GS & English Paper (GAT) in IES exam

GS and English paper (GAT) is the one gets the least attention from the aspirants. Same was the case with me. But if you got time or have Civil Services Examination as your next target GAT paper will prove to be rank booster in ESE. For IES I will suggest not to put any extra effort for GAT paper. Here is my strategy English paper.

English : 

1. For antonyms and synonyms you have to enhance your vocabulary. If you have an android phone, install a good dictionary (Merriam-webster is very good and available for free) in your phone. Search every word you come across in news paper, movies, online reading and mark it favorite in the dictionary. Every weekend go through your favorite wordlist and try to recollect their meaning. If you are able to remember a word for more than 3 consecutive  weeks, remove the word from the list. After two months you will be able to see a substantial improvement in vocabulary. This exercise should not be taken as a separate project and should be done throughout your preparation.

    There are 15-20 questions on antonyms and synonyms every year and can get you 30-35 marks for no extra effort.

2. For rest of the questions go through the Made Easy English book and practice previous 10 year papers thoroughly. For more command on English download CDS (Combined Defence Services) papers from UPSC website solve them separately. This whole exercise should be done in 3-4 days in the month of May or June. Don't keep studying English for months. Once completed  all previous year papers just revising these on the day before Day-1 of IES exam will get you good marks in English.

Strategy for GS:  I will cover in my next post.