When we talk about General
Knowledge for Entrance Examinations, we feel it is quite simple. But in reality
it is a grueling task. A study for GK can be considered as the study of
concepts along with being the simple test of the individual's memory.
Common Management
Admission Test (CMAT) for admission to MBA will have a section comprising of 25 questions based on General Awareness. And what is more
important is that 1 mark is deducted for every wrong answer. Therefore it
becomes necessary that we mark the correct alternative. So the nest question
coming to our mind is how to prepare for this section? In the age of Twitter
and Facebook the younger generation is moving away from reading newspapers and
watching news. So how do we go about gathering the vast information and on what
subjects?
Let us begin by
first discussing what topics are to be covered under General Knowledge.
1.
GEOGRAPHY (Physical Map of India,
States and their Capitals, National Parks & Sanctuaries-Animals associated
with them, Crops and Soils, Rivers and
dams, etc.)
2.
HISTORY( Indian Kings and their
kingdoms, Timeline of their reign, From the age of Harappa and Mohenjodaro,
Maurayan Empire, to Mughals, Marathas, British taking over India and India’s
Struggle for Independence, famous personalities associated with Independence
struggle)
3.
POLITICS, CONSTITUTION, (Centre and
State structure, Preamble, Rights and Duties, Ministers of State and Centre)
4.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS (Olympics, Nobel
Prizes, new presidents, wars, etc)
5.
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (Any new
inventions, discoveries, etc)
6.
BUSINESS (Business products, CEO’s,
Taglines, Brand Ambassadors, etc)
7.
SPORTS (Sports Persons and their
records, sport specific details, etc)
8.
AWARDS, BOOKS AND AUTHORS
9.
ENVIRONMENT (Global warming,
pollution, etc)
10.
ABBREVIATIONS (For corporations,
products, organizations, etc)
Tips for better performance
Geography – We have
not touched this subject since we left school. For Arts students who have opted
for geography as a subject in their graduation it will be a bit easy task. For
others you will have to study maps of World and India so that you can visualize
and remember the states and cities with their capitals. Along with this you
need to remember rivers, dams, sanctuaries, types of soils, volcanoes, forests,
etc. even though it seems to be difficult it will become easier once to start
enjoying the process and keep on revising it. For this purpose you can paste
the maps in your study room or on the table.
History- Don’t yawn
when you open a history book. For many students history is akin to sleep or
boredom. Could be true to some extent but to make it interesting you can watch
documentaries, films, serials (like Chandragupta Maurya) to get a feel of that
era. Remembering the dates and instances is essential. Charts and timelines
will be of great help.
Politics- To have
knowledge of politics one must read newspapers or at least watch news to know
about current issues and people concerned with them. Such as making funny
stories and discussing it with your friends.
Sports- Cricket or
football is not the only sport played. There are many sports such as Badminton,
Tennis, Hockey, Golf, racing, Swimming, Soccer, Marathon, Racing, Chess,
Billiards, Snooker, Weight Lifting, Archery and Indian games. You have to make
a list of games along with the game specifications such as number of players,
area of game, time required to play, etc. once you have done this make list of
famous people associated with the game. This list can be then updated from time
to time.
Consciously watching advertisements will
help you a lot. In this way you will be able to remember brand ambassadors, tag
lines, product and company’s name, competitors, etc. It will be a fun exercise
when you have a group of friends to enact it with you.
At the last remember “Rome was not built
in a day”.
Preparing
for GK too is not a one day exercise. It requires whole lot of practice and
concentration. Reading on a regular basis will always help. Writing
down things will be an added advantage as it actually gives an impression of
how much one can remember. It also helps to refer the notes in case something
is forgotten.
The various study cases should be monitored and followed very
closely with the goal of understanding various sub issues involved, followed by
the thought process that leads to new developments and lot more. Facebook,
twitter will also help in staying connected with real time trending events.
Finally you have to
put what you have read to test. The best
way is to practice mock tests. Online tests are available on various websites
such as
There are various books and magazines you can refer. Following is
a list of a few Websites for Future
references:
