Why is Newspaper Reading Important? - Besides the obvious goal of scoring well in competitive examinations, methodical reading of newspapers on a regular basis will help you at every stage of the admissions/ recruitment process.
What to Read in the Newspaper? - When you sit to read the newspaper, it is important that you know which news is important from the examination point of view. So, go through the GK section of the past 3-4 years' question papers of the exam that you are targeting.
How to Study the Newspaper? - For MBA aspirants, the Newspaper is to be treated like a textbook. Thus, when you sit down to read one, you must have a pen and paper in hand, to take down notes. The newspaper is not to be read like a novel, i.e. in a leisurely manner!
Taking Notes - This is the most important part of studying the newspaper. We recommend that you purchase a 5-subject notebook or divide one into 5 parts, with the following broad sections: Economy and Business - In this section, note down details of the latest budget, latest trends in macroeconomic indicators like inflation, GDP, latest business mergers and acquisitions
BEFORE READING: - Choose one reliable newspaper (maximum two), as reading a newspaper efficiently can take a considerable amount of time (1.5 to 3 hours). Moreover, it is always advisable to read quality and reputed newspapers only, as the articles published are written by reputed experts and are relatively authoritative.
Choose an appropriate newspaper source - If hard copies are easily available on a regular basis and without any disruption, then always go for hard copies as they are easy to read and mark. If not, go for e-papers as they are eco-friendly and easily accessible through the internet.
Read and understand your syllabus thoroughly [MOST IMPORTANT], - as this will help you to avoid the irrelevant parts (from the respective examination’s perspective) of a newspaper and save a lot of time. But in general, one can avoid news articles relating to pure politics, Bollywood, stock market predictions, fashion trends, etc.
Know the weightage that a particular exam gives to the current affairs section/paper - as this will help you to allot appropriate time for it. Suppose, the total mark is 100 and current affairs have been allotted 20 marks, then you need to give in a good amount of time (ideally 20% of your total daily preparation time)