Tips to read the newspaper for competitive exams. Newspapers, in addition to regular textbooks, are an important part of any competitive exam preparation. But it is not as simple as it may appear at first, as reading a newspaper is very different from reading a novel or a textbook, and many aspirants face difficult questions such as how to read, how much time to read, what to read, how beneficial is note-taking, do you need to remember every name and data in every article, and so on.
Tips to Read Newspaper for Competitive Exams
1. CHOOSE ONE RELIABLE NEWSPAPER
Reading a newspaper efficiently can take a significant amount of time. Furthermore, it is usually advised to read-only high-quality, well-known newspapers, as the articles published are authored by well-known professionals and are generally authoritative.
Here are some of the most prevalent and crucial characteristics of a trustworthy newspaper:
Comprehensiveness: Unless you’re taking state competitive tests, avoid local/state media.
English how it should be: It’s especially useful for the mains exam because it helps you enhance your English writing abilities and vocabulary.
Unbiased: It is not politically motivating and presents a balanced viewpoint
Locate a reputable newspaper source
If physical copies are readily available on a regular basis and without interruption, go for them because they are easier to read and mark. If not, opt for e-papers, which are both environmentally friendly and cost-effective.
Read and comprehend your syllabus thoroughly
This will allow you to avoid the portions of a newspaper that are useless and save you a lot of time. However, news items about pure politics, Bollywood, stock market predictions, fashion trends, and the like should be avoided in general. To gain a better picture of the types of questions that have been posted in the past five years, one can look over the question papers from the prior five years.
Find out how much weight a given exam assigns to the current affairs section
This will help you schedule enough time for it. If the total marks are 100 and current affairs are worth 20 points, you should devote a significant amount of time, but if current affairs are worth only 5 points, allocating 20% of your total preparation time is highly improper and wasteful. When planning your time, bear in mind that reading the newspaper can also help you prepare for personal interviews.
2. WHILE READING
Perform a rapid scan of the entire newspaper
To identify all-important articles that must be read. This will assist you in keeping track of time while reading. If several articles appear to be important, you may decide to skip in-depth analysis of the items that appear to be less relevant, and vice versa.
Take one-line notes
This can help you modify more quickly and efficiently. Please bear in mind that taking notes is an art, and it is best to take careful notes. Instead of a whole sentence, try utilising only keywords. Cutting newspapers is a bad idea.
AFTER READING
Revise your one-line notes weekly and monthly so that you are not overburdened before the exam. It will also assist you in improving your note-taking abilities.
Take a daily, weekly, or monthly online quiz
This will serve as a wake-up call, allowing you to tweak your existing plan for greater results. It is usually preferable to conduct an early reality check and address any issues before it is too late.
