Preparation of General Awareness in Government Jobs

in Exams Preparation

The first step in preparing for any major competitive exam is undoubtedly to be adept at answering General Awareness questions. Such General Knowledge questions are meant to test the candidates’ knowledge of Current Affairs covering political, economic, and sociological occurrences both within and outside the nation. They also test the applicants’ knack for collecting, comprehending and analyzing a stream of information.

Most competitive exams are split into two parts; the first part tests the candidates’ general awareness regarding current affairs. The Civil Services Exam held by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to recruit IAS officers itself has a preliminary exam of 450 marks followed by an Interview. The preliminaries test the applicant’s general knowledge of the current issues throughout the world. Even the All India Exam held by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Probationary Officers’ Exam held by the Central Recruitment Board (SBI) has a similar test pattern. Only after the applicant clears the preliminary exams can they become eligible for the personality interview. Although the final selection is based on the candidate’s performance in the interview, the first part of the exam plays a key role in the recruitment process.

The questions set are basically objective questions, and the entire segment consists of about 50 questions in general. All you have to do is Mark the answers if you know them. The whole section can be easily solved within ten minutes. Thus, not only are these questions easy to answer, they are very scoring as well.

However, the questions asked in this section depend heavily on the nature of the job the candidate is applying for. For instance, in case of Bank Exams, the stress is on current events in the world of Finance, and Economical issues both in the national and international field. And this does not rule out the possibility of questions on geology or astronomical explorations.

It is clear therefore that preparing for General Awareness questions is a prolonged process. Preparations must begin well in advance. The following are a few key points to remember when preparing for such exams.

• Read Newspapers – These are the basic means of preparing for general knowledge based questions. Newspapers are available very easily and a good gazette can provide a whole treasure trove of information. In fact, a whole section of the newspaper is dedicated to Current Affairs.
• Magazine Reading – Another very important means of preparing for General awareness tests are a regular reading of magazines. Especially magazines such as India Today, Outlook, and Readers’ Digest are exceptionally good. Yearbooks are also very helpful for bulk studying.
• Acquaintance with Journals and Blogs – Merely reading gazettes and magazines are not enough. Go through live journals and blogs to know the general opinion about the various occurrences. Participating in such discussions and free display of public opinion frames your own ideas regarding the same.
• Exposure to Media – Tune in to the daily news updates if you have no means of acquiring journals or magazines. Numerous channels air debates and discussions on various issues. Follow them as often as you can.

However, the most important factor that regulates your preparation is a dedicated thirst for knowledge. And a quick mind. Your preparation and performance in any Government oriented or even private sector exam is directly proportional to your receptivity and analytical faculty.