How to prepare for CUET general test

06/04/2024
Posted by: Yashita
Category: CUET Preparation

The National Testing Agency for admission conducts the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) entrance exam in India for admission in various higher education programs: undergraduate, postgraduate, doctorate, and others. Various central, state, and deemed universities in India accept the CUET 2024 exam.

Often, students have doubts regarding how to prepare for general test for CUET. The CUET question paper is divided into three sections of the paper including the language and domain-specific papers that tests the knowledge of specialized subjects. The third section is the General test section which assesses candidates based on general knowledge, current affairs, general mental ability, numerical ability, and quantitative reasoning. Here are a few details regarding the CUET general test preparation.

Importance of Adequate Preparation

To achieve a good percentile in the CUET UG, you must develop a well-defined preparation strategy. Here are the reasons why knowing how to prepare for general test CUET is important:

There are lakhs of students vying for a limited number of seats in the country’s top CUET universities. This means you should leave no stone unturned while preparing to stand out from the competition.

The exam is time-bound, which means you have to answer all questions within the allotted time. A lack of proper preparation may lead to a situation where you underperform in a particular section and lose marks.
CUET doesn’t focus on just one subject. You need to be well-versed in general reasoning, current affairs, GK, etc., in addition to your domain. This can only be done with regular practice.
On the D-day, it is important for you to remain calm and composed while attempting the paper. This can only happen if you have prepared well and know your strengths and weaknesses.

Understanding the CUET General Test

CUET General Test Syllabus

General Knowledge: Static GK (General awareness) and current affairs.
General Mental Ability and Numerical Ability
Reasoning: Simple application of basic mathematical concepts: Quantitative arithmetic/algebra geometry/mensuration/statistics
Logical and Analytical Reasoning

Significance of General Knowledge: How to prepare GK for CUET

Basic awareness of the world around you is important not only from an exam point of view but also in general. Of the total number of questions, a significant number is from General Knowledge. If you score well here, the chances of you securing a good percentile increase. And it is not very difficult to get well-versed with GK. These days, apart from traditional methods like newspapers and magazines, online methods like certain apps and social media channels can be used to obtain information about the happenings in the world. You can subscribe to YouTube channels that provide daily/weekly current affairs if reading a newspaper is not your cup of tea.

How To Study For General Test CUET: Effective Study Strategies For Maximizing Score

If you want to understand how to prepare CUET general test, then read the following:

Identify Key Areas

Start by analyzing PYQs and sample papers to get an idea of the CUET exam pattern and the types of questions asked in each section. Having a comprehensive overview of each section is important to make sure nothing is missed while studying.

Make a Structured Study Plan

Make a proper timetable that you can follow religiously. You can allot more hours to the subjects you’re weak in and less time to the ones you’re confident about.
You can incorporate the habit of reading a newspaper daily in the mornings to improve your GK as well as comprehension skills for the language paper.
Make sure to allot a couple of hours daily for practicing PYQs and sample questions. Also, do not forget to take mock tests once every two weeks to gauge your performance and get familiar with the testing conditions.

Strengthen Critical Thinking Skills

Logical reasoning is all about practicing as many types of questions as possible to improve your speed and accuracy. Take the help of question banks with solutions and try to understand the reasoning behind each answer. Familiarize yourself with all reasoning types such as blood relations, coding-decoding, direction sense, etc.

You can also develop a habit of solving puzzles and playing brain games such as Sudoku.

Engage with Current Affairs

Reading newspapers and magazines regularly will improve your general awareness and language skills. Try to inculcate the habit of reading a newspaper in the morning.

Watching news programs and documentaries will also help you retain information and understand different points of view related to a particular situation.

Revise Regularly

Revising your subject notes or material is as important as understanding them the first time. If you do not revise, then chances are you will forget the concept while doing questions. So incorporate revision into your daily timetable.

Regular revision will also help you build confidence as you become more familiar with the material. This in turn will keep you motivated for further studies.

Take Mock Tests

Mock tests are incredibly important as they mimic actual test conditions and help you get familiar with the exam pattern. Take as many CUET mock tests as possible to practice time management.

It doesn’t end here; you must also analyze your mocks to identify your strengths and weaknesses. Prioritize working on your weak areas while maintaining strong areas through regular practice.

You can also ask your teachers or mentors to evaluate your mock test performance and seek their feedback.

How To Prepare For General Test in CUET: Resources

Recommended Books and Study Materials:

Lucent’s General Knowledge (latest edition)
A Modern Approach to Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning by R.S. Aggarwal
Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations by R.S. Aggarwal
CUET (UG) Question Bank Chapter-Wise And Topic-Wise General Test (Oswaal Books)

Online Platforms for General Knowledge Enhancement:

Careers360 – 5 Mock Tests
StudyIQ
Adda247
GKToday
Drishti IAS

Test-Taking Strategies

Start the paper with the section you’re most confident about. It can be reasoning for some and numerical ability for others. It will help you gain confidence for the other sections.
Make sure to identify your weak areas and practice as many questions as possible. On the test day, do not ponder over a particular question for too long. Move over to the next one and come back to it later if you have time.
QA and reasoning questions take time, so make sure to allocate more time to this section as compared to GK.
Use the elimination method if you are not confident of the answer. Try to eliminate the obvious wrong options beforehand so that you’re only left with a couple of potentially correct options. Using this method will help you zero in on the correct answer.
If you are unsure and aren’t able to eliminate the wrong options or the question itself is totally unfamiliar, then it’s better to leave the question blank. Do not do random guesswork as it may lead to negative marking.

Conclusion

Knowing how to prepare general test for CUET is the first step toward maximizing your score in CUET. It is not too difficult, provided that you give yourself ample time to understand all the concepts and have understood how to study for CUET general test. Make sure to use the resources at your disposal properly and follow a regular study routine to maximize your chances of success.