Contents
Speed is vital
It is a foregone conclusion that reading speed makes all the difference between success and failure in a fiercely competitive test like CLAT. The problem is compounded because candidates tend to think that they possess good speed whereas this could be far from the truth. Demolish illusions of speed and efficiency and expedite without further delay. OPUS gives this clarion call to all contenders. Make an earnest effort to boost up your reading speed. Get it straight that the speed of reading matters significantly in determining your ranking in the test. Take a realistic view of where you stand and tell yourself without an iota of pride or self-love that you really need to brace up in order to vroom on the highway of success.
Remember, the speed of reading matters in all the sections of the paper. Some opine that speed is important for the English section alone. This erroneous thinking takes you closer to disaster. Speed is of prime importance throughout the test. Period. You cannot have a whale of a time in any section. You are not allowed to slow down in any section. You have to keep the momentum and remain in top gear to solve almost all – and correctly. Does this sound a difficult proposition? Well, it does.
If you have formed notions that you have good speed and it is quite impressive, please jettison these ideas and start thinking of ways and means to acquire higher speed. Remember, speed and hurry are not the same. When you hurry, you lose control of faculties and end up making silly mistakes. On the other hand, speed lets you solve accurately without losing focus and calmness of mind.
How good reading speed helps
- Scanning the question paper quickly
- Answering reading comprehensions in limited time
- Clicking answers to GK questions under time limit
- Solving legal reasoning principle-fact based questions sans re-reading
Reading is not limited to simply poring over the question paper in quick time. It calls for understanding the major part of the passage in just one reading. While the target should be to grasp it entirely, in most cases you end up gauging sizeable chunks of the given passage. And that is pretty impressive.
How good reading speed helps
- Scanning the question paper quickly
- Answering reading comprehensions in limited time
- Clicking answers to GK questions under time limit
- Solving legal reasoning principle-fact based questions sans re-reading
Reading is not limited to simply poring over the question paper in quick time. It calls for understanding the major part of the passage in just one reading. While the target should be to grasp it entirely, in most cases you end up gauging sizeable chunks of the given passage. And that is pretty impressive.
Reading the newspaper is the key to cracking the exam. The newspaper helps you with GK in CLAT. But if you read the editorial and features pages then your English improves a lot. Aspirants slogging for CLAT must maintain time schedules in an efficient way so that they can allot time for reading dailies and magazines. There is an impression that reading papers will fetch improvement in the long term. But it is important to realise that a beginning has to be made somewhere. Instead of procrastinating and putting it on hold for tomorrow, cull time to browse the broadsheet today. OPUS does not suggest a particular masthead for daily consumption. But you should read a national newspaper with quality content, not just choose on the basis of circulation figures. The names that come to mind are reputed papers like THE HINDU and The INDIAN EXPRESS.
You need to have a plan for the newspaper. You cannot afford to spend two hours poring over it. Grab the paper, read the editorial and Op-Ed pages in 30-45 minutes. Set the timer to assess your initial speed and try to scale it down under half an hour in successive attempts. You will get to see the marked improvement. In case you fail to understand a particular word, use the context to understand it and then look up the meaning in the lexicon. This trick works most of the time.
2. Tips for Speed reading from toppers
This technique helps in those long English passages where you spend ten minutes.
- Read the first and the last line of each paragraph of a comprehension as a starter. This will provide you an idea of what the paragraph deals with. The next time you read it, you won’t be wondering what the passage is all about. This could also help you with answering a few questions based on the passage.
- Become familiar with common legal principles before the exam which are asked frequently. This will help save reading time in the examination.
- Try to read not only offline content but also online stuff. It is easier to get distracted when you read online. Some complain of a headache after taking a two hours online test as it becomes tough to maintain the level of concentration.
3. Concentration and Focus
Get rid of the habit of reading a sentence several times if you do not grasp the meaning in the first attempt. This could be because of distraction or a lazy habit acquired over the years. The sooner you get rid of it, the better it is. If this habit persists while you prepare for the exam, then the chances of success are halved. You end up taking double the time to read and comprehend a passage. Poor time management skills.
This sheer wastage of time pitchforks you in deep trouble. Therefore, form the habit of understanding the written word in the first attempt. Read more and push yourself to start again if you need to re-read one sentence, but read the entire thing in one go by avoiding repetitions. Getting over this handicap will take time but this will register marked improvement in picking up speed in your CLAT exam.
Last word
Practice, practice, practice. As much as you can. The fruit of perseverance will be sweet. Ambrosia. Tackle as many CLAT mock tests as possible. This will train your mind to cope with the stress that wrecks aspirants inside the exam hall.
OPUS enables you to choose the right path and continue the journey of finding success. Turbo charged and fuelled to make the best possible use of time available.
