IES : English and General Studies, General Ability Preparation Tips

The Indian Engineering Services examination proposes to have a 'English and General Studies / General Ability ' test as a part of elimination process of the candidates. English language has always been a weak area for Indian engineering students and that combined with General Ability test screens even the deserving candidates. I therefore decided to come up with effective tips and tricks that will help you prepare for this specific section of IES entrance.

Preparing For The English Section:

Most of the students do not pay attention to the language; either because they are never exposed to good teachers or proper mechanisms to improve the language. If you are one of such students who finds English very hard to crack, here's something you should start doing immediately: Start reading any English newspaper of your choice - but no bollywood news or sports news. Focus on the news that make it to the front page of these dailys.

A quick look at the General Abilities paper will inform you that you will have to be thorough with Synonyms, Antonyms, Error Spotting, correct ordering of sentences, ordering of words in a sentence, reading comprehension etc. These can't be improved in a day or a week. You will need to develop a habit of reading newspapers, English magazines and novels so that all of these come natural to you.

There are several good books you can refer to prepare for word lists and understand the correct usage of English. I do not have any special recommendations for books.

Preparing For General Ability Section:

The good thing about the approach mentioned above is that it will automatically develop your general awareness. A simple question from previous year's question paper is: What would be the time in Tokyo when it's 12 noon in Allahabad. Now you'll have to be alert. Remember that Japan is on the East side of India and hence it will about ~3-4 hours ahead in time. The correct option, therefore would be ~3.30 PM. How'd you know all this? By reading and ensuring that you make yourself aware of vast variety of topics. It's certainly not easy!

I'd strongly recommend reading through the books till class XII to brush up your knowledge of history, geography, basic mathematics and science etc. It will help you a lot gain clarity about the topics that are often neglected; but are asked in the exam.

I'd leave it for our fellow engineers to share their tips tricks and reference books. If you have questions, feel free to post them here so that we can discuss together.

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