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Time of India
a day ago
- General
- Time of India
UGC NET English 2025: Top 20+ Most Repeated Questions for UGC NET English Paper Preparation
UGC NET English 2025: UGC NET English 2025 exam has a detailed & vast syllabus. It is meant for those aiming for Assistant Professorship or JRF. As of June 2, 2025, candidates should study both Paper 1 and Paper 2. Paper 1 checks general teaching and research skills. It includes topics like Teaching and Research Aptitude, Comprehension, Communication, Logical and Mathematical Reasoning, Data Interpretation, ICT, People and Environment, and Higher Education System. Paper 2 is focused on English Literature and related areas. It covers Drama (from Classical to Postmodern), Poetry (Old English to Postmodern), Fiction and Short Stories, and Non-Fictional Prose. It also includes topics like Language (concepts, theories, pedagogy), English in India (history and development), Cultural Studies, Literary Criticism, Post-World War II Literary Theory, and Research Methods in English. UGC NET English 2025 Exam Pattern and Marking Scheme Exam Duration: 3 hours (180 minutes) Mode: Online (Computer-based Test) Number of Papers: 2 (Paper 1 and Paper 2) UGC NET English 2025 Paper 1 Questions: 50 MCQs Total Marks: 100 Focus: General Teaching and Research Aptitude UGC NET English 2025 Paper 2 Questions: 100 MCQs Total Marks: 200 Focus: English Literature, Language, and Related Topics UGC NET English 2025 Marking Scheme Marks per Question: 2 marks each Negative Marking: None Total Marks: 300 Candidates must attempt all questions within the given time to qualify. Top Repeated UGC NET English Questions (2025) Below are the required chapter-wise Top Repeated UGC NET English Questions 2025 listed: 1. Literary Theory and Criticism Define New Criticism and explain its main features. What is Structuralism? Discuss its impact on literary studies. Explain the concept of Postcolonialism with examples. What are the key ideas of Feminist Criticism? Discuss the contributions of T.S. Eliot to literary criticism. Define Reader-Response Theory and its significance. Explain the concept of Deconstruction as proposed by Jacques Derrida. What is Marxist Criticism? How does it interpret literature? 2. Indian Writing in English Discuss the themes of R.K. Narayan's novels. What are the major concerns of Mulk Raj Anand's writings? Explain the significance of Salman Rushdie's "Midnight's Children" in Indian English literature. Describe the contribution of Kamala Das to Indian English poetry. Discuss the role of Girish Karnad in Indian English drama. 3. English Literature: Poetry, Drama, and Prose Analyze the theme of alienation in T.S. Eliot's "The Waste Land." Discuss the role of the supernatural in Shakespeare's "Macbeth." What is the significance of the Romantic Movement in English literature? Explain the characteristics of Victorian poetry with examples. Discuss the narrative technique used in Virginia Woolf's "To the Lighthouse." What are the major themes in George Orwell's "1984"? 4. Language and Linguistics Define Phonetics and explain its branches. What is Code-switching? Give examples. Explain the difference between Denotation and Connotation. What is Transformational Generative Grammar according to Noam Chomsky? Discuss the features of Indian English as a variety of English. 5. Grammar and Usage Identify and correct the error in the sentence: "Neither of the boys are coming." Explain the use of subjunctive mood in English. What are phrasal verbs? Give five examples. Differentiate between active and passive voice with examples. Preparation Tips for UGC NET English 2025 Exam Aspirants, to prepare well for the UGC NET English 2025 exam, candidates should plan their study time smartly. The exam has two papers. Paper 1 is about Teaching and Research Aptitude. Paper 2 is based on English Literature. Key Topics to Focus On: Paper 1 (General Aptitude): Teaching Aptitude, Research Methodology, Reading Comprehension, Communication, Reasoning, ICT, and Higher Education System. Paper 2 (English Literature): Drama, Poetry, Fiction and Short Story, Non-Fiction Prose, Language (Basics and Pedagogy), English in India, Cultural Studies, Literary Criticism, Post-WWII Literary Theory, and Research Methods. Time Management Tips: Spend 1.5 hours daily on Paper 2. Focus on understanding literary texts, analyzing theories, and revising major movements. Give 1 hour daily to Paper 1. Practice reasoning, teaching techniques, and research basics. Set aside weekly time to solve mock tests and previous year question papers. This will boost your speed and confidence.
Press and Journal
14-05-2025
- Business
- Press and Journal
Colin Farquhar: M&S shuts with a whimper but can Union Street come back with a bang?
So there it goes; the death of another long-standing Union Street fixture – 'not with a bang, but with a whimper'. This was T.S Eliot writing in The Hollow Men, likely not prophesying the struggles of 21st-Century high street retail in Aberdeen, but accurate nonetheless. Ahead of schedule, M&S at the St Nicholas Centre closed its doors for the last time last week to very little fanfare, as its replacement at Union Square roars into life. We were supposed to have it until late summer. Firstly, I hope any staff who have lost their earnings during the process have been looked after, although it appears many have been transferred to the new flagship. Eighty-one years of trading quietly ceased, the store joins Debenhams and John Lewis as a monument to an image of Aberdeen city centre long past – an Unholy Trinity of empty department stores. Meanwhile, Union Street still coughs and splutters. 'This is the way the world ends'. I found myself in the Bon Accord and St Nicholas Centres on Saturday morning, and passing through into the square ahead of the old M&S entrance I found no real discernible change as yet. As a man who is very nearly a certain age – you may have noticed my distinguished grey hair – I'm quite accustomed to going to M&S to pick up a shirt, or even their long-johns, which I swear by. But prints now cover the closed entrance doors and windows redirecting us all to the branch at Union Square, another symptom of the damage done to Union Street since the centre was opened. Passersby continued their days in the sun seemingly with no reflection, avoiding the street theatre which has begun to occupy that part of the town, already gearing up to party at 10.30am, unlikely to improve any in the absence of M&S. At least, by virtue of the nice weather, there were plenty of people going around. But another hollowed out space in a street of hollowed out spaces with only minimal signs of improvement the further we get along the road. It would be easy to paint a depressing picture. Yet, to pinch from T.S. Eliot again, it ain't The Wasteland yet. Aberdeen remains the largest and most economically important city in a very wealthy part of the world and the means to create opportunity from these challenges should be at our fingertips. 'What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow out of this stony rubbish' – Eliot maybe was referring to the grievances of the granite city after all. We have to work out what will endure, as shopping increasingly turns online. The answer is probably people, and we need to work out what will drag them, by hook or by crook, into town, as retail ebbs away, or retreats to sunnier climes like Union Square, where footfall appears pretty consistent. You can't organically create a thriving city centre. Intervention is needed, as ultimately it was a different intervention that pulled people away. A long-term plan for improved city centre living and bringing the upper floors of Union Street back into use is hugely promising – there's a lot of empty space up there, as there is on the deck, but a lot of work is needed. Imagine though a renewed central boulevard of Union Street, reinvented and greened, which due to the city's geography will always run like a river through the heart of the city, flowing into North and South. One where students and young professionals lived above, and nightlife, hospitality, arts and tourism thrived below. You'll say 'never' but it works in other places. A bold plan for full pedestrianisation, where you might have to put up with bus gates for a bit longer, but the pay-off feels more worth it. One which is well-connected by public transport and active travel routes to the refreshed beach. The need for long-term vision and infrastructural change at the heart of Aberdeen has never been more apparent in my eyes. And what then, of these empty spaces in this 'Unreal City'. The brooding long shadows of the Debenhams, John Lewis and Marks and Spencer, all imposing and fragile in their predicament, both permanent and not. At the end of the day it's pretty binary. You either use them for something else, or you knock them down; tear them down or turn them over, because it's unlikely an all out resurgence of department sized stores is coming back. On the day the closure of M&S was announced I popped in to M&S and went to the cafe with a pal, one with a keen interest in the arts and the regeneration of town centres. We both wondered what else it could be. The only answer is that it could be anything. Colin Farquhar works as a creative spaces manager and film programmer in the north-east culture sector
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Yahoo
Best Amazon deals to shop this weekend: I browsed thousands of sales and found markdowns of up to 75%
April is the cruellest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain. Way to harsh our early-spring buzz, T.S. Eliot! Sure, he was one of the greatest poets of the past century and a standard bearer of Modernism on both sides of the Atlantic, but that's no reason to bring us down at this, the most forward-looking time of the year. Speaking of looking forward: The best Amazon deals this weekend will see you sorted and suited up for the sunshiney fun and blue skies of the next few months. Top Amazon deals iRobot Roomba i5 Robot Vacuum & Mop for $199 (was $350): All-time low Crest 3D Whitestrips for $30 (was $43): Near all-time low Granitestone Piezano Pizza Oven for $95 (was $150): Near all-time low Yeti Roadie 24 Cooler for $200 (was $250): All-time low Apple iPad Mini (A17 Pro) for $399 (was $499): All-time low Planning to wow 'em on the court this year? Why not make a statement (i.e., "I want to be comfortable and look hot while I kick your butt") with this tennis dress, now 40% off (aka $30 — love!). If you've got a warm-weather road trip on your sked, I spy with my little eye a way to stay vigilant and safe: this 4K dashcam, half price at just 100 bucks. Maybe your taste runs more toward kicking back with a cold one (this Yeti cooler's $50 off), making homemade patio pizza (how 'bout a portable oven for $95?) or just electrocuting flying insects with a lazy wave (this handheld zapper is a shocking $12 off). Whatever your warm-weather wonts, Amazon's got you covered. Psyched, right? But don't wait — they'll be no second coming for some of these deals. You might show up next week and find this place a wasteland. In any event, you don't have to thank us. It's our job to turn you on to the weekend's most sensational steals. Withholding that precious intel would just be ... cruel. In this guide: Rare Amazon deals | All-time low prices | Best home deals | Best kitchen deals | Best tech deals | Best fashion deals | Best beauty and wellness deals If you have Amazon Prime, you'll get free shipping, of course. Not yet a member? No problem. You can sign up for your free 30-day trial here. (And by the way, those without Prime still get free shipping on orders of $35 or more.)
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Yahoo
Best Amazon deals to shop this weekend: I browsed thousands of sales and found markdowns of up to 75%
April is the cruellest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain. Way to harsh our early-spring buzz, T.S. Eliot! Sure, he was one of the greatest poets of the past century and a standard bearer of Modernism on both sides of the Atlantic, but that's no reason to bring us down at this, the most forward-looking time of the year. Speaking of looking forward: The best Amazon deals this weekend will see you sorted and suited up for the sunshiney fun and blue skies of the next few months. Top Amazon deals iRobot Roomba i5 Robot Vacuum & Mop for $199 (was $350): All-time low Crest 3D Whitestrips for $30 (was $43): Near all-time low Granitestone Piezano Pizza Oven for $95 (was $150): Near all-time low Yeti Roadie 24 Cooler for $200 (was $250): All-time low Apple iPad Mini (A17 Pro) for $399 (was $499): All-time low Planning to wow 'em on the court this year? Why not make a statement (i.e., "I want to be comfortable and look hot while I kick your butt") with this tennis dress, now 40% off (aka $30 — love!). If you've got a warm-weather road trip on your sked, I spy with my little eye a way to stay vigilant and safe: this 4K dashcam, half price at just 100 bucks. Maybe your taste runs more toward kicking back with a cold one (this Yeti cooler's $50 off), making homemade patio pizza (how 'bout a portable oven for $95?) or just electrocuting flying insects with a lazy wave (this handheld zapper is a shocking $12 off). Whatever your warm-weather wonts, Amazon's got you covered. Psyched, right? But don't wait — they'll be no second coming for some of these deals. You might show up next week and find this place a wasteland. In any event, you don't have to thank us. It's our job to turn you on to the weekend's most sensational steals. Withholding that precious intel would just be ... cruel. In this guide: Rare Amazon deals | All-time low prices | Best home deals | Best kitchen deals | Best tech deals | Best fashion deals | Best beauty and wellness deals If you have Amazon Prime, you'll get free shipping, of course. Not yet a member? No problem. You can sign up for your free 30-day trial here. (And by the way, those without Prime still get free shipping on orders of $35 or more.)
Forbes
31-03-2025
- Business
- Forbes
How The IRS Decides To Audit You: A Tax Expert Explains
How does the IRS decide which tax returns to audit? In this Q&A series, a former IRS lawyer and ... More current law-school professor explains. This is the second part of my two-part Q&A with a tax-law expert, professor, and former IRS lawyer. The first part is How The IRS Picks Tax Returns To Audit: A Tax-Law Expert Explains. 'April is the cruelest month' wrote the poet T.S. Eliot—and for taxpayers in the US, that may often be true. The filing deadline for federal tax returns is coming up on April 15. While nobody really likes doing tax-return homework for the IRS, it's safe to say that IRS audits and other forms of unwanted IRS attention are even more unpleasant, making diligence with your tax return a wise course. For expert insights into how the IRS decides which tax returns to audit and how to prepare for an audit if it happens, I turned to tax expert Professor Bryan Camp. He is a professor at Texas Tech School of Law, a former staff member of the IRS Office of Chief Counsel, and a longtime tax attorney. Between teaching, doing academic research, and playing the fiddle at bluegrass jams, he kindly took time amid his busy schedule to answer my questions with his inside knowledge and personal flair. In the first part of this Q&A, Professor Camp explained how the IRS selects which tax returns to audit, different types of audits, and how to handle IRS requests. In the second part, presented below, he explains more about how to avoid getting audited by the IRS, what to do if you are audited, tax-return areas that are likely to trigger an audit, and whether someone at the IRS can intentionally select you for an audit or release your tax information. The biggest way to reduce the chance of any unpleasant interaction with the IRS is to be sure your tax return is consistent with any information returns submitted to the IRS about you, such as a Form 1099 or Form W-2. When those returns are incorrect, you basically have three choices: (a) suck it up and report consistently with the incorrect information return; (b) attach to your return an explanation for why the information return is incorrect, or (c) make the correct return and then keep all your records because if the discrepancy is large enough you will indeed get a 'love letter' from the IRS asking about it, and you will generally only have a very short timeframe to respond. Let me give you an example from my own experience. When my grandma died, she left her house to her three grandkids: my two sisters and me. We sold the house. The Title Company then sent the IRS a 1099 reporting that it had paid the ENTIRE sales proceeds to me. That 1099 was wrong for two reasons. First, I split the proceeds with my sisters. More importantly, the proceeds were excluded from gross income by Internal Revenue Code Section 102 (which allows inheritances to be excluded from income). Pissed, I (properly) did not report any of that money. But you see how the IRS computers thought I had underreported income when they compared the 1099s with my tax return. But I did not get audited. Instead I received what the IRS calls a 'compliance check.' About two years later I got a love letter (called a CP2000 notice) from the IRS telling me it believed I had overlooked some income I should have reported, and it gave me 30 days to explain why I should have not reported it. Since I was expecting that, I was prepared to respond and so that got cleared up. Notice two points: (1) it took the IRS systems about two years to catch the discrepancy and ask me about it; (2) I had only 30 days to respond. If I had missed that deadline, then the IRS would have assessed a deficiency, and I would have had a much more difficult time working it out. First, low incomes. You can look at the IRS Data books for details. Basically, Congress is very concerned that low-income taxpayers are cheating by improperly claiming tax credits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit. Second, very high incomes. They get reviewed more because their errors cost the government a lot more lost revenue. For example, some large corporations are under continuous examination. In addition, very-high-income taxpayers are more likely to participate in the type of tax-shelter transactions that the IRS targets. Third, self-employed taxpayers who report income on Schedule C may be more likely to be selected for audit. That is because while the IRS computer matching programs do a great job at spotting potential unreported income, they cannot spot erroneous deductions. So, again, if you report a very large loss on Schedule C and you use that loss to offset your decent wage income, that may trigger a higher DIF score (see the first part of this Q&A). Yes. But that does not mean the IRS computer systems are shut down and, as I explained earlier, everyone's return is 'looked at' by the IRS computers. The IRS computers will attempt to correct perceived errors in returns by sending out notices like the CP2000 and then propose assessments if the taxpayer does not respond in a timely manner. Those actions are not audits. But they are still unpleasant experiences, even when you are correct. The IRS almost never does a tip-to-toe audit. Almost always the IRS is looking into a particular issue or set of issues. So you want to be sure you know what the IRS is concerned about. You want to be sure to ask the IRS Revenue Agent what information they need and then give them that information—but ONLY that information. If the IRS needs more, let them ask for it. You want to avoid letting them come to your home or business, so being cooperative and offering to bring the information to them is generally the best way to respond. However, if you are worried about being criminally prosecuted, then you want to take the opposite approach and not volunteer information you think could help convict you of a crime. We call these 'eggshell' audits because while it starts out civil, you are walking on eggshells trying to avoid criminal investigation. Don't walk alone. There are many law firms that specialize in these kinds of audits. Oh yes! If the auditor comes to believe that the taxpayer engaged in fraudulent behavior, the auditor must stop the audit and refer the matter to Criminal Investigation (CI). If CI decides not to work the case, the auditor can resume the audit. Meanwhile, the auditor is prohibited from contacting the taxpayer during the time CI does its investigation. So if you are being audited and, suddenly, you are totally unable to communicate with your auditor, that's a baaaaaad sign. The eggshells are breaking. As many years as are necessary to resolve the audit issues. For example, if the audit is about whether you properly reported income from the sale of property, the Revenue Agent is entitled to ask for all your property records back to the time you bought it to establish the proper basis. For a recent Tax Court case where the taxpayer was unable to establish basis on his rental property and therefore was not allowed a depreciation deduction, see Smith v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo. 2025-24 (March 24, 2025). Another example is if you are claiming tax benefits in the audit year from stuff you did in a prior year; the Revenue Agent is entitled to look at that prior year to see if you did that right. Even though that prior year is not under audit, understanding what happened there may be necessary to resolve the year that is under audit. As a practical matter, however, IRS employees rarely go beyond the year they are examining. Training and structure. Informally this is called 'UNAX' for 'Unauthorized Access.' Training: Employees learn that Congress wrote a statute that makes this behavior a crime. They learn they can go to prison. They also learn that they can be fired. Structure: Employees have no ability to select a taxpayer for audit. As explained in Part 1 of this Q&A interview, all audit decisions must be made through the proper channels of authority. And employees who identify a taxpayer for audit are not permitted to conduct the audit. So if a Revenue Agent auditing my tax return comes to believe that I am in cahoots with Joe and recommends opening an examination on Joe, then that recommendation must be approved by a series of IRS supervisors. If approved, Joe's audit must be done by another Revenue Agent. And my Revenue Agent cannot access that information because doing so would be UNAX. IRS employees are incredibly cautious about accessing information not directly relevant to their jobs. That sometimes interferes with their ability to conduct a thorough audit, because in their mind the risks of UNAX outweigh the benefit to their examination. IRS employees are not evaluated on how many lost tax dollars they uncover. They are instead evaluated on how well they process their workload. That is one reason for cooperating. You help them 'git-er-done.' Training and consequences. All IRS employees are trained not only that they must keep information confidential but also that they are not even allowed to look at any taxpayer's information unless they are working on that taxpayer's case (either in examination or in collections at the IRS). To enforce these prohibitions, Congress wrote a statute in 1998 that creates what we call the '10 Deadly Sins.' Professor Keith Fogg wrote an excellent article about that statute, which provides that any IRS employee who improperly discloses taxpayer information may (and sometimes must) be fired. Congress also wrote another statute on the unauthorized inspection or disclosure of tax returns or return information. That permits the taxpayer to sue the government and recover, at a minimum, $1,000 per improper disclosure Thus, if the improper disclosure goes out on a social media post that receives 1,000 hits, that's 1,000 improper disclosures.
