1. INTRODUCTION.

The General Ability (GAT) paper for SPI Aurangabad entrance exam will include questions on General English, General Science, Social Science, General Knowledge, Current Affairs and Intelligence test questions. About 30 to 40 questions in the English section of SPI Aurangabad written exam will be on General English which will include grammar, comprehension, error correction, synonym-antonym etc. Here the various types of questions which are likely to be part of English section of SPI Aurangabad written exam are discussed in detail.

2. SPOTTING THE ERRORS.

A given sentence is usually divided in four parts marked A to D. Last option refers to ‘No error’. The candidate is required to find out the part having an error. The error can be in incorrect use of; article, preposition, tense, verb, noun, pronoun, adverb, adjective, conjunction, subject-verb agreement, etc. Sometimes, the error may also be that of unenglish expressions or superfluous use of some word. Please note that there is no ‘shortcut’ of answering these questions. You should have good command over grammar rules and their usage. First learn the rules and then attempt these questions, see the answer and find the error. Practice will give you confidence for success. Just learning the rules by heart will not help you to solve your problem. Practice all exercises from relevant English grammar books again and again, you will surely find improvement in your scoring. Proper knowledge of grammatical rules and their correct usage in proper manner is the only way of scoring good marks in all types of questions relating to errors.

3. PHRASE SUBSTITUTION AND SENTENCE IMPROVEMENT.

There can be questions related to phrase substitution. In such questions, a sentence is given in which a part of the sentence is incorrect, such incorrect part is to be replaced by the other phrase or part, out of the choices given, so that the given sentence becomes grammatically correct. In such questions, there is either some grammatical error or wrong use of verbs in the phrase or some other kind of error. Such error is to be detected and rectified by replacing it by the correct option.

4. ORDERING OF WORDS / REARRANGING THE SENTENCES.

These sentences are part of a paragraph. The students have to place these sentences in proper sequence. In some questions, first and last sentence of the paragraph are given and the candidate is required to place the given four middle sentences in proper sequence. In some questions, all the five or six given sentences are required to be placed in logical sequence to construct a coherent paragraph. In some examinations, you are asked to find the first, second or third sentence. Such questions are meant to judge the compositional and organizing capability of the candidate. The candidate should first read out all the sentences and understand them. If there is any date given in the sentences, note that and then arrange the sentences in proper sequence of events.

5. CLOZE TEST / PASSAGES. HOW TO ATTEMPT?.

The question paper of English can encompass cloze passage / test questions. In a cloze passage/ test, usually a passage is given with five to ten blank spaces. You have are required to fill in the blanks from given four choices. The cloze test is designed for the SPI Aurangabad aspirants to judge the grammatical knowledge, vocabulary power and the common sense of the candidate. The candidate should read the whole passage before starting to answer the questions. Sometimes there can be more than one blank and this appears somewhat difficult to answer or seem to have more than one correct answer. The answer of these blanks may have some links with the next sentences, so it is always advisable to read out the whole passage first. It must be appreciated that good knowledge of grammar and good command on vocabulary will be of utmost help in answering such questions. Cloze passages/test not only judges your grammatical knowledge but also your vocabulary and common sense.

6. CHOOSING APPROPRIATE WORDS. .

In such questions, usually a sentence is given with a blank space. You are to select a word out of the given choices that best fills in the blank. Being conversant with vocabulary and your ability in correct word usage shall be of immense help in solving such questions.

7. DOUBLE BLANKS IN A SENTENCE.

In questions with two blank spaces, candidates are required to fill up these blank spaces out of the four or five given choices. On filling up these blank spaces the sentence takes a meaningful shape. The knowledge of appropriate use of words and good command over vocabulary will help the candidates in solving such type of questions.

8. RELATED PAIR OF WORDS.

Related pair of words or Analogy refers to the correspondence that exists between a pair of items. The pair that reflects a relation is related in a certain manner. With the same relation, another pair is to be completed of which a word is given and the next word becomes the part of the answer. The relation in analogy may exist in various ways. Here are a few of them that will help you to solve the questions on analogy in the most comprehensive manner.

9. SYNONYMS AND ANTONYMS

Questions relating to Synonyms/Antonyms require strong word power and knowledge of appropriate usage of words. Some words seem similar in meanings but have peculiar usage, so not only the strong vocabulary but also the knowledge of proper usage of words will help you in attempting questions relating to Synonyms/Antonyms.

10. IDIOMS AND PHRASES .

Meaning of commonly used Idioms and Phrases is asked.

11. COMPREHENSION.

Comprehension test in English paper judges candidate’s capability and ability of understanding the given passage, your command of language to analyze the problem in proper view point and your ability of presenting your answers systematically.” Verbal comprehension measures your ability to read and understand the written passage. Through the comprehension exercises, you are asked to answer questions about the passage. Answers to the questions based on the reading passage should be only according to the information given in the passage. Even if you have any information regarding the similar topic as given in the comprehension passage, do not base your answer on such information. Even if you think that there is a mistake in the reading selection paragraph, you must still answer the question on the basis of the information given in the passage.

Summary of the Most Important Techniques

There are certain techniques that will help you do well on reading comprehension questions during SPI Aurangabad entrance exam.

1. Use your Pencil. Since you have limited time at your disposal, you can make use of your pencil as a pointer. Use of pencil as a to guide eyes along the line of text will not only help in focusing your eyes along the lines of the comprehension passage, but also helps in comprehending the ideas in short time by focusing your attention to the specific words in the passage. In a long test, attention may weaken. Fatigue may blunt your attention to details. Use of pencil as a pointer also helps to speed up the reading time, in addition keeping you focused on the passage. The steady flow of the pencil across the page over each line of text draws the eye along at a steady pace. Do not read faster than you can understand the text, but do try to keep your reading going at a stable speed set by the pencil.

2. Circle Keywords and Phrases. It must be understood that the passage is not being read by you for just vague general understanding. You have to always read for thorough understanding. There will be even single words which are important for understanding a point exactly. Circling key words or phrases which will enable you to zero in on precise points needed to answer a question.

3. Keep forging ahead. Do not get stuck up if you do not understand a word or sentence. You can always get main idea of the comprehension passage even without knowing the individual word or sentence. At times you can understand the meaning of the word from the background. Even the word or sentence may not be the basis of any question. There may be an idea which you have to answer for a question but do not understand, read it one more than once. If you do not understand it even after reading more than once, move on. You can come back to this question later or at the end of test and save time at hand.

4. Another good reading comprehension strategy It is to read the questions before starting the passage. This does not mean, you read the answer choices also. Even if you read the questions, you will get an idea of regarding the information you will need after reading the passage. This will draw your attention to various details, ideas and specific aspects in the paragraph from where the questions are being drawn from.
Use the following Right Approach to Answer the Comprehension Questions in SPI Aurangabad Entrance Exam.
Never be tempted to answer the questions asked in the comprehension passage by using knowledge outside the facts mentioned in the given passage; though you may be having extra or additional knowledge regarding the topic. Your view based on your experience and understanding may not match with the views expressed or the information provided by author in the passage. Be sure that you work within the context of the passage. You are not expected to agree

13. ALL THE BEST.

In this post, I have shared my practical experience with the SPI aspirants since 2011. Remember, every question in the final written exam will matter and every right answer will help you to inch towards the success. The examiners and paper setting body always ensures that the aspirants with ‘short cut’ attitude never ‘make a cut’ in the final exam. There is nothing like ‘smart work’ as far as joining SPI Aurangabad is concerned. Hard work always pays and that is what you are paid for once you join the armed forces of India. I am sure that you will be able to enash on what I have enumerated through this article based on my hands on experience of training the SPI Aurangabad aspirants for the past many years. WISH YOU ALL THE BEST !