Making the Most of Reading Newspapers

If you are preparing for the upcoming banking exams like SBI Clerk, IBPS Clerk, IBPS PO, IBPS SO, RRB Clerk, this is one arid task you got to take interest in, and that too on a daily basis. Yes! We are talking about reading newspapers. Nearly the whole country is stuck in a lockdown kind of situation and this is the best time for improving your skills. We will get to the benefits & techniques of reading newspapers below but before that we want a minute of yours to check out the free mock tests available on our platform. You may take a free mock test of a number of banking exams like SBI Clerk, RRB PO etc. and check the level of your preparation. Knowing the preparation level will help you immensely as you can put more focus on your weak areas. Let’s now have a look at the benefits of reading newspapers and how this habit can help you score good marks in the general awareness section.

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Importance of Current Affairs & General Awareness

The importance of general awareness is of prominent importance in this exam. Apart from other sources like monthly & weekly GK capsules, newspapers are one important resource you shouldn’t ignore. For one, they get you the latest update on a range of topics and they get you the opinion of subject matter specialists on topics that are important to the nation. These opinions help you in creating a mindset and help you keep yourself updated on answering current affairs questions asked in SBI Clerk exam. You also get the latest facts & figures on the news which will be helpful in the current affairs part of general awareness section.

Are you complaining that you don’t get time to read newspapers? Well! Reading newspapers doesn’t just help you in general awareness section, it also helps you in other sections. Regular reading helps you get a good reading speed which helps you in getting a marginal edge in all the sections as you take little time to read. It also improves your vocabulary and writing skills. It is advisable to take out 1-2 hours of your time and start reading newspapers. This is especially important in these COVID-19 times when you have some spare time which you should try to fully utilize. Start reading newspapers today. We are providing some tips below where you can really benefit from reading newspapers.

The Hindu Editorial Vocabulary- Download Free PDF

How to Make Notes while reading a newspaper?

Please note that not everything needs to be covered in a newspaper. You need to filter and focus on those newspaper articles which will be important in your upcoming exams. You have to be selective and don’t have to waste time on articles that are not important thereby making the most of your precious time. Below we are providing the kind of news you should read while going through a newspaper. Selecting a good newspaper is equally important. You can pick either The Hindu or The Indian Express.

When you read a newspaper, keep a pen and notebook handy and highlight all the articles in the newspaper which belong to either of the below categories:

• News of national importance
• News of international importance
• Economic news
• Sports news
• News related to science & technology

Once you are done with highlighting the relevant news, you need to analyze and summarize each article. Write the below in your notebook for each of the highlighted articles:

• A quick summary of the news (what happened)
• Where (affected geographical locations)
• When (timeline of the news)
• Why (Reason it happened; root cause analysis)
• Facts & Figures (important data related to the news)

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Weekly Current Affairs- Download Free PDF

For eg. let’s have a look at the news on the recent news of the First Mars Mission of China. On reading this article, you are suggested to make notes as below:

• A Long March-5 rocket, China’s largest and most powerful launch vehicle, carrying the spacecraft with a mass of about five tonnes, soared into the sky from the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site on the coast of southern China’s island province of Hainan,
• The Chinese Mars probe named Tianwen 1 or Quest for Heavenly Truth 1, will fulfil three scientific objectives: orbiting the red planet for comprehensive observation, landing on Martian soil and sending a rover to roam the landing site.
• Date when the launch was made: July 23, 2020
• On April 24, China named its first Mars exploration mission as Tianwen-1 as it celebrated ‘Space Day’ to mark the 50th anniversary of the launch of the country’s first satellite Dong Fang Hong-1 in 1970.
• China aims to catch up with India, the US, Russia and the European Union to reach the red planet. Recently India became the first country to have entered the Martian orbit in its first attempt.

Link of the news: https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/china-launches-first-mars-mission/article32171852.ece

Important Days/Dates 2020-21 with Themes for Banking/ SSC/ RRB NTPC/ Govt. Exams

Importance of Handwritten Notes

Handwritten notes help you in retaining the information quickly especially because these notes have been written by you in your own style of writing. Notes, if made in this manner, will definitely aid you in an effective revision just before the night of the exam. Not just this, reading editorials and opinions of different subject-matter specialists on a regular basis will help you in nearly all the banking & government exams. Please remember that Weekly General Awareness Capsules PDFs are best for revision and to double-check if you have missed anything in your notes. Aspirants who have successfully cleared banking exams have repeatedly said in their success stories that handwritten notes have helped them the maximum. So what are you waiting for? Start reading a newspaper from today only and start making your notes.

Let us know if you have your own unique way of reading a newspaper. We wish you all the best for your preparation!

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