Can’t prepare for English overnight. Know your concepts well

Expert view
English is not a very tough subject for students coming from English medium background. Reading the textbook is very important as it will give you a better understanding of questions while solving the comprehension of ‘seen passage’ and ‘seen poems’.

You cannot prepare for this subject overnight as there is nothing you can mug up; it all depends on how well you know your concepts. Read the literary books and newspapers to find out about eminent personalities in sports, politics, and scientific discoveries and be well acquainted with the current affairs.

The more you read, the better will be your sentence construction and imagination. This will widen your horizons and help you in creative writing section. You will have seven personal response questions in the paper and I recommend you to frame your answer smartly with 5-6 crisp sentences. Keep the length uniform for all seven to show your consistency.

When you come across a difficult word while doing your lessons, check out its meaning in the dictionary and know its synonyms and antonyms as sometimes they ask you to ‘pick out the appropriate word from the passage’. There would be a choice between formal and informal letter and I would suggest you to opt for the former as it will consume less time and there will be marks on each step like, address, subject, salutation and body.

There are different types of questions in the creative writing part like view, counterview, interview, report writing, speech, expansion of ideas etc. Make sure that you know the various formats of each type so that you can solve it as expected. Write in a neat and legible handwriting to impress the examiner.

Following the sequence is not mandatory but you must put the correct question number in front of your answer.

The writer is a teacher at St Joseph’s Convent

Paper Snapshot

Subject: English (SSC)

Exam date: March 8

Duration: 3 hours

Marks: 80

Expert tips

Read the questions properly before going ahead

Write the whole statement in objective type question to avoid losing ½ mark

Do not use SMS lingo

Maintain neatness

If your question contains shapes like square, circle etc, redraw them in your paper and solve as there is ½ mark for it

Last-minute revision

Make your notes about important topics while reading the chapters and go through them

Concentrate on your weak area and brush it up

Know the marking scheme of the paper

Be thorough with your textbook