In papers like SBI PO, SBI Associate PO, NABARD, Insurance AO (NICL AO and others) etc. you have a Descriptive English paper of 30-50 marks. Descriptive English Paper is given less importance as compared to other sections. But the fact is the better you perform in this section the better your written score will be. This in turn will increase your overall score when interview score will be added.
In descriptive English paper there are no sections hence no sectional cut off. You need to score the minimum cut off or above the minimum cut off to qualify the paper. Usually the questions in the descriptive paper are:
- Write an Essay – 3 topics (usually) are given. You need to choose any one and write on that. This question might have 5-10 marks. There will be word limit so try to stay within the given word limit. We have discussed how to write good essay in details in another section already. Click here.
- Write a Letter – 2-3 topics are given. You can expect one unofficial letter topic. The rest are official letters. So it is basically your pick. If you think you are good with official letter you can choose that. If you are not so much comfortable with the official letter it is a good option to stick to the unofficial letter. This section is of 10 marks (usually).
- A Comprehension Passage– There will be 5-7 follow up questions. The mark for each question is 2-3. So you need not write big and lengthy answers. Find out how you should go about comprehension passage, Click here.
- Another important and a must in every descriptive paper is to write Précis. An unknown passage will be given, you need to read understand and write it in your words with in the given word limit (usually 150 words). It is basically to shorten a passage without changing the meaning and the essence of the passage.
Some Important tips to score well in Descriptive English Paper:
- Be a good reader first: Read your question carefully before picking up your pen.
- Stick to word limit : Make sure that you follow all the instructions and write the required number of words.
- Use your imagination: While writing make sure that you do not make your text boring or repetitive. Use adjectives and adverbs to make your language flowery. But do not put too many of them.
- Use combination of short and long sentences. This will keep your reader interested in your writing.
- Since you will not get much time for planning you should mark important words in the question to make sure you do exactly what is asked.
- Write your ideas somewhere on the question paper, and then put your ideas in a logical order.
- Always use Capital letter for the first word of a sentence and proper nouns.
- Pay attention to punctuations especially to the correct use of commas and full stops.
- Once you have finished writing, check for grammatical errors, repetition, spelling mistakes.
- Avoid Colloquialisms –Words like Yo, Gotcha, Gonna, Wanna. We are not sending message to anyone through Whatsapp.
- In case of formal letters, if you begin with ‘Dear Madam’ or ‘Dear Sir’, your letter should end with ‘Yours faithfully’ whereas if the letter begins with somebody’s name, it should end with ‘Yours sincerely’.
- Irrespective of the nature of letter (formal & informal) always write the purpose of the letter at the beginning of the letter.
Good writing skills come from practice. The more you work on writing, the better you will get.
All the best for your exams. Inbox us your comments if you find these tips useful.
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Anjali says
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