Not all people are made of such steel hearts & chivalrous passion to serve and protect their motherland. While some strive to achieve success and prosperity for themselves, there are some who dream from a young age of sacrifice and unconditional love and reverence for their country. But the mere dream is not enough. One needs to touch reality and pass the tests to achieve the noble cause of serving the nation. Here comes then the importance of qualifying the written exam, the first step to fulfilling the said dream. While many find it easy to tackle the subjects like Maths, Reasoning or General Knowledge & General Science, mastering a subject like English strikes a question mark. For English is a language, and the only way to master a language is to love it and feel it. Abstract and gibberish as it may sound, I am here to make things simpler for you. Follow these following 10 tips religiously and you can score 95 % and above in the English paper of any of the defence exams you take.   

Tip 1 : Have Time & Patience!

Many students lose patience in the middle of studying English or even before they start studying the subject. This happens because they feel it is difficult to master the grammar and vocabulary of the language, or it might be that they don’t feel confident of themselves. As English is a vast and never-ending ocean of words and rules of word usage, they feel impatient and tend to mug things up, which worsen the situation more as they fail to apply the mugged-up grammatical rules or meanings of words correctly while solving questions from this particular subject. Many students again do not take care to go through the concepts and understanding of English grammar and vocabulary steadily, but start solving questions promptly without looking into the respective topics and the concepts involved. This is a strict no-no. Increase your patience level and accept the fact that learning and mastering English language takes time and is impossible to grasp them in one day. So, increase your confidence and start by reading concepts and rules first before you solve questions from them. Remember, nothing is impossible and Rome was not built in a day! 

Tip 2 : Work Smart & Build a Table!

When I say build a table, I don’t want you to indulge yourself in the art of carpentry (It’s not that you can’t!). Always try to work smartly whenever you plan to start the study of English for your defence exams. The only thing that can help you to focus on your goals and make things easier for you is a Timetable. This is true not only for English but also for other subjects. Make a Plan of studying say, 14 hours a day. Divide your time accordingly as per the subjects. My suggestion is to keep a daily time slot for English, as English is all about regular practice and revision. Keep a target of the date of the defence exam you aim to take and construct a Timetable according to that. Follow the roadmap as much as possible and start studying.

Tip 3 : Begin with ‘G’ of English!

Yes, that’s right. Begin with not ‘A’ of English but with ‘G’ where ‘G’ stands for Grammar. Remember, no matter what defence competitive exams you take, you will expressly be tested for English grammatical knowledge and Vocabulary skills. So start with the rules of English Grammar. Take the help of a good Grammar book like Wren & Martin or better, subscribe to the English course for your desired defence exam available at SSBCrackExams. Study through the basic and advanced concepts of English Grammar, so through the examples and revise them again and again for a better and clearer understanding. Start solving questions applying the grammatical rules you studied and start practising more and more for further expertise on the grammatical aspects of the subject.

Tip 4 : Master the ‘V’ of English!

Now you know what I mean by ‘V’ of English. Yes, it’s Vocabulary. After mastering the ‘G’ of English, it’s time for you to move on to the ‘V’ of it. As there are no fixed rules or ways to learn and remember the vocabulary of English and also no fixed number of words you need to approach, try to read as many words as possible. Remember, English words are easy to remember when you know their meanings. But do not stop on that and go on to know their opposites or antonyms as well. These will not only help you to solve questions for topics like ‘Synonyms’ and ‘Antonyms’ but will also help you to increase your stock of words which you can further use in your conversations and writing. Try to learn and remember, at least 10 new words along with their synonyms and antonyms on a daily basis. Do not try to mug up as you will forget them sooner or later, but try to use the new words you have learned in your conversations or your writing, within 24 hours. In that way, you can remember them easily. But learning and remembering words are not enough for your vocabulary skills. You also need to know how or in what context the words shall be used in sentences. The best way to do it is to consult a thesaurus like Merriam-Webster’s Thesaurus which will help you to know the ways.

Tip 5 : Make Friends!

All work and no play make Jack a dull boy. And I am sure you don’t want to become one. While studying hard is required, but not a tedious one. So make friends and that too likeminded ones. Talk or chat with them in English using proper English grammar and the new words you have learned. Make sure not to use SMS or WhatsApp language. Write full English sentences and talk about something interesting that is happening around the world. Discuss about current affairs or socio-political issues. Converse with them and speak in English using the new words you have learned the previous day. Suggest the same to your friend/s. This will not only help you to develop your language skills but will also boost your confidence of speaking in English when you will go for your interviews. Plus, talking and chatting with others, will also help you to collect information and news about the current scenario, which will be immensely helpful in your exam preparation. And also you can learn some new English words from your friend/s too!

Tip 6 : Read!

Read not only your textbooks but also other good books, be it good English Classics or Motivational books. Develop your reading habit. Remember, knowing grammatical rules and such others to solve questions from English is not enough. The only way to master the English language and its many forms of usage is to read as much as possible. Reading will not only make you wiser and knowledgeable but will also develop your comprehensive and analytical power, which is sometimes being tested through ‘Comprehension’ and ‘Para jumbled Sentences’ in defence competitive exams. Also, you can also learn new words and their usage in sentences of particular contexts, through reading. Read good newspapers like The Hindu, magazines, journals, etc, that will also help you in your current affairs and General Knowledge sections of defence exams. Reding will help you, in short, in killing two birds with one stone!

Tip 7 : Practise, Practise & Practise!

Chant this mantra and you can score 95 % and above in the English paper of your defence exams. The more you practise, the more confident you become and the more chance for you to score the maximum number of marks, as high as, 95 % in the English paper of your defence exams. Practice makes us perfect. So study deeply and thoroughly the important concepts of English grammar and rules and apply them by solving as many questions as possible. Also, don’t forget to check the previous years’ question papers for a better idea about the recent question pattern and trends.

Tip 8 : Manage your Time

Time Management is very important in any competitive exam. And it will be difficult for you if you don’t start practising beforehand keeping the issue of time in your mind. It is generally recommended to not spend more than one minute for a question. If the time crosses and you are still unable to solve the question, do not waste your time. Simply move on to the next question. You can always get back to it later once you are done solving the rest of the questions. Also, it will be useful if you first solve the questions that seem easier to you. Attend first the sections that you are confident about. Also, try to solve the questions from ‘Comprehension’ and ‘Cloze Test’ at the last. Start practising questions keeping these things in your mind and keeping a stopwatch by your side, so that you can solve the questions in the examination hall at the same pace and in the same manner, and you need not worry about the time in your actual exam. You can take the Mock Tests with actual stopwatch and real-time exam hall experience with instant analytical test results and all-India ranks through the Mock Test Series available at SSBCrackExams learning portal.

Tip 9 : Make Notes

While it is important to study and practise questions from English, it is also important for you to make notes on the topics you need to improvise on. Therefore, always remember there is always a scope for improvement and doing better in your exam. Hence, making notes of your strength and weaknesses is important, as they will help you to how hard you need to focus in some areas or other. Remember, studying hard is not enough. You need to study sincerely and with a concrete focus on things which need your attention and polishing, for you to score 95 % and above in the English paper.

Tip 10: Just chill!

Studying is important to qualify written tests for your defence exams. But don’t forget to take a chill pill. Relax and try to be yourself. Practise a healthy lifestyle. Eat good food. Meditate. Do some physical exercises. Indulge in some constructive things. Listen to good music. Watch good movies. In other words, don’t take exam stress. Remember, it is easy to learn and concentrate on your studies when you have a cool and composed mind. So, be confident and be yourself. Study sincerely and smartly with full focus and no panicky ideas in your mind, and you can definitely achieve your aim.

Jai Hind!