How to prepare for English ( SSC & other competitive examination)

Edit: Tier 1 & 2 will be online. Click here for Exam structure.
Hi Everyone

In today's post, i will tell how to  get best result in less time?

A proper strategy is necessary for any competition exam. Just follow steps given below.

Don't take English part lightly and Don't think that You can't crack it. Many students from village background & many from states like UP, find it hard. Nothing is impossible and don´t underestimate yourself and think that all of the peoples have 24 hours and you also have  exactly the same.

If you haven´t purchased  recommended books then purchase them because they are necessary . These books are Standard Books and will help you to prepare for LIC, BANK PO, Various State LeveBooks for Mathematics: l Exam. Don´t go for copy paste material in JHOOLACHAP Books, printed with just a change in name on the cover page.

Except GK and some vocabulary nothing can be asked outside these books. 
Click here for recommended books.

Now For CGL Tier 1:  From CGL 16 Onwards Tier 1 English is of 50 Marks consisting 25 Questions, and English Section in Tier 2 will be of 200 Marks consisting 200 Questions.

There will be negative marking of 0.5 in Tier1 and 0.25 in Tier 2 (English Section)

Question will be asked from Vocabulary  which include Antonym, Synonym, Idioms,  spelling check , fill in the blanks, idioms etc , English Grammar and Comprehension, which include a unseen passage, Error correction, sentence improvement. There is no hard and fast rule , how many questions will come from a specific topic but Vocabulary section will contain 25-30 questions and passage will be of 5 marks , there might be a clause test of 5 marks, Distribution of marks in various years is given below.

These graphs are outdated and SSC has changed its Scheme of Examination but these graphs still hold valid for CGL 2016.

Tier 1:

Now see the pictures given below,  you will get a idea, how many questions are being asked from which section, although there is no hard and fast rule, but you will get a rough idea, 

Grammar Section:

Now Category wise analysis is given below: These charts are self understood and will help you indirectly in solving questions in Mathematics. HAHAHA

Now you have rough idea about number of questions being asked from a particular section. Well how to prepare for Vocabulary and Grammar?

For Vocabulary:

Read  Word Power Made Easy By Norman Lewis, This book is a real gem, if you don't have this, then you must purchase it,  because this book will tell you about origin of words and you will hardly forget the words learnt from this book.

Remember Cramming will not help you anyway in Vocabulary. You will have to understand the meaning of the words.

Moreover many times SSC has directly asked question from this book. This book will help you guess the meaning of the words, even if you see the word for the first time.

There are also other books with same name but they are not recommended. Now how to approach NORMAN LEWIS and prepare for vocabulary. :)

There are about 40 chapters.  You may study with your own pace. Try to do one or two chapters daily. You will be able to complete it in one month. Practice from practice exercise at-least 2-3 times and mark words you forgot with red pen. Next time your attention will be there and you will remember that word forever.

Now after completing this book, make a habit of reading  English newspaper like THE HINDU or Indian Express  and take a  big notebook and write down meaning of new words (Use Dictionary or Online)you come across while reading.

Don't forget to revise your notebook and use learnt words in your conversation and make memory link up with words you know. It depends on you, how you link up your memory to recall.

For example:  Retch with Fetch and Difference between Retch and Puke or Vomit.

The notebook should be with you with constant updates until you clear some exam of your choice.

GRAMMAR ( Tier1 and Tier2) 

Now, Move on to Grammar Section, there are lot of books on Grammar and Comprehension, but you are in a competitive exam not in Board exams. It is always better to revise 2-3 times from the same book instead of purchasing new books and lost your time and money.

My recommended book for Error Correction is A Mirror to Common Error BY ASHOK KUMAR SINGH Click Here 

For rest of Part: Objective General English By SP BAKSHI,

For Tier 3, Students who opted for English , WREN & Martin

Now How to Approach for Grammar:

One answer  practice and only practice so that rules of grammar can get trapped in your mind. Your practice should be like that you see the question and you should be able to find out the error within seconds.

How to approach SP BAKSHI's  and ASHOK KUMAR's books.

Do error corrections and practice (All 14 chapters )from Ashok Kumar's books.

Rest of Grammar portion must be revised 2-3 times from SP Bakshi's book.

Don't do double mazdoori like revising of Voices and Narrations from SP Bakshi also, when you have already done with them in Ashok Kumar's.

When you revise SP Bakshi, you will notice that the words you have learned from NORMAN LEWIS are repeated here but in Bakshi's book they are not explained in the right way. That's why Norman Lewis and your own hand made notes are preferred over them.

Comprehension and Passages:

Read English Newspaper daily, it will help sharpen your reading skills, fast and effective reading is necessary for any competitive exams otherwise your time will be over.

So make a habit of fast reading. Normally, first few lines of the passage, give you idea , what author is talking about. So, pay greater attention to first few lines.

So this concludes strategy for ENGLISH, Strategy will also remain same for Tier 2 , the major change is that questions are being asked in bulk, like 25 no. of Narration, 25 no. of Active-Passive. See charts given below for in depth analysis.

So to have merit, have special emphasis on these topics from the day you start preparing for competition exams and try to do things first which are static in nature like Error Correction , Voices, Narrations etc.

Some Final words,  there is no shortcut to success and  you can buy books with money but  you will have to read them. No body will read them for you  if you want to clear exam honestly.

 Best of luck for competition exams and have a nice day ahead!!