How to read newzpaper for upsc:
I will like to tell it from Prelims, Mains and Interview point of view so that it will be easy for your future preparation.
In a day we have 24 hours and load
s of stuffs to prepare. Newspapers are very important part of the preparation and a significant one considering the amount of time one consumes while studying from it. Those who have understood the syllabus and pattern of the examination well, have less worries but a beginner (having less understanding of syllabus and pattern) takes substantial time to read and prepare from it. A person just started with UPSC preparation always finds it difficult and complains about spending too much time reading the newspapers. And it is a genuine concern because if one spends 4-5 hours for newspapers, then his/her concern is justified.
Here are some of the tips to follow:-
Never focus on political news.
Never read political remarks.
Never read local news.
Don’t forget to read “Editorial” and “Perspective” section.
Always focus on socio-economic issues like Women issues, Education or Health related issues, Issues or policies affecting vulnerable sections etc.
Always focus on issues of national and international importance.
Focus should be on political issues related to Indian Constitution, Legislative and Administrative processes.
Underline important quotes, statistical data (rank of country under any category, % of unemployment, etc) and claimed agenda of any political party in coming election.
Focus on Supreme Court or High Court verdicts.
Do not pay attention to deaths, awards or sports section unless significant like Padma Shree, Bharat Ratna, Oscar, Veer Chakra etc.
My Personal Suggestion:-
Never read political remarks.
Never read local news.
Don’t forget to read “Editorial” and “Perspective” section.
Always focus on socio-economic issues like Women issues, Education or Health related issues, Issues or policies affecting vulnerable sections etc.
Always focus on issues of national and international importance.
Focus should be on political issues related to Indian Constitution, Legislative and Administrative processes.
Underline important quotes, statistical data (rank of country under any category, % of unemployment, etc) and claimed agenda of any political party in coming election.
Focus on Supreme Court or High Court verdicts.
Do not pay attention to deaths, awards or sports section unless significant like Padma Shree, Bharat Ratna, Oscar, Veer Chakra etc.
My Personal Suggestion:-
In many towns or remote place “The Hindu” is not available. Don’t panic. You can download it from any website. As per my perception, even if “The Hindu” is available offline, download this newspaper online and save it in your laptop or similar gadgets because you need to make notes of some of the important news and statistical data which will adorn and ramp up your answers and knowledge else you will definitely forget the things by the time of exam. If you are thinking of maintaining a separate notebook, I would like to tell you, it will kill your ton of precious time. And if you are thinking of doing underline in newspaper itself, then I would like to tell you, by the end of year, half of your newspaper could be missing or could be in garbage. So, it would be better if you download the newspaper and highlight the important points there only then you can overcome from these general problems and simultaneously maintain a notebook for writing just the heading of the topic you are highlighting and mention the date, so that you wouldn’t need to rummage through all the newspapers whenever you need a detail on any particular topic.
Conclusion:-
This is all about How to prepare exam related stuffs from newspapers. For a beginner, it will take sometime to extract relevant information from newspapers and you may find it difficult and annoying sometimes. Trust us, you will learn gradually and once you have mastered the basic concepts, your outlook towards this exam and preparation will change upside down. That will be the time when you will start loving your preparation process.
Try to indulge into it as soon as possible because if you do it just for the sake of preparation it will become a burden and you will always find yourself sick of not following endless timetables you have created and roam around the clock satiating yourself around number of hours you have put. This is a stark reality and happens to almost every single aspirantat some point of time.
Thank you.