NABARD DA

A Topper’s Guide for GK 2021-22: (Nobody will tell you this)

The general awareness section for many aspirants is a real struggle and at times it becomes very problematic to wrap your head around the same. In this article, we talk about what actually leaves aspirants in the conundrums when it comes to the section of general awareness. And later, we discuss practical solutions, methods, and guidance that can really transform your preparation for the GK section; be it any banking exam.

You see the key actually lies in knowing what works and what doesn’t. The earlier you recognize this more comfortable you will be with your preparation.

Answer this question. What’s the core difference between a topper and other aspirants?

Well, there are many, but the most important one is clarity. That’s the word of the day for you. Clarity is what makes a definite difference between a topper and the others. It isn’t that they don’t have a confused state of mind but gradually they swim through the rough patches and reach a point where things are now in their control.

Why do aspirants beat around the bush so much when it comes to GK?

GK can be really tricky for a number of reasons
There is too much advice out there but very little application
Anybody can give you a book recommendation, but nobody tells you what chapters to focus on from a particular book
You can solve 100 quizzes online, but are those questions even relevant?

These are the questions you need to ask yourself while preparing for GK.

Here are some tips which toppers rely on:

Lucent is an Excellent Book. But, do you know how to use it?

Every banking exam aspirant has heard of Lucent’s book. Everybody has one. But the key lies in if you know how to read and analyze that book. Most people will generally read the book, maybe even do repetitions, but that’s not enough.

Also, do you know which sections you should cover from Lucent!?

You need to understand that Lucent is a factual book. It’s more of a static GK and factual GK kind of a book. Not a current affairs book.

The best portions of Lucent are Indian Polity, Geography, History, and Biology. You don’t have to look at any other book when it comes to these four subjects. All of them are covered very extensively.

One other tip for using Lucent properly is by marking important stuff as you read it for the first or second time. Keep a highlighter and a pen with you. Also, prepare notes copy for some of the important material or for facts you are not able to remember. Keep interacting with your book for better and quick learning.

And the last piece of advice for Lucent would be to mug it up. There is no other way. It’s a book written for factual awareness which covers a wide variety of topics. Regular repetition is necessary.

Use Specific Sources for Unconventional Topics

Many exams will have topics which generally aren’t covered by the popular general knowledge books such as Economics or Finance.

For acing such portions, you should read and watch the material which only and solely focuses on them. There are many advantages of doing so:

You get to learn from the experts
If you are watching any video series, you will have a better conceptual understanding of the subject.
You will learn from a basic level and will gradually cover advanced material.
Such experts will guide you on other study material, books to read, etc.

Be smart about making Notes

Yes, note-making is very important. But you don’t have to write everything by hand in the digital age. You can use apps such as Google Keep/Notes for jotting down stuff which you didn’t discover through books. All the other material you will use apart from the book will be mostly online.

Use Visual Learning to Leverage Your GK

This doesn’t mean you have to sit in front of YouTube all day. Subjects which have technical facts such as Biology, Geography, or Science can be hard to comprehend via a book. You can watch explanation videos of such concepts starting today. It will leave you with a better understanding and will make the content hard to forget.

Why Regular Reading and GK Videos work?

If you are regular at reading good newspaper articles and good GK videos daily then you will have a better recollection. Current affairs or news discussed on Monday will get repeated in newspapers on some other day with its update. People who only read pdfs every 15 days or prepare monthly will never have this advantage.

So, is it not too much to focus on Current affairs daily?

Regular newspaper reading is a must. But yes, don’t spend too much time on current affairs from other sources. A total of 15-20 minutes daily is more than enough. Otherwise, you will miss out on other subjects.

Conclusion

Be smart about everything when it comes to GK preparation. Keep taking regular mocks as well. Without them, you won’t be able to track your GK preparation.

You might want to subscribe to our push notifications. You will get a notification once we publish such articles.

Vishwas Agarwal