Don’t read the article for the sake of just reading per se. You should go in depth and understand what is written. You must dissect the article and try to grasp the information and points that have been given. Attempting RC – is a 3 part series. Part 1 is the most important and will require a minimum of 30 mintues of your time. You must read a particular part in one go but may take break in between different parts. So, begin the article only when you can take out time out of your schedule.
With only 35 questions to be tackled in 40minutes, it becomes imperative to attempt Reading Comprehension (RC) in the Mains exam. With respect to strategizing the English portion English Strategy for SBI PO Mains you must spend a lot of time on improving this portion as RC will always be a part of the questions in the exam. SBI might again trick
everybody this year by asking newer type of questions but you will always find RC in the question set. This is the portion that is the most important and maximum time must be allotted to improving the RC.
Students find Reading Comprehesion (RC) as the toughest portion to c
rack in any exam, not because the passages are tough to understand but because they are to be read and understood within a limited time – without time limit even a 7th standard kid can answer the questions.Many complain of RC being time consuming and many others who attempt it get the answers wrong even after spending a good amount of time on reading.
In this article, we will decode the art of ‘Attempting RC’. During the article, you will learn a lot of new things which you never thought of applying to an RC and by the end of the article you will have a set of tools, which if you use wisely, will help you crack the RC in exam. Follow all the instructions and try to gain as much from the article as possible.
THEME OF THE PASSAGE
Read the following paragraph and try to retain the information. Do not read more than once.
The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017, promulgated on 4 May 2017, amends the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 to authorise the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to direct banking companies to initiate insolvency resolution processes with respect to defaults, under the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. Additionally, the RBI may “from time to time, issue directions to banking companies for resolution of stressed assets,” and may appoint committees to advise banking companies. It remains unclear what this ordinance seeks to achieve, given that the RBI already has oversight over banking operations, and can issue directions to banks with the powers already vested in it by the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. It remains to be seen whether this amendment will result in a faster resolution of stressed assets. The government and its functionaries, nevertheless, continue to suggest measures that seek to find quick fixes to the stressed assets problem. Essentially, these solutions seek to force ways to ensure that the costs of private-sector loan defaults are borne by the state and its enterprises.
Passage = Main idea + Information (around the Main idea)
In any RC, there will be a main idea and lot of information will be provided around this main idea. You have to find the main idea or theme of the passage and remember the vital information. If you are able to eliminate all the unnecessary information from the RC, the passage becomes 20% of its original size.
Just like the lady in the picture, you have to separate the important information from the useless one. Considering this in mind, lets take a look at the paragraph again.
The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2017, promulgated on 4 May 2017, amends the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 to authorise the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to direct banking companies to initiate insolvency resolution processes with respect to defaults, under the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. Additionally, the RBI may “from time to time, issue directions to banking companies for resolution of stressed assets,” and may appoint committees to advise banking companies. It remains unclear what this ordinance seeks to achieve, given that the RBI already has oversight over banking operations, and can issue directions to banks with the powers already vested in it by the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. It remains to be seen whether this amendment will result in a faster resolution of stressed assets. The government and its functionaries, nevertheless, continue to suggest measures that seek to find quick fixes to the stressed assets problem. Essentially, these solutions seek to force ways to ensure that the costs of private-sector loan defaults are borne by the state and its enterprises.
When you skim through this paragraph, i.e. when you quickly read it, highlighted portion is the information that must be retained. You don’t need to know the date when it was passed or the under what Code does it come etc etc. Highlighted portion is the heart of the passage. It is easy to remember all this information once we associate and connect it with the main theme. Try reading it again (from author’s point of view) and guess the theme of the passage. Move forward only after guessing the theme.
It must be clear that the theme is ‘resolution of stressed assets’. Ordinance was passed to give power to RBI to handle banks suffering from this problem (RBI already had these powers as per Banking act 1949 – useless information). Also, the govt is planning its own measures to solve this problem of ‘stressed assets’
- There will be some keywords which will find repetition in the passage, find those keywords, they will lead you to the theme of the passage. Keyword in the above paragraph was – Stressed Assets.
- This art of separating the vital information from the useless one, comes with regular reading. To get the idea of the theme of the passage it is important to INTERACT with the passage. Be an active reader. Remain focused while reading.
- While reading, a lot of times we just keep on reading and forget what we have read in the last 3 to 4 lines. Immediately, we go back and read those lines again. Such a thing happens when you lose focus. There should be no diversion of thoughts, so sit in a very quiet place while reading and read with all your concentration.
Always restrict yourself to the information provided in the RC. If the passage talks about ‘Diabetes’, do not use your medical knowledge. Never go outside the premises of the passage until author asks in the questions.
Beware of words like – Never, Ever, Always, All, Must, Every, Each – in the options. These words when used take an extreme view and most of the times the options using them are wrong. So, pay extra attention when such words are used.
Keeping the above-mentioned things in mind, try the following exercise.
Handy Tips to attempt RC – Part II
Note – refrain from various forums or youtube videos providing tricks and tips for RC. They may not be wrong but may not be helpful. In the end you will end up wasting your time. All the information that you require to master RC has been provided here.
In case of any doubt, please scribble down in the ‘Comments’ section. You are always welcome to help us with your suggestions. Do recommend if you find the article useful.
