Get ready to start reading. The next few days will be your last chance to wear the mantle of a Times Scholar before registrations for the 2019 programme end coming Wednesday, October

23. More than 2.52 lakh people have already registered, well above the 1.84 lakh who registered the last time round in 2017. Are you among them this year?

The Times Scholars 2019 initiative is rooted in the newspaper. We believe a wellread scholar is better prepared to seize what the world has to offer. After registrations close on October 23, the next phase will begin with the edition of October 25. Participants will be required to read the newspaper every day, and specifically the article highlighted by the “Times Scholars” marker. The articles and graphics thus marked will constitute the syllabus on which the prospective scholar will be tested. The subjects will cover science, technology, social issues, politics, global developments, economics, education, and much more.

Those who have registered will have opportunities to test themselves with periodic practice exams and submission of presentations. Participation in these practice runs will add a mark each to the cumulative score earned in the final examination. All of this will be online. The final online multiple-choice test will follow with questions based on marked articles. The winners will be picked from personal interviews and acknowledged in TOI; they will also win Dell laptops. Class XII students chosen by interview will be eligible for admission to undergraduate courses at Bennett University on a year’s scholarship if they fulfil the university’s eligibility criteria.

Some handy tips: read the article at least thrice to get the gist; then, dig deeper to understand the author’s purpose and why he has used the words and phrases he has. Put all this together in your mind, or on paper, and draw what inferences you can.

Make sure you don’t miss the first online practice test on November 9 and 10. Remember, participation earns you a mark.

Dell Aarambh is Digital Learning Partner of the Times Scholars programme