FCI Manager English Preparation: FCI released the FCI Manager 2022 Recruitment notification on the 24th of August, 2022. The online registration process for the same opened on the 27th of August and will close on the 26th of September, 2022.
FCI conducts the Manager recruitment in two phases. Phase I is a general test that covers English, Quantitative, Reasoning, and General Studies. Phase II is a post-specific exam with either one or two papers depending on the post.
English as a whole, is a section common to both Phases I & II. The topics covered are the same for both. This blog will provide some handy tips for FCI Manager English preparation. Candidates can use this as a guide to help make their learning smoother and more efficient.
FCI Manager English Preparation: Syllabus
Now, the important topics to cover when it comes to English are no different than the topics usually covered for most government and bank exams. These are:
| Reading Comprehension | Sentence Improvement |
| Cloze Test | Phrase Replacement |
| Error Spotting | Antonyms Synonyms |
| Para Jumbles | Idioms and Phrases |
| Fillers – Single, Double | One-Word Substitution |
| Verbal Ability |
FCI Manager English Preparation- Important Tips
General Tips
- It is essential to prepare a comprehensive study plan and follow it with discipline and dedication.
- Tackle the syllabus topic-wise. Read-understand-practice should be your cycle of preparation. First, read the topic from the book. Next, understand the concepts. Lastly, practice the topic by solving questions.
- Practicing Online Mock tests during your actual exam timings is a great way of determining preparedness. It helps the brain get familiar with the high-pressure environment of the exam. Also, mock tests help figure out what topics are proving difficult to score and need deeper focus. For this, solve Online Mock tests.
- To have an upper hand in English preparation, it is advised to read at least one newspaper – editorials, especially every day. This would be of immense help in improving your vocabulary and reading speed. The Hindu has by far the best when it comes to editorials and opinion pieces that are likely to appear for reading comprehension.
- Keeping a dictionary beside you to refer to encountering a new word helps improve vocabulary and makes you familiar with unfamiliar terms that may appear in questions.
Topic-wise tips
Reading Comprehension
- To ace the reading comprehension questions, it is always best to read through the questions before reading the paragraph. Not only does this save time, but it also helps the candidates to know what information to focus on in the passage. Read – A to Z of Reading Comprehension.
- Make sure to read the questions thoroughly and understand what is being asked. Also carefully skim through the passage and consider all possible options.
Cloze Test
- Eliminating options can be the best way to arrive at the correct answer for cloze test questions. With practice, candidates can easily master this technique and can solve all the questions on the Cloze test correctly. Read the complete guide to Cloze Tests.
- Reading will help immensely in predicting the answers for sentences of the cloze test.
Error Spotting
- Good grammar sense is the key to solving the error-spotting question type.
- It is often helpful to read the given sentence out loud, silently, of course, to help determine where the error lies.
- The errors usually lie in the verbs, tenses, prepositions, etc. so make sure to make those concepts strong before attempting error-spotting.
Para Jumbles
- Para Jumbles are basically paragraphs with jumbles sentences. The key to para jumbles is identifying the main theme of the paragraph.
- Once the theme is identified, determining the first sentence will help in cracking the jumble faster.
- Read more on the strategy of tackling para jumbles.
FCI Manager English Preparation: Salient Points
- Make sure to practice Reading Comprehension questions regularly. These questions always make up a chunk of the section and can be easily scored if practiced properly.
- Reading English editorials from newspapers like The Hindu and The Times of India will help introduce you to a variety of idioms, phrases, and new words.
- Make sure to keep a dictionary with you to refer to the meanings of any unfamiliar words you encounter while reading. This will boost your vocabulary tremendously.
- Use few books but those that are well known for competitive exams.
- Practice mock tests regularly to improve speed and accuracy in all topics.
FCI Manager English Preparation: Exam Pattern
Phase I
| Sr. No | Name of the Test | No. of Qs. | Max. Marks | Duration (minutes) | Medium of examination |
| 1 | English Language | 25 | 25 | 15 minutes | English |
| 2 | Reasoning Ability | 25 | 25 | 15 minutes | Bilingual (English and Hindi) |
| 3 | Numerical Aptitude | 25 | 25 | 15 minutes | Bilingual (English and Hindi) |
| 4 | General Studies | 25 | 25 | 15 minutes | Bilingual (English and Hindi) |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 60 Minutes |
From the exam pattern, it is seen that the English Section is of 25 questions of 25 marks total. 15 minutes is the time allotted.
Phase II
Phase II has 4 papers. Depending on the post, the candidate may have to appear for one paper or two papers out of the four. A candidate can apply for three kinds of Managerial posts:
- General (Manager- General, Depot, Movement)
- Technical (Manager – Technical, Civil, Electrical & Mechanical)
- Hindi (Manager – Hindi)
You can read about the exam pattern across posts for Phase II here.
Regardless of the post applied for, whether a one-paper or a two-paper exam, a candidate has to prepare for the English section. This is because all posts will have at least one paper with a section for English.
Paper I, Paper III, and Paper IV have a section for English. The following are the exam patterns.
Paper I
| Sr. No | Name of the Test | No. of Qs. | Max. Marks | Duration (minutes) | Medium of examination |
| 1 | English Language | 25 | 25 | 20 minutes | English |
| 2 | Reasoning Ability | 25 | 25 | 20 minutes | Bilingual (English and Hindi) |
| 3 | Numerical Aptitude | 25 | 25 | 20 minutes | Bilingual (English and Hindi) |
| 4 | General Studies | 45 | 45 | 30 minutes | Bilingual (English and Hindi) |
| Total | 120 | 120 | 120 Minutes |
Like with Phase I, the English section is of 25 questions and 25 marks total. However, the time allotted for the section is slightly higher at 20 minutes.
Paper III
| Sr. No | Name of the Test | No. of Qs. | Max. Marks | Duration (minutes) | Medium of examination |
| 1 | General Hindi | 20 | 20 | 20 minutes | Hindi |
| 2 | General English | 20 | 20 | 20 minutes | English |
| 3 | General Awareness | 20 | 20 | 20 minutes | Bilingual (English and Hindi) |
| 4 | General Intelligence | 20 | 20 | 20 minutes | Bilingual (English and Hindi) |
| 5 | Computer Awareness (with specific reference to MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and the Internet) | 20 | 20 | 20 minutes | Bilingual (English and Hindi) |
| 6 | Current Affairs | 20 | 20 | 20 minutes | Bilingual (English and Hindi) |
| Total | 120 | 120 | 120 Minutes |
Paper III has general English which will cover really basic topics as compared to the other papers. Preparation for Phase I English Section and its revision will suffice for this Paper’s English Section.
Paper IV
Paper IV includes translating passages from Hindi to English and vice versa, Essay writing in Hindi, and Precis writing in English.
FCI Manager Previous Year Analysis: English
A good way of determining the importance of topics is by comparing the number of questions of each type that have been asked in the previous year. For FCI Manager, the exam pattern had been changed this year, reducing the weightage of the English section from 30 questions and 30 marks total to 25 questions and 25 marks total.
Here is a shift-wise breakdown for the English Section from FCI Manager 2019 Phase I exam.
Shift 1
Difficulty level – (easy)
- Reading Comprehension (Water Crisis based): 10 questions
- Cloze Test: 7 questions
- Error Detection: 5 questions
- Sentence Rearrangement: 5 questions
- Phrasal Sentences: 3 questions
As you can see, the Reading Comprehension section contributed a solid 10 questions which is a significant number, followed by the Cloze Test and then the rest of the type of questions.
Shift 2
Difficulty level – (easy)
- Reading Comprehension (pollution based): 8 – 10 questions
- Sentence Rearrangements: 5 questions
- Word Rearrangement: 3 – 4 questions
- Cloze Test: 6 questions
- Error Detection: 5 questions
Here too, Reading Comprehension had almost 8-10 questions.
From the above analysis, it can be seen that topics of current relevancy can be expected for Reading Comprehension. So it’s recommended that candidates read editorials and articles concerned with current affairs to improve comprehension and awareness of such subjects. This will also help in preparing for General Studies.
FCI Manager English Preparation: Books to Refer
Having a few but good quality study material goes a long way in making your preparation efficient. Here are a few recommended books to have at hand as you prepare for the English Section of FCI Manager.
| Book Title | Author |
| Objective General English | S.P. Bakshi |
| High School English Grammar and Composition | Wren and Martin |
| Quick Learning Objective English | R S Aggarwal |
| Word Power Made Easy | Norman Lewis |
Conclusion
English as a section should not be neglected as it can be the most scoring section with enough practice. We hope these FCI Manager English preparation tips help you refine your preparation strategy. You can learn more about English preparation for exams on Oliveboard’s YouTube channel:
Best of Luck!
FCI Manager English Preparation: Frequently Asked Questions
FCI Manager has a two-phase selection process. Phase I has English, Numerical Aptitude, Reasoning, and General Studies. Phase II is a post-specific test and has 4 papers out of which candidates will have to write either one or two papers depending on the post. Considering the difference in preparation the candidate should study the syllabus and exam pattern of each and plan their preparation over a fixed time. This way you will get enough time to prepare for the post-specific subjects.
No, FCI Manager doesn’t have a sectional cutoff. It only has a category-wise overall cutoff. The previous year’s cut-off for the general category was 75.
Yes, the FCI Manager registration process is open on their official website. It will close on the 26th of September. Candidates can register for the same here.
FCI has updated the exam pattern for FCI Manager 2022. Both Phase I and Phase II Paper I exams will now include a General Studies section in addition to the English, Numerical Aptitude, and Reasoning Sections. You can learn more about the change in exam pattern here.
I write content to help people prepare for banking exams because I have experience as an aspirant myself. My goal is to provide accurate and easy-to-understand information for candidates. I cover various topics such as exam patterns, syllabus, study techniques, and time management to support those preparing for the exams. As a former aspirant turned content writer, I want to make the information accessible and helpful for others so that they can do well in their banking and government exams and achieve their goals.
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