How to read a newspaper and make notes out of it?

Why should you read a newspaper every day?

Among all of the sources like news channels in the television, magazines, etc., for the current affairs for the preparation of competitive examinations, like the UPSC CSE, newspapers are one of the inevitable sources that have to be studied thoroughly. It helps in all the stages of the UPSC IAS exam, i.e., the Prelims, Mains and the Interview.

The current affairs compilations and YouTube videos can also be helpful, but only for revision. Even GS SCORE, a reputed coaching institute for the preparation of UPSC CSE Examination in Delhi, recommends the daily reading of newspapers. Moreover, the Current Affairs Compilations made by GS SCORE to aid your preparation, are made by meticulous research and carefully scrutinising the newspapers daily to provide IAS aspirants with a weekly source for continuous revision.

The first source of knowledge for complete and comprehensive knowledge that helps to become successful in various competitive examinations for government jobs are the newspapers that provide a wide range and thorough understanding of all topics and concepts important for the preparation by IAS aspirants.

How to read a newspaper for a competitive examination?

Even after years of preparation, aspirants still face this problem and ultimately end up wasting precious years and attempts in trying different approaches to read different newspapers and making quality notes from them. However, it must also be understood that a mere reading of newspapers does not provide substantial benefits from an examination point-of-view. This is because of a simple reason the retention power of the human brain is not that great. Moreover, if the information that is being flooded into our brains throughout the preparation remains scattered and unorganized, the answer writing skills and content in the mains will reflect the same. Even in the interview, coherence and flow of thought are very important to impress the panel.

Hence, it is also vital to make a well-organized, short and simple notes that are easily understandable from a newspaper. Experienced and qualified counsellors from GS SCORE suggest you follow the process below for reading a newspaper and taking concise notes from it:

• The first step in the entire preparation is learning the syllabus word by word. Not just reading it, but learning it point-by-point. Once this is done, you will be able to link the news with the syllabus. Eventually, finding relevant news becomes effortless. For example, "NATGRID wants to link social media accounts to the central database”is related to the syllabus topic in GS-III Mains paper, “Role of media and social networking sites in internal security challenges”.
• The aspirants need not read the complete newspaper. Only those topics and concepts must be read which are relevant for the examination. A common doubt among the beginners is what to read?’ and ‘what not to read?’ in a newspaper. A simple answer to the above questions would be reading the syllabus and previous year’s questions multiple times, that provides a basic understanding of which articles are relevant from a newspaper for the exam.
• Try to classify the newspaper articles into subject categories like geography, polity, economics, environment, ecology, science and technology, etc. This will ease your note-making, easing your preparation.
• Merely reading the newspaper does not work for most aspirants. Internalizing the concepts read by the aspirants is essential for success in the examination. In order to check whether you have understood properly or not, try to recall particular news or, if possible, explain the news to someone. While doing this, you will face some doubts. Find answers to those doubts.
• Make notes of news/issue in your own words. Also, add the necessary additional information that can be considered important for the exam. For example, any related treaties, institutions, facts, etc.
• Developing a habit of reading the editorial page every day an essential part of the preparation as it helps in thinking beyond the general, reading between the lines, obtaining an in-depth analysis of the news and thinking in multi-dimensional ways. The focus should be on developing an overall understanding of an issue rather than memorizing the facts. While reading the editorials, aspirants must note the positive and negative sides of all issues while including points from multiple perspectives. Try to incorporate both views while writing answers and make sure to have a balanced approach.

What not to read for UPSC exam preparation?

• Entertainment and celebrity gossip in the newspaper
• News-related to activities of political parties.
• Sports news, unless it is mentioned in your DAF as a hobby/interest.

Sections of a newspaper that should focus on:

• The front page of a newspaper
• National section in a newspaper
• Economy section in a newspaper
• International section in a newspaper
• Editorial section

Things to be remembered:

• Always focus on socio-economic issues like women empowerment, education or health-related issues, Issues and policies affecting vulnerable sections, etc.
• Always focus on issues of national and international importance.
• Political issues should focus on matters related to the Indian Constitution, the Legislature, and Public Administration.
• Focus on the Supreme Court or High Court verdicts.

The above process requires sheer discipline and will power to sustainably follow till the end of the preparation process. GS SCORE suggests you to follow the above methods and improvise according to your strengths and weaknesses as the preparation phase is the search for a better self and the making of an able administrator. Also, GS SCORE does not promote any particular newspaper, reading any newspaper regularly and thoroughly, keeping the syllabus in mind, is likely to give positive results to IAS aspirants in the long run.