immunology- Highly regarded book in the
topic.
Essential Immunology by Roit (Secondary book if
required).
Physiology
 Plant Physiology-Taiz and Zeiger
Principles of Animal Physiology by Moyes and
Schulte
Ganong's Review of Medical Physiology- A very
well regarded book!
Instrumentation and Techniques
Principles and techniques of Biochemistry and
Molecular Biology by Wilson and Walker- Very
important book to follow. Covers a wide spectrum of
possible questions in NET.
Evolution
Evolution by Strickberger- A favorite book among
many professors. You do not have to mug up the
entire book. Focus mainly on the concepts and
examples.
Ecology/Behavior
Ecology: Theories and Applications by Peter Stilling
Animal Behavior by John Alcock - I personally
loved this book!
Microbiology
Prescott’s Microbiology by Prescott- Required
mostly for students who had microbiology as one of
their subjects. Less important for non-
microbiologists.
Endocrinology
Endocrinology by Hadley- First you should clear the
preliminary study on the hormonal studies in +2
level. Then you should delve into books like this.
Biochemistry
Biochemistry by Stryer- It is OK if you cannot
memorize all the things in this book( or any other
book in this main list). You absolutely do not need to
do that! This book is recommended only for people
reasonably comfortable in biochemistry. For
aspirants finding this difficult, start with studying the
biochemistry molecules and pathways separately one
by one.
BOOKS FOR LAST WEEK REVISION/GENERAL
REVISION
Read the Instant Notes series books for all the subtopics
that you can find. While these books are useful for a quick
revision, they cannot replace the whole text in the
recommended text book !
Solve the MCQ books from any publishers. Do not rely
on their answers, many books have a lot of errors in the
answers. Books from Arihant are reasonably good.
Recap the fundamentals just to be doubly sure from +2
NCERT books. The pathways of Glycolysis, Krebs Cycle,
Fatty Acid Metabolism, Photosynthesis etc must be
memorized.
Remember to read some novels/fictions/leisure books in
between your study periods, for short durations. Do not
study more than your limit, especially just before the
examinations. Take adequate rest, eat healthy. Exercise
at-least two to three days a week.
Cracking the NET exam? You can do it!
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