How To Improve Vocabulary in English for UPSC?

Given below are some of the best tips on how to improve English for the UPSC exam through which aspirants can enhance their English Language skills.

Tip 1: Start talking in the English Language with your Circle

• It is very important that candidates start talking with other people in the English language, so that their spoken language skills improve, and thus gradually improve their vocabulary.
• One way to talk more in the English language is to make friends with equal ideology and start a conversation with them in English language either person or phone/video calls.
• At least, 30 minutes a day should be spared when candidates do nothing, but only interact on various topics in English language.
• Candidates can always make it a habit of choosing the default language as ‘English’, when they are calling any customer care numbers because it will help them improve their skills systematically, without more effort.

Tip 2: Reading the Newspapers Daily (Especially the Editorial Section)

• Since the knowledge of the current national and international events is one of the conditions required for the UPSC IAS exam, candidates have to choose an English newspaper like ‘The Hindu’ or ‘The Indian Express’ to enhance their English language skills.
• Some candidates initially take a lot of time to eliminate newspapers, and some also switch to newspapers written in Hindi/other regional languages ​​due to fear of English language. But candidates will have to read an English newspaper if they want to increase their English language skills.
• Candidates are also advised to follow the daily editorial written in English newspapers, which will automatically help them improve their vocabulary and also help to write better quality GS answers and essays in UPSC IAS Mains Examination.
• Candidates can make small notes of special keywords described in editorial either in handwritten or on digital platforms such as Evernote.
• You can start making 8-10 words notes per editorial for the next 6-8 months.
• The meaning of complex words can be discovered through ‘dictionary app’ and can be noted together with words.
• In this way, candidates will have a ‘Word-bank’ of about 3000–4000 words.
• This will gradually help the candidates to learn new words on a daily basis, while their flow, understanding, and consistent skills will improve, which will also help them especially in essay paper and initial stage CSAT paper.

Tip 3: Start to Learn 20-30 New Words in English Daily

• Candidates are advised to learn 20-30 English words per day to improve their English language skills.
• For this, candidates can take help from various sources like newspapers, mobile applications, online videos etc.
• Once the candidates get to know a new English word, they have to place a tab of the same in a separate notebook or digital platform.
• Candidates can also mention books like ‘Word Power Made Easy’ by Norman Lewis and ‘Rose Vocabulary’ by Kumkum Gupta.
• Aid can also be taken from sources such as audibook and flashcard which can help candidates learn new English words and improve their communication skills without making any important efforts for the same.
  In addition, candidates should always make a habit of reading an article while turning on access to ‘Google Dictionary’.
• In this way, candidates can double-click on a word on their mobiles to immediately know about the meaning and grammatical use of that word.
• King Amazon Kindle ‘such as Kindle Apps can also be used for this, in which you can read various novels and books and immediately know the meaning of different words.

Tip 4: Start listening to Music in the English language

• Candidates may listen to some quality English music to understand the convergent skills in the English language.
• For this, apps such as YouTube and apps like ‘Saavn’ can be used.

Tip 5: Use all the Apps on your Mobile Phone in English language only

• Candidates should use all social media apps like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, etc.
• In addition, mobile settings should only be in English language as it will force candidates to interact with their equipment in English, which will improve their understanding.

Tip 6: Start to think about various topics/aspects in English language

• Whenever you are reading a particular stable or current affairs subject, try to analyze that subject in many dimensions in your brain in English language. This will help you in two ways.
  • First of all, it will improve your English language skills because you have to think about various words and grammatical structures to think about a particular subject.
  • Secondly, it will help you improve your analytical skills that will mainly improve the quality of your answers in the Mains exam.

Tip 7: Start making sentences in the English Language

• Whenever you have learned a new English word and understand its meaning, try to create a sentence using that word in that particular moment.
• This will improve your response time, and you will be able to automatically accept the English language better in the serial period of time.
• The sentences formed in this way can be noted in that word and its meaning in handwritten notes or digital notes.
• In addition, in this way, these special words will remain in your mind for a long time.

Tip 8: Writing Answers/Making Notes in English Language on a Daily Basis

• Candidates should write answers in English language on a daily basis without failing to increase their written English skills.
• Writing on a daily basis will also increase the analytical skills of the candidates, which will then be able to handle any type of question or personality test from that particular subject.
• Writing on a daily basis will also improve the pace and presentation skills of the candidates’ writing, which will automatically help them to score better in the Mains Examination.
• It is very important to write daily answers or notes in the English language to maintain a flow. In addition, continuity will improve the skills of the candidates in a organic way without separate and concrete efforts for the same.

Tip 9: You can also start to write ‘Daily Diary’ in the English Language

• Apart from answering notes and writing in English language, you can also start writing all the events in a particular day in about 100-200 words in English language.
• This will help you increase your memory as you have to remember different moments during the day and think about different words and grammatical structures to portray your feelings in words.

Tip 10: Solving Questions of both Preliminary and Mains Stages in the English Language

• Candidates are advised to solve the questions of both the initial and main phase in the English language, so that the demands of UPSC exam can be better understood.
• This will help the candidates re -form their preparation according to their weak and strong areas, which will help them be able to handle the more complex questions asked by the UPSC in a better way.

Tip 11: Follow the Various Government Websites, Reports and Expert Committee Recommendations

• Candidates are advised to follow various government websites like ‘Press Information Bureau’ to increase the level of understanding of English language.
• In addition, candidates can follow various sources such as the Press Trust of India, the result of the reserve website, the Reserve Bank of India website, and the Election Commission to understand how the English language is prepared for official purposes.
• This will help them to mold their preparation strategy in a specific way that will be more streamlined with the demands of UPSC IAS exam.

Tip 12: Don’t be afraid from making mistakes

• Always remember – ‘Practice makes a man perfect. ,
• This quotation should always be kept in mind when you are trying to improve your English language skills.
• There will be many examples when you feel less and doubt your preparation. In such examples, you have to be patient and calm. Just keep performing your best and a thoughtful change will soon appear.