The English section looks easy and is full of lost marks. Students who read little meet unknown words, and students who never reviewed grammar rules rely on guessing. The good news is that English improves quickly with a small daily habit. This guide covers the question types you will meet in the MDCAT, PPSC, FPSC and similar tests.
Vocabulary: synonyms and antonyms
Learn ten words a day, in context. Write the word, its meaning, one sentence of your own and its opposite. Review the old words each morning. When you meet an unknown word in an MCQ, look it up after the test and add it to your list. Three months of this builds a vocabulary that no last-minute list can match.
In the exam, eliminate options that are clearly different in meaning, and think about whether the word is positive or negative. Many antonym questions can be solved by deciding the tone of the word first.
Grammar rules that appear again and again
- Tenses: know the form and use of all twelve, and the time words that go with them.
- Subject-verb agreement: find the real subject, ignoring words in between.
- Articles: a, an and the depend on sound, not spelling.
- Prepositions: learn them in pairs such as good at, afraid of, depend on.
- Voice and narration: practise changing sentences both ways.
Idioms, phrases and one-word substitutes
These cannot be guessed from the words alone, so they must be learned. Keep a separate page for them and add three a day. Learn each with a short example, so that you remember the situation, not just the phrase.
Comprehension
Read the questions before the passage, so you know what to look for. Then read once for the main idea and go back to the text for each answer. Choose the option that the passage supports, not the one you happen to believe.
Practise a little every day
Fifteen minutes a day beats two hours once a week. Use MCQs to find your weak types, then study those rules and try again. Practise with MDCAT English MCQs, PPSC English MCQs or the English MCQs of your class, such as 1st Year Federal English.
For a wider plan, read our guide to studying with MCQs and the PPSC topics guide.
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