General Knowledge Questions and Answers : History about Gautama Buddha

1. When did Buddha live?
Ans : 560-480 BC

2. Buddha means?
Ans : awakened one/enlightened one

3. Where was Buddha born?
Ans : Lumbini/Kapilavastu (Nepal)

4. Where did Buddha die?
Ans : Kushinagar

5. Buddha belongs to which clan?
Ans : - Sakya/Shakya

6. What was the Buddha's original name?
Ans : Siddhartha Gautama

7. Parents of Gautama Buddha ?
King Suddodhana & Queen Maha Maya

8. Buddha was married to ?
Ans : Yasodhara

9. Who was Buddha’s son?
Ans : Rahula

10. What was the name of Buddha's horse?
Kanthaka

11. Buddhacarita was written by?
Ans : Asvaghosa

12. What Mauryan ruler was the first to adopt Buddhism?
Ans : Ashoka

13. Who spread Buddhism in Korea?
Ans : Wonhyo Daisa

14. Buddha attained enlightenment under_____ ?
Ans : pipal tree in Bodh Gaya, India

15. The world's largest monolithic statue Buddha is in?
Ans : Bamiyan

16. How old was Buddha when he attained enlightenment?
Ans : 35

17. Who asked Buddha to share his kingdom?
Ans : Bimbisara

18. Where did Buddha attain enlightenment?
Ans : Bodh Gaya

19. Where did Buddha have first disciples?
Ans : Sarnath

20. Who donated the Jetavana monastery to Buddha?
Ans : Anathapindada

21. How many years did Buddha preach?
Ans : 45

Five Great Events of Buddha’s

Life and their Symbols
1. Birth: Lotus and Bull
2. Great Renunciation: Horse
3. Nirvana: Bodhi tree
4. First Sermon: Dharmachakra or wheel
5. Parinirvana or Death: Stupa

Four Noble Truths

1. The world is full of sorrows.
2. Desire is root cause of sorrow.
3. If Desire is conquered, all sorrows can be removed.
4. following the eight-fold path.

Eight Fold Path
 
1. Right understanding
2. Right speech
3. Right livelihood
4. Right mindfulness
5. Right thought
6. Right action
7. Right effort
8. Right concentration

Three Ratnas

Buddha
Dhamma
Sangha

About Indian Parliament

Parliament is the supreme legislative body of a country. Our Parliament comprises of the President and the two Houses—Lok Sabha (House of the People) and Rajya Sabha (Council of States).
Current President of India - Pranab Mukherjee-Since 25 July 2012

Lok Sabha : Lok Sabha is the body of representatives of the people.The present membership of Lok Sabha is 545
Speaker of Lok Sabha : Meira Kumar -Since 3 June 2009
Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha : Kariya Munda, BJP Since 8 June 2009

Rajya Sabha : Rajya Sabha is the Upper House of Parliament. It has not more than 250 members. Members of Rajya Sabha are not elected by the people directly but indirectly by the Legislative Assemblies of the various States. Every State is allotted a certain number of members. No member of Rajya Sabha can be under 30 years of age. There are at present 245 members in Rajya Sabha.
The Vice-President of India is the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha. He is elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of members of both Houses of Parliament. Rajya Sabha also elects one of its members to be the Deputy Chairman.
Chairman of Rajya Sabha : Mohammad Hamid Ansari ,Since 25 August 2012
Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha : P. J. Kurien, Congress,Since 21 August 2012

Parliament House : The building was designed by two famous architects— Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker—who were responsible for the planning and construction of New Delhi.

The Foundation Stone of Parliament House was laid on the 12th February, 1921 by H.R.H. The Duke of Connaught. The construction of the building took six years and the opening ceremony was performed on the 18th January, 1927 by the then Governor-General of India, Lord Irwin. The cost of construction was Rs. 83 lakhs.The building has twelve gates among which Gate No. 1 on the Sansad Marg is the main gate.


Parliament Budget : The ‘Annual Financial Statement’, laid before both the Houses of Parliament constitutes the Budget of the Union Government. This statement takes into account a period of one financial year. The financial year commences in India on 1st April each year. The statement embodies the estimated receipts and expenditure of the Government of India for the financial year.

Outstanding Parliamentarian Award :An award for Outstanding Parliamentarian was instituted by the Indian Parliamentary Group in the year 1995. The First and Second awards for the years 1995 and 1996 were conferred on Shri Chandrashekhar and Shri Somnath Chatterjee respectively. The Third and Fourth awards for the years 1997 and 1998 were conferred on Shri Pranab Mukherjee and Shri S. Jaipal Reddy respectively. The Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth awards for the years 1999, 2000, 001 and 2002 were conferred on Shri L. K. Advani, Shri Arjun Singh, Shri Jaswant Singh and Dr. Manmohan Singh respectively.


Parliamentary Committees :


Estimates Committee
Committee on Empowerment of Women
Committee on Welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
Public Accounts Committee
Public Undertakings Committee
Railway Convention Committee

Indian Economy GK

1. The census in India is done after a gap of every
Ans : 10 yrs.

2. Insurance service perovided by various banks is commonly known as
Ans : Bancassurance

3. National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) was established in?
Ans : 1950

4. What is the full form of FCCBs?
Ans : Foreign Currency Convertible bonds

5. Which state stands first in the length of roads in the country?
Ans : Maharashtra

6. When was Focus Market Scheme introduced?
Ans : 2006-07

7. What is the full form of 'NBFC' as used in the financial sector?
Ans : New Banking and Finance Corporation

8. The central banking functions in India are performed by the?
Ans : Reserve Bank of India

9. Which among the following body promoted securities Trading Corporation of India Limited (STCI) jointly with the Public sector Banks?
Ans : Reserve bank Of India

10. Gilt-edged market means
Ans : market of government securities

11. In the last one decade, which one among the following sectors has attracted the highest foreign direct investment inflows into India?
Ans : Telecommunication

12. Devaluation of a currency means
Ans : Reduction in the value of a currency vis-a-vis major internationally traded currencies

13. The chairman of the 14th Finance Commission is
Ans : Y.V. Reddy

14. When there is an inflationary trend in the economy what would be trend in the pricing of the Bank products?
Ans : Increasing trend
15. Decimal coinage was introduced in India in the year
Ans :  1957

16. Recently, government approved levying of Rs 650 crore penalty, on which of the following telecommunication company for violating roaming norms?
Ans : Bharati Airtel

17. The Tenth Plan period was from
Ans : 2002–2007

18. National Rural Development Institute is situated at
Ans : Hyderabad

19. In commidity exchange in India, Index Futures are not permitted, as some of the provision of the FCRA do not allow the same. What is the full form of FCRA?
Ans : Foreign Contribution Regulation Act.
20. Who introduced cooperative society in India?
Ans : Lord Curzon

21. Which Indian got Nobel Prize for Economics?
Ans : Amarthiya Sen

22. The Headquarter of RBI is in
Ans : Mumbai

23. National Income estimates in India is prepared by
C.S.O.(Central Statistics Office)

24. Dalal street is situated at
Ans : Mumbai

25. What is the full form of the term 'NPA' as used in banking environment?
Ans : Non-performing assets

26. On July 12, 1982, the ARDC was merged into
Ans : NABARD

27. The first wholly Indian Bank was set up in
Ans : 1894

28. Which of the following is the first Indian private company to sign an accord with Government of Myanmar for oil exploration in two offshore blocks in that country?
Ans : Essar Oil

29. Which among the following correctly defines the Net Interest Income (NII) for banks?
Ans : Difference between interest earned and interest paid

30. The former name of State Bank of India was
Ans : Imperial Bank of India

31. The value of Gold is determined in
Ans : London

32. Deficit financing means that the government borrows money from the
Ans :RBI

33. The Board of Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) came into existence in
Ans : 1987

34. The currency notes are printed in
Ans : Nasik

35. The banks are required to maintain a certain ratio between their cash in the hand and totals assets. This is called
Statutory Liquid Ratio (SLR)

36. Reserve Bank of India was nationalized in the year
Ans : 1949

37. How many banks were nationalized in 1969?
Ans : 14

38. In India, the first bank of limited liability manages by Indians and founded in 1881 was
Ans : Oudh Commercial Bank

39. Subsidies mean
Ans : payment made by the government to business enterprises, without buying any goods and services

40. In India, which one among the following formulates the fiscal policy?
Ans : Ministry of Finance

41. Paper currency first started in India in
Ans : 1542

42. The ARDC is now a branch of the
Ans : NABARD

43. Since 1983, the RBI's responsibility with respect to regional rural banks was transferred to
Ans : NABARD

44. MRTP Act was implemented in
Ans : 1970

45. Regional Rural Banks were established in
Ans : 1975

46. Consumer Protection Act (CORPA) was implemented in
Ans : 1987

49. Foreign currency which has a tendency of quick migration is called
Ans : Hot currency

50. Which institution is known as Soft loan window of World Bank?
Ans : IFC

51. The New Symbol of Indian Rupee is a blend of
Ans : Devanagiri Ra and Roman

52. Which is the most important source of income for Government of India?
Ans : Excise duty

53. In India, barter exchange is still in practice in
Ans : Calcutta

54. The planning Commission was reconstituted in
Ans : March 1950

55. The state which has the highest sugarcane production in India is
Uttar Pradesh

56. The currency Deutsche Mark belongs to
Germany

57. In which of the following the first Mutual funds in India were
Ans : 1964

58. Which of the following organization publishes the "World Investment Report" annually?
UNCTAD

59. Who declares the Credit Policy of India?
Ans : Reserve Bank of India

60. Bajaj Auto announced its tie-up with which bank to offer inventory finance to its dealers?
Ans : State Bank ofIndia

General Knowledge questions from Indian Geography, Rivers and Mountains

1. Guwahati is situated on the banks of river?
(A) Brahmaputra
(B) Ganga
(C) Yammuna
(D) Godavari

2. The Gulf of Mannar is situated along the coast which state in India?
(A) Karnatka
(B) Kerala
(C) Andhra Pradesh
(D)Tamil Nadu 

3. The city of Nasik is situated on the banks of which river in India?
(A) Krishna
(B) Godavari
(C) Koshi
(D) Yammuna

4. Which one of the following pairs is correctly matched—
(A) Haldia : Orissa
(B) Jamnagar : Maharashtra
(C) Numaligarh : Gujarat
(D) Panangudi : Tamil Nadu

5. Which one of the following rivers originates near Mahabaleshwar ?
(A) Godavari
(B) Krishna
(C) Kaveri
(D) Tapi

6. With reference to the climate of India, the western disturbances originate over which one of the following ?
(A) Arabian Sea
(B) Baltic Sea
(C) Caspian Sea
(D) Mediterranean Sea

7. In which one of the following states is the Nanga Parbat peak located ?
(A) Sikkim
(B) Himachal Pradesh
(C) Jammu and Kashmir
(D) Uttarakhand

8. In India, which of the following are the Southernmost hills ?
(A) Anaimalai hills
(B) Cardamom hills
(C) Nilgiri hills
(D) Javacli hills

9. Where are the coal reserves of India largely concentrated ?
(A) Son valley
(B) Mahanadi valley
(C) Damodar valley
(D) Godavari valley

10. Which of the following Indian island lies between India and Sri Lanka ?
(A) Elephanta
(B) Nicobar
(C) Rameshwaram
(D) Salsette

11. In which state do the Mansoon arrives first ?
(A) Assam
(B) West Bengal
(C) Maharashtra
(D) Kerala 

12. How many islands are there in the group of Lakshadweep?
(A) 36
(B) 30
(c) 35
(D) 34

13. Which one of the following areas of India does not come under the zone of high seismic intensity ?
(A) Uttarakhand
(B) Karnataka Plateau
(C) Kachchh
(D) Himachal Pradesh

14. Between which ranges does the Kashmir valley in the Himlayas lie ?
(A) Siwalik and Pir Panjal
(B) Pirpanjal and Dhauladhar
(C) Zanskar and Pir Panjal
(D) Dhauladhar and Zanskar

15. Indravati is a tributary of which river ?
(A) Ganga
(B) Godavari
(C) Krishna
(D) Mahanadi

16. Which one of the following Indian rivers forms an estuary ?
(A) Godavari
(B) Kaveri
(C) Tapi
(D) Mahanadi

17. Where is Thattekad Bird Sanctuary located ?
(A) Kerala
(B) Tamil Nadu
(C) Karnataka
(D) Andhra Pradesh

18. In which one of the following states of India is the Pamayangtse Monastery situated ?
(A) Nagaland
(B) Himachal Pradesh
(C) Sikkim
(D) Arunachal Pradesh

19. Assertion (A) : The Gangatic plains are among the most beautiful agricultural areas of the world.
Reason (R) : The Gangetic plains contain predominatly regur soil.
Codes :
(A) Both A and R are individually true and R is the correct explanation of A
(B) Both A and R are individually true but R is not the correct explaination of A
(C) A is true but R is false
(D) A is false but R is true

20. The main streams of river Ganga which flows beyond Farakka is known as?
(A) Bhagirathi
(B) Padma
(C) Hooghly
(D) Suvarna Rekha

21. The length of the Indian coast line is—
(A) 5000 km
(B) 5500 km
(C) 7516·6 km
(D) 5800 km
22. How many National waterways are there in India ?
(A) 3
(B) 5
(C) 7
(D) 9

23. In the Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh states, the joint "Rajghat River Valley Project" is launched on—
(A) Ken River
(B) Son River
(C) Chambal River
(D) Betwa River 

24. Which of the following rivers have almost the same point of emerging ?
(A) Brahmaputra and Ganga
(B) Tapi and Beas
(C) Brahmaputra and Indus
(D) Indus and Ganga

25. In which state of India is the maximum area irrigated by tube wells ?
(A) Madhya Pradesh
(B) Bihar
(C) Rajasthan
(D) Uttar Pradesh 
1. (A) 2. (D) 3. (B) 4. (D) 5. (B) 6. (A) 7. (C) 8. (B) 9. (C) 10. (C) 11. (D) 12. (A) 13. (B) 14. (C) 15. (B) 16. (C) 17. (A) 18. (C) 19. (C) 20. (B) 21. (C) 22. (D) 23. (D) 24. (C) 25. (D)

Indian History Questions & Answers

1. The statue of Gomateshwara at Sravanabelagola was built by—
A.Chandragupta Maurya
B.Kharvela
C.Amoghavarsha
D.Chamundaraya
Ans : (D)

2. ‘Live well, as long as you live. Live well even by borrowings, for once cremated, there is no return’. The rejection of after life is an aphorism of the—
A.Kapalika sect
B.Sunyavada of Nagarjun
C.Ajivikas
D.Charvakas
Ans : (D)

3. Which one of the following usages was a post-Vedic development ?
A.Dharma-Artha-Kama-Moksha
B.Brahmana-Kshatriya-Vaishya-Shudra
C.Brahmacharya-Grihasthashrama-Vanaprastha-Sanyasa
D.Indra-Surya-Rudra-Marut
Ans : (C)

4. The capital of the kingdom of Maharaja Ranjit Singh was—
A.Amritsar
B.Patiala
C.Lahore
D.Kapurthala
Ans : (C)

5. In the Gandhara sculptures the preaching mudra associated with the Buddha's First Sermon at Sarnath is—
A.Abhaya
B.Dhyana
C.Dharmachakra
D.Bhumisparsa
Ans : (C)

6. The name of the poet Kalidas is mentioned in the—
A.Allahabad pillar inscription
B.Aihole inscription
C.Alapadu grant
D.Hanumakonda inscription
Ans : (B)

7. Zero was invented by—
A.Aryabhatta
B.Varahamihira
C.Bhaskara I
D.An unknown Indian
Ans : (D)

8. Which one of the following important trade centres of ancient India was on the trade route connecting Kalyana with Vengi ?
A.Tagara
B.Sripura
C.Tripuri
D.Tamralipti
Ans : (A)

9. The first Indian ruler who joined the subsidiary Alliance was—
A.The Nawab of Oudh
B.The Nizam of Hyderabad
C.Peshwa Baji Rao II
D.The king of Travancore
Ans : (B)

10. Vidhushaka, a common character in Sanskrit drama is invariably a—
A.Brahmana
B.Kshatriya
C.Vaishya
D.Shudra
Ans : (A)

11. Toramana belonged to the ethnic horde of the—
A.Scythians
B.Hunas
C.Yue-chis
D.Sakas
Ans : (B)

12. Who among the following is said to have witnessed the reigns of eight Delhi Sultans ?
A.Ziauddin Barani
B.Shams-i-siraj Afif
C.Minhaj-us-siraj
D.Amir Khusrau
Ans : (D)

13. The first Indian ruler to organize Haj pilgrimage at the expense of the state was—
A.Alauddin Khilji
B.Feroz Tughlaq
C.Akbar
D.Aurangzeb
Ans : (C)

14. Who among the following ladies wrote a historical account during the Mughal period ?
A.Gulbadan Begum
B.Noorjahan Begum
C.Jahanara Begum
D.Zebun-nissah Begum
Ans : (A)

15. The first to start a joint stock company to trade with India were the—
A.Portuguese
B.Dutch
C.French
D.Danish
Ans : (B)

16. The caves and rock-cut temples at Ellora are—
A.Buddhist
B.Buddhist and Jain
C.Hindu and Jain
D.Hindu, Buddhist and Jain
Ans : (D)

17. The significance of the Bengal Regulation of 1793 lies in the fact that—
A.It provided for the establis hment of the Supreme court
B.It restricted the application of English law to Englishmen only
C.It accommodated the personal laws of Hindus and Muslims
D.It provided for the appointment of the Indian Law Commission
Ans : (C)

18. The Mansabdari system introduced by Akbar was borrowed from the system followed in—
A.Afghanistan
B.Turkey
C.Mongolia
D.Persia
Ans : (C)

19. Which one of the following monuments has a dome which is said to be one of the largest in the world ?
A.Tomb of Sher Shah, Sasaram
B.Jama Masjid, Delhi
C.Tomb of Ghiyas-ud-
din Tuglaq, Delhi
D.Gol Gumbaz, Bijapur
Ans : (D)

20. Ashtapradhan was a Council of Ministers—
A.In the Gupta administration
B.In the Chola administration
C.In the Vijaynagar administration
D.In the Maratha administration
Ans : (D)

21. The concept of Anuvrata was advocated by—
A.Mahayana Buddhism
B.Hinayana Buddhism
C.Jainism
D.The Lokayata School
Ans : (C)

22. Which one of the following territories was not affected by the revolt of 1857 ?
A.Jhansi
B.Jagdishpur
C.Lucknow
D.Chittor
Ans : (D)

23. Which one of the following pairs is correctly matched ?
A.Battle of Buxar— Mir Jafar Vs Clive
B.Battle of Wandiwash—French Vs East India Company
C.Battle of Chelianwala—Dalhousie Vs Marathas
D.Battle of Kharda—Nizam Vs East India Company
Ans : (B)

24. The word ‘Hindu’ as reference to the people of Hind (India) was first used by—
A.The Greeks
B.The Romans
C.The Chinese
D.The Arabs
Ans : (A)

25. Hughly was used as a base for piracy in the Bay of Bengal by—
A.The Portuguese
B.The French
C.The Danish
D.The British
Ans : (A)

Study Groups

Why use a Study Group?

• Learn from one another’s insights & understanding
• Get different perspectives and interpretations
• Discuss your views about the course
• Share the workload
• Discuss learning approaches and strategies
• Provides opportunities to teach and to explain which helps to deepen your learning
• Provides feedback about your understanding
• Gives you the opportunity to practice important teamwork skills
• Helps avoid procrastination
• Moral support – working with others is more fun and more motivating

How?

There are no rules per se but here are some suggestions.
To start a study group:

• Students on same course of study
• Usually 3-4 students – if too few and someone doesn’t show up, group can still meet; too many and some may slack off
• Get to know your classmates – talk before/after class and ask to join you in studying
• Ask the lecturer to announce that interested students stay after class

To Structure a study group:

• Time availability – when all members available to meet on a regular basis
• Decide when, where, how often and how long to meet
• Decide an agenda for discussion at each meeting – this could be formal where group decides at end of each session and members prepare for next session or could be informal where group decides at start of each session what the group will study

What?

• Compare lecture notes, handouts, etc. as guides for topics to discuss
• Ask each other questions
• Create and revise summary sheets or mind maps on various topics
• Discuss assigned readings – Did everyone understand?  What are the main points?  Author’s argument?  Differing interpretations?  Anything particularly important, puzzling, difficult?
• Share reading – divide the reading, summarise and let others know what is important so they can decide to read it themselves
• Discuss lectures – compare notes.  Do you understand?  May pick up different points and combine to build a better sense of what was said
• Discuss how to cover coursework
• Projects or essays – compare feedback received from tutor/lecturer to understand what is important and how you could improve 
• Brainstorm for ideas of how to approach essay/project. Share drafts for input and feedback
• Practice presentations and get feedback
• Work through set problems together or take turns creating problems to solve
• Discuss issues & concepts relevant to course – good practice for expressing them on exams
• Revision – get together to revise and practice answers to exam questions 
• Create practice exams to give to each other

Where?

• The Library now provides group study rooms with wi-fi for up to 8 people. >>more info
• Public area like outside lecture rooms or in the cafeteria – use only if able to focus and concentrate
• Empty classrooms – make use of the blackboard

Guidelines for successful study groups

• Feedback – let others know you are paying attention and try to understand their viewpoint.  Avoid critical, personal comments.  Listening skills are critical.
• Avoid the study group becoming a social group – use agenda and leader if necessary
• Group members need to come prepared – have readings done, bring notes.  Share responsibility.
• Avoid study group becoming a complaining session – keep it to the end of the session if it’s necessary
• Take time to organise the study group and define expectations
• Deal with any problems early so people don’t get annoyed with each other or frustrated with the group
• If the group is not working well even after some time, adapt it, seek help or if necessary drop it.
• Study groups are particularly beneficial for auditory learners but they may not suit all learning styles. 

Effective Reading

Reading is a very important skill for success at third level. Reading actively promotes understanding, increases concentration and improves retention. The key is to be effective and efficient.
There are many purposes for reading.  Some examples would be looking for factual information, getting an overall view of a subject, or identifying the author’s main points. The purpose will determine the approach, and thus the strategy you should select.  Many students don’t consider the purpose, instead they just start reading.
In this section we will be looking at ways of making the most of our reading. We describe several different approaches to reading including a well known and successful strategy for making reading work for you.

Purpose of Reading

Have you ever asked yourself why you are reading something?
Thinking about the purpose helps you to focus. Students need to identify the reasons for undertaking a reading task. There are many reasons for reading text, among them are:

• Get an overview or the gist of a subject or topic
• Determine if more concentrated reading is necessary
• Gather supporting evidence for project or essay.
• Summarise main points
• Understand material
• Critique or evaluate
• Enjoy for leisure

Purpose	Rate
To read for an overview of a chapter	fast
To identify main ideas so you can explain them to another student	slowly
To locate specific information	fast until you locate the section you want, then slowly.
To gain detailed critical understanding	Slowly and thoroughly underlining and taking note

Depending on the purpose you can select a strategy that best achieves it. For example, to get the gist of the text skimming or scanning is appropriate. For more concentrated reading and to understand, the SQ3R method will be useful.

Reading Strategies

There is a variety of reading strategies, it is important to use ones that suit the purpose for reading and that are effective for you.

Reflection	This involves spending a few moments thinking about what you know about the subject before reading. This is good preparation.
Scanning / skimming	It helps you get an overview, get the gist of the text piece. Glancing at headings, main words, illustrations etc.
Speed reading	Reading rates can be improved with practice however, speed reading is not useful for depth reading & analysis required at third level.
Ask questions	Asking and answering questions while you read - about the author, content, structure, purpose, style etc.
Underlining	Landmarking the text piece combined with taking notes.
Monitor / evaluate	Using self review: what did I learn?, can I tell the main points? etc.
SQ3R	A flexible method that combines several of the above strategies. Useful for active reading and being able to understand the text.

SQ3R

In general, SQ3R is the most recommended strategy because it can be adapted to most purposes and circumstances. You have to try it and change it to suit your needs.  Think about the various purposes of your reading assignments.  Select one of your assignments; use and alter SQ3R to help you read more effectively.
SQ3R involves five steps that can be applied to books, articles, or chapters.  It stands for:

• Survey
• Question
• Read
• Recall
• Review

A survey gives you a quick preview of what you will be reading.  For a book look over the title page, table of contents, introduction, summaries, index and bibliography.  For chapters or articles glance at the headings, first paragraphs, key words, photos, graphs, exercises.  This will give you an idea of what to expect and activates the thinking process.
Then develop a set of questions, preferably your own.  These can be questions raised from your survey, ones based on your previous knowledge or even the ones in the back of a chapter.  This will make you concentrate more as you read and help you to read more critically.  Even the questions you ask yourselves will vary depending upon the purpose for reading.
Read actively, carefully, critically.  There are several ways to do this:
* Conversational reading - keeping an internal conversation going with the author
   by paying attention to how you react to the information
            * Take notes, underline, write key ideas in the margin, and use concept maps
            * Try to answer your questions as you read
            * Reread difficult bits out loud
            * Check new vocabulary
            * Use deep processing strategies to understand the material
Strategies for understanding would include looking for the main ideas and attempting to integrate them into your existing knowledge, to look for relationships, links, or patterns and to identify the underlying meaning.  These strategies help to consolidate, and thus retain, the information learned.  You must also recognise critical details the author uses to support his/her argument, such as facts or examples.  If you are reading to memorise, you will want to use recitation, copying and mnemonics.  Once you think you understand what you are reading, evaluate it - is the information provided accurate, limited, biased, and logical?  This is especially important if you are reading for the purpose of analysis and critique.
Try to recall the ideas you have learned in your reading; in your own words try to describe the author’s main ideas and argument.  If the reading is complicated more frequent recall will probably be needed.  You review to see if you have answered all your questions and also to check how well you have recalled the material.  Think of it as self-examination.  Some students combine the recall and review steps; others broaden it and add a re-read step between recall and review.  It is a flexible approach to reading.  Remember to monitor and evaluate if your reading strategy is effective for you and for your purpose!  It is not a set of rules but suggestions for you to try out.
You may want to use support and self-management strategies in conjunction with reading strategies.

Prioritising Reading

Sometimes students struggle with the quantity of reading they need to do. There are several ways students can learn to be more selective in order to be able for all the suggested reading on the course. Some suggestions in dealing with this are:

• Ask tutors to indicate which parts of the recommended materials are more relevant and why
• Keep alert for hints and clues about relevant reading dropped by tutors, assigned feedback etc
• Ask fellow students
• Ask students in the years ahead - maybe through peer support
• Share out reading and regularly report on what is worthwhile
• Note which books / materials are most regularly mentioned in other books as being important
• Skim very fast through recommended books, decide which might be most beneficial

Summary

In summary, to improve your reading first determine your purpose. This will help you to focus your attention and to select a suitable strategy.
Try using the SQ3R for understanding text, especially if you need to critique. Remember to actively engage yourself in the reading process.
Use strategies from memory and understanding to aid your reading.