General Knowledge (GK)

General Knowledge refers to information that is collected over time from various sources through various mediums. In simple words, we can say that it is every aspect of human life that is associated with general intelligence acquired through study, experience, etc. So it can be a part of academic study or not. Accordingly, there can be various domains of general knowledge such as arts, politics, geography, games, films, culture, medicine, history, etc.

Furthermore, General Knowledge does not refer to highly specialized learning that one gains through extensive study or training of a particular subject or area of study confined to a single subject. However, in various studies, it has been found that people who have sound knowledge of a subject are likely to have knowledge of other subjects.

General knowledge depends on the long-term semantic memory ability of a person. The semantic memory stores the information that is common knowledge such as names of animals, capitals of countries, prime minister of a country and other facts stored in the memory over a lifetime.

Almost all major competitive examinations like Bank PO, CDS, UPSC, IAS, SSC CGL, etc., contain general knowledge questions. So if you want to take admission in top colleges or want to get a prestigious government job you can't afford to ignore general knowledge.

You must be aware of the important general knowledge topics. To make your task easy we have shortlisted important general knowledge topics that have been discussed and explained in a very simple language and style.

Importance of General Knowledge:

GK always has been an important section in most of the entrance examinations. Without answering general knowledge questions one cannot think of passing an entrance exam. Candidates generally tend to devote more time in the preparation of Mathematics, English, Reasoning, and Aptitude and less time for general knowledge, and here they make a big mistake as even one number counts a lot in clearing a competitive exam. Things that seem simple may have the potential to change your life.

Furthermore, even after clearing the written exam, general knowledge plays a vital role in your selection. The selection board or interviewer may ask simple questions to check your general knowledge and to know how much you are aware of your country, its history, geography, political heritage, etc. So, a good hold on the general knowledge topics not only enables you to score higher but also allows you to perform better in personal interview and group discussion rounds that are generally held after qualifying the written exam.

The other benefit of GK is that it makes your study or preparation more interesting as it covers a wide range of topics like history, geography, politics, awards and honours, everyday science, and more. When you get bored of practising reasoning or aptitude questions, you may switch to history, geography, etc.

Advantages of General Knowledge:

• Better Scores: The knowledge of ongoing events and events of the past enable students to have a broad knowledge of some basic facts that are also part of their academic syllabus. Thus, it enables them to score high marks in the school or college exams as well as in the competitive exams.
• Keeps you updated: It keeps you updated that helps you remain one step ahead of others and stand out from the crowd. You can participate in various quizzes and debate competitions confidently and win awards by using your general awareness about the things happening around you or happened around you in the past.
• Knowledge brings more knowledge: The previous knowledge stored in your memory makes it easy for you to learn and understand new things. Thus, it makes you more knowledgeable by adding more information to the hard disk of your brain.
• Makes Conversation Interesting: It allows you to start a conversation with anyone even if you don't share common interests. It could be your professional meeting, first day in college, or even your first date. Your knowledge presents you as an intelligent person with whom people like to talk. It also helps you in weird situations when neither you nor the other person has anything to say.
• Improves Decision Making: GK is not limited to getting good grades and making a social impact. It also helps you take an important decision in your life. For example, while taking a decision regarding career a candidate with proper knowledge of the current scenario of the world can choose a better career option. Similar, a person who wants to buy a home can make a better buying decision if he or she has the knowledge of real estate and buying or selling of properties.
• Helps clear final rounds: It helps improve your performance in the final rounds such as group discussion and personal interview, as at this stage of selection, the interviewer can ask any question that may not be related to your area of interest or study, similarly, you can be given any topic randomly for group discussion.
• Personality development and competitive spirit: By being aware of the basic facts and events about your country, and the world in different domains such as history, politics, games, etc., you can enhance your competitive spirit and confidence and thereby your personality.

How to Improve General Knowledge:

General knowledge and current affairs including events that are happening in your city, country or around the world are interrelated to each other. Today's current affairs will be general knowledge of tomorrow!

There are many ways to improve your knowledge, some of the best ways to improve general knowledge are as follows:

• Reading: It is the first and foremost way to increase your knowledge. You can read books, newspapers, magazines, etc., to make yourself more knowledgeable. However, it should be done with interest, only then you could retain information for a longer duration. Besides this, you have to inculcate reading as a habit for better results.
• Socialization: Socializing is also a way to improve your general knowledge about multiple issues. Spending time with your friends, professional contacts and other people that may have different interests will boost your knowledge. Furthermore, information gained by discussing things can be retained easily for a longer time.
• Make Notes: Writing also helps learn and retain the facts and figures. You can make notes of the important things that you have studied or watched or heard. You can read these notes in your spare time.
• Social Media: It is another interesting platform to enhance your knowledge. By being active on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, etc., you can easily upgrade your existing information. Users share lots of information almost about everything on social media.
• News: It is another easiest and effective way to collect information. To make the most out of it, inculcate a habit of reading newspapers, watching news channels and listening news on the radio.
• Online resources: There are lots of general knowledge websites and apps that you can visit or download to read static general knowledge topics, current affairs, and to practice GK related multiple-choice questions, and more.

Whether you opt one, two or all of the above methods remember one thing that it should be a steady process as general knowledge cannot be attained overnight or in a few days!