Next we move on to the English section. For this section, you need to prepare four topics. These topics are vocabulary, reading comprehension, grammar and paragraph jumbles.

The first topic of English is vocabulary. Last year 15 to 16 questions out of 40 were on vocabulary. Some of the sample questions were, word meanings on words such as venerate, benevolent, annihilate, etc. and also meaning of idioms such as gift of the gab, finger in the pie, dying in the harness, etc. Other questions included questions on similar meanings and similar sounding words. Vocabulary is one section that requires constant practice. You should memorise word meaning list, synonym list, etc. Rome was not built in a day. Therefore, constant practice will help you ace this section better.

The second most important topic in English is reading comprehension. Last year there was a 9 marks question on reading comprehension. The difficulty level of this question was moderate, and students wasted a lot of time in reading the question. One of the tricks to solve this question faster, is to read the questions first and then read the passage. This will help you to focus on the right areas of the passage and will help you solve the question faster.

The two important topics in English are grammar and paragraph jumbles. In grammar there are questions on parts of speech, direct and indirect speech and clause tests. Now, what are clause tests? Clause tests are paragraphs with words missing and you have to fill in the right words. Other than this there are summary questions. In summary questions, a text is given with four alternative summaries and you have to choose the right summary. And lastly, there are paragraph jumbles. In paragraph jumbles, four to five sentences are given which are jumbled up and you have to put them in the right sequence.

Now let us go through a sample question on grammar. In this question, four sentences are given and one has to choose the incorrect one:

(a) It is important to monitor the groups.

Now this sentence sounds about right to me.

(b) Check that the instructions are clear and tell the students to begin.

Again this sentence sounds about right.

(c) Inefficient bus service are a hazard.

Now this sentence is clearly grammatically wrong.

(d) Traffic in the city has reached unsustainable levels.

Again this sentence is right. Therefore the incorrect sentence is (c)