Essay, Precis & Comprehension: English Language Preparation

 

The English language Paper is a scoring section which is a major deciding factor in various Bank & Government examinations. It tests your writing & reading skills, grammar & vocabulary.

This English Paper comprises of: Essay, Precis and Comprehension in most exams like the RBI Grade B. However, the comprehension part is common among the SBI, IBPS and SSC CGL examinations. In the following article, we have provided a few tips to help you score better in your English paper of Bank & Government exams.

 

English Comprehension

• Your need to have a good reading speed to master comprehension

Learn how to improve your reading speed: Improve Reading Speed for English Paper

• Understand the context of the passage as sometimes the questions may not be direct

• Read newspapers, and editorials on trending topics. Bank Exam English paper’s comprehensions may consist passages based on topics like Economy, Banking, Finance, etc.

• Master your vocabulary. Though this comprehension won’t test you on vocabulary, you should be able to understand the meaning of the words through the context

• Read up idioms and phrases and understand their meaning. You can expect questions on idioms and phrases

Essays

What should an Essay comprise of?

Essay is a short piece of writing on a particular topic. Essays are error free in terms or grammar and spelling and also follow a structure and have a flow of ideas. Following is a basic ideal essay structure:

 

Introduction:

Should contain brief introduction of the topic and background. Mention your view before elaborating it in the body of the essay.

Body:

Used to present views on the subject in detailed manner. Restrict this to 2 or 3 paragraphs. Detail out examples to support your view. Put forth your strongest argument first followed by second strongest and so on. Each paragraph can contain one idea and sentences supporting it.

Conclusion:

Summarize your main argument using strongest evidences that support it. Don’t introduce a new idea here. Restate your main view, but do not use the same words used in the body.

It’s important that you plan your essay before you type it out. Spend a few minutes on planning and think about what you’re going to write instead of starting immediately. Suppose you have 15 minutes, spend 5 minutes planning, 8 minutes writing and 2 minutes revising/editing.

 

Precis

Precis (pronounced Preisi) is a concise summary of a passage. It includes all the essential points, mood and tone of the authors and main idea of the original passage.

• Go through sample precis and practice

• Follow rules for precis writing

• Stick to the word limit provided

 

Steps

Step 1: Read the given passage, highlight and underline the important points and note down the keywords in the same order as in the original passage.

Step 2: Note down the central theme/gist of the passage and tone of the author.

Step 3: Re-read the passage and compare it with the notes you made to check if you missed any crucial information.

Step 4: Provide an appropriate topic to your precis.

Step 5: Draft a precis based on the notes.

 

For a more detailed guide on how to write a perfect precis, click here: Comprehensive Guide to Write a Perfect Precis for English Paper.

 

General tips

• Ensure correct usage of grammar, spelling & punctuation

• Stick to the word limit

• Avoid using fancy words. Use simple language

• Solve previous year English language papers

• Read newspaper editorials daily. Topics are mostly based on what has been in news for the past 1 year. Refer to current affairs capsules and pick topics from there, read them and write short essays on them

• Make a note of important facts and figures

• Don’t take the time for granted. In most Bank & Government exam’s descriptive section you will have to type on the keyboard, so those of you who are slow at typing need to practice typing precis and essays on computers. The keyboard will be of old type and hence may be slow. So a faster typing speed will give you an edge over others in the exam

 

Click to take free sectional English paper mock tests for RBI Grade B Phase 2!

 

We hope these last minute tips on English language paper of Bank and Government Exams help you prepare better. Download and use this article as a handy guide during your preparation to improve your score in English paper.

We wish you all the very best for your exam.

 

Further reading:

RBI Grade B Phase 2 Economic & Social Issues Preparation Guide

RBI Grade B Phase 2 Finance & Management Preparation Guide