Haryana BSEH Secondary NSQF IT-ITeS common mistakes
Haryana BSEH Secondary NSQF IT-ITeS · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
When a question asks which device is input versus output, the candidate labels a touchscreen or a pen drive by its most familiar use ("touchscreen = output because it shows things", "pen drive = input because I put files in") instead of checking the direction of data flow into or out of the computer.
Everyday experience with phones makes the display feel like the 'main' part of the device, and the words input/output are memorised as labels without the underlying rule. Under exam pressure the candidate answers from habit rather than applying the data-direction test.
What to do instead
Before answering, state the rule silently: input sends data into the CPU, output carries processed results out, and storage holds data for later. Then classify each option by asking 'which way does the signal travel?'. Practise with dual-nature devices (touchscreen, modem, USB drive) and write one line for each explaining both roles.
The candidate treats RAM and ROM as interchangeable, or says RAM keeps data permanently because 'it is the main memory', and cannot distinguish primary from secondary storage in a matching question.
Both are memory chips inside the machine, so the names blur together; the volatility idea is abstract and is never linked to a physical consequence such as losing an unsaved document on power cut.
What to do instead
Anchor each term to a lived event: RAM is the open document that vanishes when power goes; ROM is the firmware that starts the machine and stays. Build a two-column table (volatile/non-volatile, read-write/read-only, size, speed, example) and redraw it from memory the day before the exam.
In a spreadsheet question the candidate writes a formula such as =A1+B1*C1 or =SUM(A1:A5)/COUNT(A1:A5) but evaluates it left to right, ignoring operator precedence, or copies a formula and assumes the references stay fixed instead of shifting.
Mental arithmetic habits override the spreadsheet's order of operations, and relative versus absolute referencing is taught as syntax (the dollar sign) rather than as behaviour, so the candidate never pictures what happens on fill-down.
What to do instead
Work the precedence order explicitly on paper: brackets, then exponent, then multiply/divide, then add/subtract. For references, sketch a three-row grid and physically write what each cell's formula becomes after copying. Memorise the distinction as 'A1 moves with me, $A$1 stays put'.
When asked to insert a table of contents, apply a heading style, or add page numbers, the candidate describes pressing Enter repeatedly or typing dots manually rather than using the Styles gallery and the References/Insert commands.
Candidates have only used a word processor as a fancy typewriter for assignments, so manual formatting is the only method they have ever practised and it feels correct because the printed page looks similar.
What to do instead
Learn three named workflows by doing them once each: apply Heading 1/2 from the Styles gallery, then References > Table of Contents > Automatic; Insert > Page Number > Bottom of Page; Insert > Table with a chosen row/column count. Note in one sentence why manual dots break when the document is edited.
The candidate confuses a search engine with a browser, calls a web address an email address, or cannot separate http from https and www from the domain name when a question shows a URL broken into parts.
All internet activity happens inside one app on a phone, so browsing, searching and mailing feel like a single undifferentiated action; URL anatomy is never taught as separate labelled pieces.
What to do instead
Draw one URL (for example https://www.example.com/page) and label scheme, subdomain, domain, and path. Then state in one line each: a browser displays pages, a search engine indexes and finds them, an email address has an @ and a mail domain. Test yourself by sorting five given strings into URL, email address, and search query.
On email etiquette and composition items the candidate puts every recipient in the To field, leaves the subject blank, uses all capitals, or forwards a message with the previous recipients' addresses still visible.
Informal chat habits carry over: in messaging apps there is no To/Cc/Bcc distinction and no subject line, so the formal conventions are unfamiliar and the candidate picks the option that sounds friendliest rather than the correct field.
What to do instead
Memorise the three-field rule with a use case each: To for the person who must act, Cc for those who should know, Bcc for hiding addresses from other recipients. Practise drafting a two-line professional email with a specific subject, greeting, body, and sign-off, and check it against a five-point checklist.
The candidate answers a cyber-safety scenario by choosing the most technically advanced-sounding option (install antivirus, format the drive) instead of the correct procedural response, such as reporting a phishing link, never sharing an OTP, or logging out on a shared machine.
Security is associated with software products rather than with behaviour, and the plausible distractor sounds more 'expert'. The candidate has not rehearsed the standard incident steps, so the safe everyday action looks too simple to be the answer.
What to do instead
Learn a fixed response chain: stop, do not click or share, verify the sender through a separate channel, report to a teacher or the platform, then change the password. Attach one concrete rule to each threat: OTP is never shared, padlock plus correct domain means https, public Wi-Fi means no banking. Rehearse with three short scenarios.
In database questions the candidate uses 'field', 'record', and 'table' interchangeably, or says a primary key can repeat because 'two students may have the same name'.
The terms are new vocabulary with no everyday equivalent, and the candidate reasons from a single familiar example (names) rather than from the definition of uniqueness.
What to do instead
Fix a single mental picture: a table is a sheet, a record is one row about one entity, a field is one column of one attribute, and the primary key is the column guaranteed unique and never blank. Apply it to a school table (Roll No as key, Name as a non-key field) and explain why Name fails as a key.
On keyboarding and data-entry items the candidate describes the home row incorrectly (placing fingers on the number row or on QWERTY's top letters), claims speed matters more than accuracy, or cannot name the correct finger for a given key.
Most candidates are self-taught two-finger typists, so their actual hand position contradicts the textbook answer and they report what they do rather than the standard method. Speed is also the visible measure of 'good typing', so accuracy is undervalued.
What to do instead
Learn the home row as a physical anchor: left hand on A S D F, right hand on J K L semicolon, thumbs on the space bar, with F and J as the raised guide keys. Practise ten minutes daily with fingers returning home after each reach, and record both speed and error count so accuracy is tracked, not just words per minute.
On employability and entrepreneurship items the candidate picks the option that sounds most ambitious or most polite rather than the one matching the described situation, for example calling every communication 'aggressive' or every business idea a 'start-up' without checking feasibility, teamwork role, or the audience.
These questions test judgement rather than recall, and candidates answer from general impressions of good behaviour instead of identifying the key constraint in the stem (who is speaking, what is at stake, what resource is missing).
What to do instead
Read the stem twice and underline the actor, the goal, and the constraint before looking at options. Then eliminate any option that ignores the constraint. Revise the named concepts (team roles, feedback, market need, cost, risk) with one real example each so the terms have content behind them.