How to Prepare General Studies for Competitive Exams?
General Studies is the highest level exam from Groups to Civil services exam, Bank clerk exams to SSC Exams. As a key section in all exams. General studies stand decisively in all exams.
General Studies is the highest level exam from Groups to Civil services exam, Bank clerk exams to SSC Exams. As a key section in all exams. General studies stand decisively in all exams. With this, the candidates have to pay special attention to master this section! It is very important to know what is important from the exam's point of view in a broad general awareness syllabus. Currently, notifications for many competitive exams are coming out. In this regard, a special article on ways to do better in General Awareness to get success in competitive exams.
General Studies and General Awareness have special weightage in all competitive exams. Especially in civils, Indian Forest Service, and other exams conducted by UPSC, Groups conducted by SSC General Studies have the highest priority. Prelims and Mains, General Studies are important in both stages. Along with UPSC, SSC, Banks, State Public Service Commission exams, etc, in any recruitment exam, success will come only if you excel in general studies.
Ways to Master General Studies
- if we consider the syllabus of General Awareness/General Studies subjects in the respective competitive examinations, it can be classified into two types. They are traditional general studies topics; General Knowledge and Current Affairs.
- Among the traditional general studies History, Polity, Economy, Geography, General Science, Science, and Technology can be mentioned.
- In General Knowledge and Current Affairs, National and International topics related to contemporary developments and sports should be studied along with stock GK like important people, conferences, awards, and agreements.
How to Select Books?
Candidates should pay special attention to the selection of books to master general studies and general awareness. Look at the syllabus of the exams they are competing in and find one or two standard books that cover all the topics related to it. Otherwise, if you read one book for each topic, there will be a lack of coordination in the preparation. That's why candidates should be careful in choosing their books.
Priority Recognition
Most of the candidates proceed by studying the syllabus like novels or stories. By reading like this, it is not possible to remember the main points required for the exam. As a solution to this when starting to read the topic one should know about the purpose and priorities of the topic. Identify the information related to this in the book and write it down as important points in your own notes.
For example, if history is considered the exam should focus more on important events in history, art, and culture. Also in economy preparation knowing the basic concept, it is better to study them and coordinate them with contemporary developments.
Identifying Priorities
In order to perform better in General Studies and General Awareness, it is necessary to find out what kind of questions are likely to be asked in relation to those topics. For this, first of all, the question papers of the last four to five years of the respective competitive exams should be studied thoroughly. What kind of questions are being asked, and what is their style? This will make it easier to identify potential or questionable topics.
Current Affairs
Currently, Current Affairs like important Conferences, People, Awards, and Places are given priority in competitive exams. These should also be studied separately. People, Conferences, Places, Awards, etc. should be identified in the news. Such topics should be given more priority in preparation. Similarly, the National and International importance of the respective awards and individuals should be known and should also focus on bilateral relations and agreements.
Contemporary Topics and Coordination
There is a growing trend of asking questions in competitive exams incorporating contemporary topics. For example, if we consider the financial sector.. if a question is asked about the latest changes in the banking system, the reasons for those changes and the factors that have changed are there in such a way that the basic concepts mentioned in economics are known. So the candidates should study the topics related to all the disciplines in harmony with contemporary developments.
Own Notes
It is very useful for candidates preparing for competitive exams to write their own notes. Special care should be taken in making these own notes. If there are notes with complete information can be flashed in the brain just by looking at those highlights while revising before the exam. Instead of writing the notes, their importance should also be considered while revising.
Paper Reading
Another important tool in general studies and general awareness preparation is reading newspapers. While reading news, editorials, and other important articles in newspapers, one should identify their purpose. After that write down the summary in the form of points. In order to identify the main points of an essay.
Every Topic is Important
A mistake candidates make in the preparation of General Awareness topics is ignoring the topics they are not interested in or find difficult. Looking at the current pattern of competitive exams, there is a situation where no single aspect can be ignored. So candidates should practice preparation for all topics. Like from a selection of books to newspaper reading if every step is followed scientifically and mastering general awareness one can improve the chances of success.
It is true that there is a feeling among the candidates that General Studies is an ocean. Before starting the preparation, you should get clear about the syllabus topics in GS. That will remove half of the fear. After that, based on the weightage obtained in the respective exams, the respective topics should be read from a scientific perspective. It is very beneficial to read while incorporating concepts and contemporary issues. Writing notes in the form of tables and graphs with highlights of any topic will be useful during revision.
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