The English section of SSC exams is considered to be the most important, as it comprises around 40% of the total 600 marks. It can make or break your result easily.
However, more often than not, SSC aspirants find themselves debating upon the best way to approach the SSC Tier-1 and SSC Tier-2 syllabus, in order to ace the exams with ease. In this article, we will be discussing some techniques, and a basic roadmap you can follow to make sure your examination preparation is on point.
Understand what language and comprehension is all about
First and foremost, it is important for you to have a firm grasp of what the course is really all about. The scale for your knowledge’s measurement here will not just be the understanding of English’s grammar rules and communication structures, but a comprehension of the language in totality. This adds vocabulary, substitutions, sentence correction, phrase improvement, direct-indirect speech, sentence rearrangement, active-passive voice, reading comprehension, idioms, phrases, cloze test and synonyms/antonyms to the mix. This is a subject that needs a deeper understanding of the language—and that is a task that warrants a plan. Let’s dive into what you need to do to masterfully add these skills in your literary arsenal.
Reading is important
Reading comprehension is an essential skill you will need to pass this exam. However, it is also a skill that cannot be acquired overnight—hence it takes the first place on our list. The best way to enhance your reading comprehension skills is to keep reading on a daily basis. It will take you somewhere from a few weeks to a few months (depending on your current level of reading skill) to be able to grasp the written word quickly and to be able to answer questions, write a summary, give your opinions on that. The best way to improve reading comprehension is to read the newspaper regularly. In addition to that, you should also read short stories (reading prose is a great way to get a hold of comprehension skills), online articles, blogs, and more—the trick is to start reading the things you are genuinely interested in. Slowly, you will develop a reading habit that will help you nail down the reading comprehension section of the exam.
Improve your Vocabulary
The first thing you should focus on is expanding your glossary. This will give you a good command on a few things in the syllabus, and it will help you increase your reading comprehension at the same time. Consider reading more and more every day, and keep a dictionary (or your smartphone) around with you so you can keep looking up words you don’t understand. Additionally, look up the glossary section of English books in the library. They will help. Downloading flash cards is also a good idea—if you can learn one new word per day, it would be perfect.
Raise the bar on your grammar level
When it comes to grammar, this is an exam that requires you to walk a straight line, with no mistakes. The best (and quickest) way to improve your grammar for the SSC exams is to go into the ‘English language and comprehension’ section and attempting questions like ‘spot the error.’ Correcting incorrect sentences while following grammar rules is the best way to learn what not to do, resulting in you expanding your knowledge base on what works within the constraints of the English grammar.
Use previous year’s question papers as a tactical advantage
Exam patterns keep on changing from time to time. However, keeping a track of the current exam structure and coupling that with a good amount of practice on old question papers is a good strategy to excel in the SSC exams. You can easily find old question papers online and in guides. Use them to test your preparation, and to improve your confidence.
To sum up, the English section of SSC exam can be the difference between your selection and rejection. Follow the above steps to make sure you are well-versed in the skills required for every section of the syllabus. And above all, don’t forget to be consistent with your studies—make a daily time table that covers different aspects of the syllabus daily, and gives you enough time to rest your brain as well. Remember—persistence and hard work is the only way to success!
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