Ultimate Strategy to Step – Up your English Score

Dear Aspirants,

English section intimidates many of you since the educational background varies from student to student. We have received a lot of requests from our readers about how to tackle the English Section and preparation strategy for the same. To help you all with this, today we are going to provide some important tips regarding the approach you should follow during the exam and the ways in which you can improve this section.

English Language section is basically a test of your Grammar and Vocabulary skills. Let’s have a look at the topics that will be asked in this section.
1. Reading Comprehension –

• This topic is usually time consuming.
•  In order to save time, first try to go through the question and then through the passage. It will help you mark out the answer easily.
• As far as the Synonyms / Antonyms questions are concerned, go through the sentence containing the concerned word first and then through the options provided.
• Try to attempt the Vocabulary questions (Synonyms / Antonyms) first.

2. Cloze Test –

• It basically consists of a passage from which some words have been eliminated.
• This topic aims at testing your ability to comprehend text.
• Read the sentence first and then try to find the correct option by substituting the given options in the sentence. You should be able to eliminate incorrect options with the help of this approach.
• If you feel stuck at some question then move on to the next one. Try and answer it and then go back to the previous question since all the sentences are logically connected.

3. Sentence Rearrangement –

• First go through all the lines and try to understand the gist of the passage.
• Try to look up the independent sentence which mostly forms the first sentence.
• Find out the connecting sentences and try to arrange accordingly.

4. Spotting Errors/ Sentence Improvement/Correction –

• Again, go through the entire sentence first.
• Look up for grammatical errors, in case the structure of the sentence seems fine to you.
• Try to eliminate the options by going through the sentence properly.

5. Phrase Replacement –

• You should be able to attempt these questions by reading the sentence properly.
• In case of doubt, try eliminating the options.
• These sentences usually have grammatical errors, so look up the grammar in the sentence to attempt these questions.

Preparation Strategy –

• Vocabulary 
  1. Good vocabulary is essential to clear any exam, because unless you actually understand the meaning of the word, it will be difficult to attempt the question.
  2. To improve your vocabulary, try to read at least 3 – 4 articles from the newspaper or a novel on a regular basis.
  3. Reading newspaper has dual advantage, it will not only bolster your general knowledge but also widen your vocabulary by helping you learn a lot of new words.
• Grammar
  1. This is another important parameter that is tested in these exams.
  2. Try to clear your grammar basics first, because that will help you in formation and understanding of sentences.
  3. You can attempt our exercises regularly that have been provided for various grammar topics to improve consistently.
• While practising, try not to spend a lot of time of any question and you can achieve this by using a timer or a stopwatch. Try the evaluate the number of questions you are able to attempt correctly. This exercise will help you manage time efficiently.
• Remember, you can’t expect to prepare this section in a day or two. A good command of this section requires a Regular Practice. Spend at least 2 hours daily for this section. You can follow our Mission IBPS PO 2016 for this. There we will help you revise a topic each from all the three sections regularly.
• Don’t shy away from speaking in English. Try to converse with your family members or friends in English. Don’t fret over making mistakes and don’t be consumed by the opinion of others. It’s okay to make mistakes because they will only help you learn.
• Besides online preparation, if you’re also looking for some books then you can go for Word Power made easy by Norman Lewis (for vocabulary), Objective General English by S.P. Bakshi and Grammar book by Wren and Martin.

Things to remember during the exam –
1. Try not to spend more than 10-15 minutes (for Preliminary Exam) on this section.
2. Avoid guesswork in the exam when your instinct does not take over.
3. Do not attempt questions for which you are not completely sure. One wrong question can make a lot of difference in the final scorecard.
4. Try to attempt Cloze test, Fill in the blanks, Spotting errors and Sentence improvement/correction before attempting comprehension.

Robert Collier once said,

Success is a sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out

So, work hard, give your best, believe in yourself and you’ll come through with flying colours.

Thanks..

Team Gradeup..!!

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