Announcing : GKToday Masters

• The first thing you should keep in mind is that GK is as important as Your Optional paper.
• Those who have good GK are able to clear Prelim more easily than those who are poor in GK.
• Cramming is not a good idea at all. If you use most of your time to cram all the data’s, history dates, formulae etc. you are most probably wasting your precious time.

The examiners never want that somebody clears a paper of such a prestigious exam just by cramming the data’s.

• The examiner wants you to “apply” your knowledge so that the exam weeds-out those who are poor in fundamentals.

So What You actually need to Master GK ?

• The first Thing You Need an “Alert Mind”.

An Alert Mind that is receptive to all kinds of Information and ability to sort, select, analyze and store the relevant info from the jungle of the huge information.

• Reasonable Amount of Time:

Its not possible to achieve success by studing for few days or weeks. You need a reasonable amount of time in order to qualify the exam.

• Recall or Recollection: Recollection is the retrieval, or recall, of memory during the examination.

This is the biggest problem of most of the students. Weather you are solving a straight question or a complex question, you might struck anywhere. Often the student ponders -” answers is known to me but I am unable to judge which is the right option”.

• Even if you read all the books or practice objective quizzes, many of you will face this problem.

Why This Happens?

• This happens because you came across the info in past when you were burning midnight oil. Info was although received but neither sorted nor analyzed and nor collected to the recall memory.

How to Overcome This Problem?

• Lets understand with these examples:
• Example I : Don’t Mug-up up too much data
• Q. 1) Who was the first Chief election commissioner of India ?
  (A)KVK Sundaram
  (B)SP Sen Verma
  (C)Sukumar Sen
  This is a direct question.
  You will need first the list of CEC of India. Ok here is the list of Chief election Commissionar of India:
  Sukumar Sen: 21 March 1950 to 19 December 1958
  K.V.K. Sundaram: 20 December 1958 to 30 September 1967
  S.P. Sen Verma: 1 October 1967 to 30 September 1972
  Nagendra Singh: 1 October 1972 to 6 February 1973
  T. Swaminathan: 7 February 1973 to 17 June 1977
  S.L. Shakdhar: 18 June 1977 to 17 June 1982
  R.K. Trivedi: 18 June 1982 to 31 December 1985
  R.V.S. Peri Sastri: 1 January 1986 to 25 November 1990
  V.S. Ramadevi: 26 November 1990 to 11 December 1990
  T.N. Seshan: 12 December 1990 to 11 December 1996
  M.S. Gill: 12 December 1996 to 13 June 2001
  J.M. Lyngdoh: 14 June 2001 to 7 February 2004
  T.S. Krishnamurthy: 8 February 2004 to 15 May 2005
  B.B. Tandon: 16 May 2005 to 28 June 2006
  N. Gopalaswami: 29 June 2006 to 20 April 2009
  Navin Chawla: 21 April 2009 to present
  
• What an examiner may ask from this info?
  1. Who was the first CEC of India ?
  2. Who were the first 3 CEC of India. ?
  2. Who is current CEC in India ?
  4. Who were the latest 3 CEC of India ?
• Please note that in rarest case the examiner will ask you the info about the tenures of CEC, unless some event or controversy is attached to it like TN Sheshan in this example.
  
• Example II: Know the Details
• Q. 2)Which among the following is not an Institute of Indian navy ?
  (A)INS Chilka
  (B)INS Agrani
  (C)INS Aditya
• The first thing you should know is that INS Chilka is a training institute in Orissa. INS Agrani is too a leadership traing Institute in Coimbatore. Next thing you should know is that INS Aditya is a ship.
• If somebody asks you what kind of a ship is INS Aditya then?
  Ok its is replenishment and repair ship.
• The next question is what kind of ships are there in Indian navy?
  aircraft carriers, amphibious warfare vessels, auxiliary ships, Cruisers, Frigates, Minesweepers, navy patrol vesseles etc.
• Ok then what is INS Vikramaditya? Is it an aircraft carrier?

An alert mind keeps searching for the information.

In examination You are given 4 or 5 options. You must have some basic info about all the 5 options, (or at least 4 options) then only you will be able to choose the right option and save yourself from negative marking.

• Example III: Complex Questions need to apply your knowledge
• Q. 3) Which among the following are correct regarding the chemical nature of Diamond & Graphite?
  (A)Density of Diamond is higher than that of Graphite
  (B)Diamond is chemically un-reactive while graphite is mild reactive
  (C)Both Diamond and Graphite are good conductors of electricity
  Ans:

(a) 1 only
(b) 1 & 2
(c) 1, 2 & 3
(d) None of them

This question needs you to know the properties of Diamond as well as Graphite. Many of you know that Graphite has free electrons which make it a good conductor of electricity, but can’t explain the other properties.

• Example IV: Recall
• Q. 4) Arrange the following in correct Chronological Order:
  Razia, Balban, Iltitmish & Alauddin Khilji
  Ans. The correct order is Iltitumish, Razia, Balban, And Alauddin Khilji.
• How did I recall this info? Did I cram the dates?
• No !

I didn’t know the historical dates.

Here is how I arranged this info.

1. The first thing I recalled is that Alauddin was last among them so I put his name in the end.
2. The next thing I recall is that Razia was daughter of Iltutmish so I put Iltutmish and Razia in order.
3. The last thing I recalled was that Balban was a slave bought by Iltitumish. But he was definitely not an immediate successor to Iltutmish.. So I arrange the info as follows:
   Iltutmish>Razia>Balban>Alauddin Khilji.

You should have some basic insight to the topic so that you may analyze and judge the answer.

What is GK Today Masters for General Studies?

GKToday Masters is a blog meant for :

1. Candidates preparing for IAS 2010, 2011 & Public Service Examinations of Various States.
2. Candidates who feel that they are extremely poor in GK and need orientation.
3. Students who are doing graduation wish an aim to appear in the Civil Services Exam in future.
4. Students who appeared in past and could not clear the exam due to poor score in General Studies.
5. Those who can afford, since it is a paid blog.

GKToday masters is not for students preparing for Bank Examinations

What is published in GK Today Masters?

How to read This Blog?

• This blog is for 100 invited users only and is not supported by advertisements.
• It is my Private Coaching and I need serious learners who have sufficient time and a determination to achieve success.
• The blog can be accessed with your email id and password, after you get an invitation from me.
• Each Member will need to pay Rs. 300 per month. This coaching will cost you around Rs. 3600 per year.

This is neither a reasonable amount nor a small amount so please give a serious thought before you join GKToday Masters.

• You can seek membership for any period of time say 1 month, 2 months, 6 months or one year.
• How to Pay ?
  If you are interested you can send a mail at [email protected] .