English forms a very important section for all Government exams be it MBA, SSC, Banking, EPFO, Insurance, NDA, UPSC etc. English is also a life skill and rich English speaking, vocabulary and writing skills make a person to excel in the long run, so it is imperative to prepare and learn English grammar, vocabulary, phrases and creativity to make you visible among the general crowd.
The three parts that constitute the English section in various are
COMPREHENSION
VOCABULARY
GRAMMAR
Reading Comprehension
Reading comprehension tests how well one has understood a piece of writing. A passage is given to read followed by multiple questions relevant to the passage. This passage is mostly based on a single topic. Most of these passages do not require any previous idea about the topic to answer the questions, but some idea beforehand also helps at times.
There are basically some hurdles in understanding the English sentences.
Lack of word power
Understanding long sentences.
Reading speed.
If you have to perform better in comprehensions, start reading good newspaper. Things become easy if you follow two basic principles
Read what interests you
Don’t start with very difficult articles.
Yes when you read a topic which interests you, you understand even those words which otherwise is a problem. Since the topics of interest, you read more. And since you read more, your grip on the language become firmer and the topic becomes more interesting. Take full advantage of this cyclical effect. Pick up any English news paper be it Times of India, Indian express, Hindustan times and take a article on sports if you like sports or any article on fashion, films etc in which you are interested in the first level of study.
In the next level a newspaper like the Hindu should be read, and if you are interested in finance, get your eyes and mind on Financial Express or Business Line. It will improve your English grammar, vocabulary, creative skills and general awareness. Reading a newspaper will give you hints about how you can put forward your views and which are the phrases in use currently. Believe me 10–20 % or more of your English preparation is done for Competitions is done if you read newspapers. We usually do not understand this fact because we do not normally read newspapers.
If one is comfortable with theses two stages then reading the editorials of various English newspapers is the best bet. Editorial are necessary for cracking tough exams like CAT, XAT, GMAT which give a lot of emphasis on English. By reading newspaper “EDITORIAL-The Hindu/Indian Express” it will keep you updated in the real world and by default it will keep you updated for Current happening and General Awareness.
Speed Reading
Reading a lot will also help improve our reading speed. Reading speed is very crucial in saving time when reading the entire passage. Some tips to improve reading speed can be:
If you read a newspaper daily, it will help you in cultivating Reading habit, which is the most sought after skill in a student or professional, who want to excel in their respective career/lives.
When you think that you are well prepared for the above section answer paragraphs by targeting certain time to solve the paragraph by using a stopwatch by correlating the size of the paragraph. Try to answer the next paragraph in less time thus my challenging yourself. Time management is a very important part of this section.
Exam Tips for Reading comprehension
Many students have a misconception that reading a passage is time-consuming and will lead to the shortage of time in the remaining questions and sections. However, we should keep in mind that if we read, a passage thoroughly and properly in one go, it will take a very small amount of time to answer the questions that follow.
Approaches to Reading Comprehension
A very effective way can be followed for answering comprehensions. Read the questions along with their answer options that are given, but do not attempt them (unless very sure from any previous idea) and then read the passage completely, focussing on the parts which relate to the questions.
Firstly, it is less time-consuming to understand the questions, than understanding the entire passage without knowing where to focus. If we read the questions first, we would know what is being asked and we will focus more on those parts in the passage. But if we read the passage first, we will not focus anywhere, giving equal importance to all lines. This will make it difficult for us to recall a small detail while answering, for which we may have to search the passage again, thereby losing time.
Using a pointer such as a pencil, pen or finger while reading
Keeping eyes closer to the reading screen or paper
This goes hand in hand with focus. Focus is very important in using less time in reading and getting correct answers. Lack of focus will result in wastage of time in repeated reading of same parts as well as the omission of important and relevant parts of the passage.
Summary
It is always advisable to attempt all the questions at once instead of attempting one every time we find an answer in the passage. A lot of time can be saved by avoiding unnecessary question-switching or scrolling, and remembering locations of the key points of the passage related to the questions.
Vocabulary
Learning new words
Vocabulary is an integral part of securing good marks in English in various competitive exams. Also, this is the area feared by large number of aspirants due to the reason that a large number of words, their meaning and usages have to be memorized. While it is important to keep learning new words to improve your vocabulary, but what is more important is the correct usage of the words you learn. In many competitive exams these days, a lot of questions are asked based on application of vocabulary, e.g. synonyms, antonyms, fill in the blanks etc.
Advantages of reading newspaper have been highlighted in the Comprehension section. Newspapers are not only beneficial to improve to one’s command over language but automatically the vocabulary gets enriched as the language becomes richer, fluent and more expressive.
Write down all the new words (at least 15 per day) from the newspaper in a notebook and revise them every day. Revising the words is very important. Just writing those down will not help. Follow some pattern for revising.
Buy a pocket dictionary. Oxford or Longman is good. Keep it with you while reading newspaper. You will be surprised to find out the improvement in your vocabulary skills in just a month. This will help you do Antonym, Synonym, reading comprehension; one word type questions either directly or indirectly. Those who are unable to understand English words can also use a English to Hindi dictionary.
Always keep your eyes and ears open. Carry a pocket dictionary with you or download a dictionary app on your phone. Whenever you hear or see a new word, look it up in the dictionary. Try to use the new words in your speech.
Try to learn the etymologies of words. Divide words into groups based on their etymologies. Associate them with tones. (For example, words starting with ‘mis-’ have a negative tone) Also learn synonyms and antonyms of the word.
Retaining new words
Apart from learning new words it is also necessary to retain the new words learnt and the words you already know. There are certain techniques to do the same
Root Method
Learning many roots of words can be a handy method to improve your vocabulary. By studying various roots of words you can easily remember words and ace any competitive exam.
Root of Words is a small list of word roots mentioned in the table below. Root of Words consists of Greek and Latin word roots. Word Roots are nothing else but the basic building blocks of words. Essentially you can break down every word into its constituent parts. These parts stand for a certain meaning and when multiple parts are combined to a form a word, we have a new word with a new meaning which is mentioned in the table of Roots of Words. English is an amazing language: it has literally borrowed from every language on the planet and build words these assimilations from different languages. The two most common language sources for word roots in English are Greek and Latin.
Prefix/Suffix method
Some words have prefixes/suffixes which help us to know the meaning of the word. For example `BIO` means life.
Hence, biology means “Study of life”, Biography means “Features of life”
Word Trees
This method is very useful in learning the synonym and antonym of various words.
Keep a diary and assign a single page to a specific word and if you find some word having the same meaning write down them on the same page.
Do Word Puzzles
Word puzzles in the newspaper or a magazine aren’t just a fun way to fill time, they’re also perfect for boosting your working vocabulary. Crossword puzzles are a challenge that get your brain working hard to search your memory for words you do know but don’t use, and this can help you move words from your memory banks into your working set of vocabulary which will come across in your writing.
Try Word Board Games
There are plenty of word games on the market designed to improve vocabulary and language skills without being a bore like scrabble. Some of these games you may have played as a child, so it’s time to break them out again and get to “work.” If you have a friend who could also use some help — or someone with a great vocabulary you think will challenge you — invite them over for a game night.
If we follow the above techniques for improving vocabulary, then it would not only be beneficial in comprehension section but also in the comprehension section also.
Also look at last 5-6 years question papers and try to solve the papers of the relevant exam so that you will have the feel of your exam.
Grammar
The grammar based questions asked are sentence correction or error detection. Sentence correction is the part which is asked in various competitive exams to test the English skills of a student. For doing this correct knowledge of grammar is necessary. There are numerous articles on memorizing the various rules of grammar.
This is perhaps the first article that says: no need to memorize rules. Language is not a nursery rhyme. Nor it is a multiplication table. Why should we then learn it by heart? If you desire to be a master of the language, try to understand it. Study the rules and try to draw conclusions.
Rather than memorize the rules try to solve more and more questions on sentence correction and study the explanation and try to understand it .This will not only help to solve the problem but also make you understand the type of questions asked in various competitive exams. It is important to concentrate on “why” of a rule.
You may know which part of a sentence is incorrect. But many of you may not be able to correct it. But if you have understood the reason, you would be able to solve a problem in a proper manner.
In the next stage try to take unsolved, questions and do them, in a stipulated time frame. Now, if you practice these, you get a feel of what exams could be like. Homework of these questions makes you comfortable in the exam hall.
In the third stage take more and more mock tests.
If you still want to learn the rules of grammar, make a chart of all English rules and paste it on a wall in your study room. You can revise them even while having your food. Similarly for Direct-Indirect narration, Active- Passive rules, difficult vocabulary, Phrasal verbs, Idioms etc.
By following above steps for a couple of months, you will be able to start thinking in English and can answer many queries in English naturally. You can start talking to your friends, teachers etc. Answer the unwanted bank loans, credit card calls to your advantage by speaking to them in English and ask questions. You will gain confidence. (Caller will bless you as finally someone has listened to them and have showed her/his interest).
If you follow the above techniques and do it consistently then there is no doubt that you can perform very well in English section.