1. The passage itself is based on contemporary topic and the possiblity of a good candidate already having covered similar topic is high especially if he or she has done a good job of keeping up with the current affairs.
2. If the candidate can read and comprehend newspapers articles then comprehending this excerpt should not be difficult.
3. Given that many would agree with our assertion above. The following general tips would also be helpful especially for students with a non-English background:
4. Start with the very basic English vocabulary book, where the description is given. It can be a Hindi to English translation book or a book having translations from any regional language to English (Tamil to English and so on)
5. Learn the basic of the grammar (basic knowledge most of which students might already have but just needs refresher), once you are sound in grammar you can solve the problems of sentence correction and vocabulary at your fingertips.
6. Learn and know where and where not to use specific terms and phrases and words. To master this aspect it is vital that a student does lot of reading, be it newspapers or magazines or books or even news and articles on the web.
7. When done with basic knowledge, refer books like Wren and Martin
8. For section on reading comprehension, remember knowing good English is as equally important as good speed.
9. Practice reading and comprehending good books to enhance your reading speed like books by Mahatma Gandhi & Jawaharlal Nehru which are written in very basic English language, easy to comprehend and useful for increasing fluency
10. Practice, practice, practice.. don't give up.
11. Never take it as a challenge impossible (or hard) to achieve, rather act as if it is an opportunity (to grow, to master to learn), practice we are sure you will succeed!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Preparing for CSAT with Non Maths Background
1. Start with the NCERT books for Class V to VIII. Go through the basic concepts and gain understanding. Then go for learning basic concepts of NCERT class IX and X books
2. Keep your motivation level high and do not underestimate your potentials
3. Try solving very basic questions at first and then slowly increase the level of difficulty
4. Try to follow as many shortcuts as possible because time is a major limiting factor in determining the number of questions you can solve
5. Remember that CSAT is not about checking the mathematical abilities but the reasoning and logical power so there is always logic behind a problem which can be solved with the basic concepts and formulas
6. Learn the last moment cheat sheet for the formulas. Display major formulas on a board in the room, so that you can get a chance to revise them off and on
7. Another helpful trick for learning formulas is to go through the basic ones and learn them first then derive the complex formulas from the easy formulas
8. Expressions like "Oh my God so many formulas", “Trigonometry is not my game", " I cannot solve probability questions" will all lower your self-confidence & take you away from studying those topics. Note that for UPSC it is very important to COVER ALL TOPICS, because in a particular year UPSC in the past has been known to emphasis one topic more than others in the prelims exam.
9. Take Maths as a challenge and not as a botheration
10. Speak from your heart and say " I can do it", "I will do it", "If others can do it, why cannot I do it"
2. Keep your motivation level high and do not underestimate your potentials
3. Try solving very basic questions at first and then slowly increase the level of difficulty
4. Try to follow as many shortcuts as possible because time is a major limiting factor in determining the number of questions you can solve
5. Remember that CSAT is not about checking the mathematical abilities but the reasoning and logical power so there is always logic behind a problem which can be solved with the basic concepts and formulas
6. Learn the last moment cheat sheet for the formulas. Display major formulas on a board in the room, so that you can get a chance to revise them off and on
7. Another helpful trick for learning formulas is to go through the basic ones and learn them first then derive the complex formulas from the easy formulas
8. Expressions like "Oh my God so many formulas", “Trigonometry is not my game", " I cannot solve probability questions" will all lower your self-confidence & take you away from studying those topics. Note that for UPSC it is very important to COVER ALL TOPICS, because in a particular year UPSC in the past has been known to emphasis one topic more than others in the prelims exam.
9. Take Maths as a challenge and not as a botheration
10. Speak from your heart and say " I can do it", "I will do it", "If others can do it, why cannot I do it"
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Tips and Techniques
Factors make or break your success in the exam – “No. of questions attempted” and “Accuracy”. These two parameters are not independent of each other. The target in the exam is to have the best possible values for both these parameters.
Accuracy can be improved by getting strong on fundamentals which was discussed above when we looked at each of the topics/areas. This will take care of the preparing for the exam part mentioned above.
The Number of attempts can be improved by
• selecting the easy questions from the paper
• Leaving questions which seem difficulty (even after attempting them).
• Practicing Speedily.
Accuracy can be improved by getting strong on fundamentals which was discussed above when we looked at each of the topics/areas. This will take care of the preparing for the exam part mentioned above.
The Number of attempts can be improved by
• selecting the easy questions from the paper
• Leaving questions which seem difficulty (even after attempting them).
• Practicing Speedily.
Books For CSAT 2011
1. Modern India by Bipan Chandra NCERT
2. India Year Book
3. Manorama Year Book
4. NCERT 11th & 12th standard books on History, Geography & Economics
5. General Science book of CBSE or NCERT 9th & 10th standard
6. TMH General Studies Guide (Especially General Knowledge & General Mental Ability area will be helpful.)
7. Our Constitution by Subhash Kashyap
8. Indian Economy : Problems & Prospects by Uma Kapila
2. India Year Book
3. Manorama Year Book
4. NCERT 11th & 12th standard books on History, Geography & Economics
5. General Science book of CBSE or NCERT 9th & 10th standard
6. TMH General Studies Guide (Especially General Knowledge & General Mental Ability area will be helpful.)
7. Our Constitution by Subhash Kashyap
8. Indian Economy : Problems & Prospects by Uma Kapila
Civil Service Aptitude Test / Youtube / Syllabus
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Services_Aptitude_Test
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL99745D4C1B594793
1. Government has approved proposal for introduction of Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) in place of Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination.
2. In CSAT, one of optional subjects which a candidate could have chosen out of 23 optional has been replaced with common paper on aptitude test and hence there is change in syllabus and pattern of Preliminary Examination from 2011 in the scheme of Civil Services Examination.
3. The Preliminary Examination shall now comprise of two compulsory Papers of 200 marks each and of two hours duration each. Detailed below is the new syllabus and pattern of the Preliminary Examination, which is brought to the notice of the prospective candidates intending to appear at the Civil Services Examination (CSE) in 2011 onwards:
Paper I - (200 marks) Duration: Two hours
• Current events of national and international importance
• History of India and Indian National Movement
• Indian and World Geography - Physical, Social, Economic geography of India and the World.
• Indian Polity and Governance – Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
• Economic and Social Development – Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.
• General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change - that do not require subject specialization
• General Science.
Paper II- (200 marks) Duration: Two hours
• Comprehension
• Interpersonal skills including communication skills;
• Logical reasoning and analytical ability
• Decision making and problem solving
• General mental ability
• Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. -Class X level)
• English Language Comprehension skills (Class X level).
• Questions relating to English Language Comprehension skills of Class X level (last item in the Syllabus of Paper-II) will be tested through passages from English language only without providing Hindi translation thereof in the question paper.
• The questions will be of multiple choice, objective type.
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL99745D4C1B594793
1. Government has approved proposal for introduction of Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) in place of Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination.
2. In CSAT, one of optional subjects which a candidate could have chosen out of 23 optional has been replaced with common paper on aptitude test and hence there is change in syllabus and pattern of Preliminary Examination from 2011 in the scheme of Civil Services Examination.
3. The Preliminary Examination shall now comprise of two compulsory Papers of 200 marks each and of two hours duration each. Detailed below is the new syllabus and pattern of the Preliminary Examination, which is brought to the notice of the prospective candidates intending to appear at the Civil Services Examination (CSE) in 2011 onwards:
Paper I - (200 marks) Duration: Two hours
• Current events of national and international importance
• History of India and Indian National Movement
• Indian and World Geography - Physical, Social, Economic geography of India and the World.
• Indian Polity and Governance – Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
• Economic and Social Development – Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.
• General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change - that do not require subject specialization
• General Science.
Paper II- (200 marks) Duration: Two hours
• Comprehension
• Interpersonal skills including communication skills;
• Logical reasoning and analytical ability
• Decision making and problem solving
• General mental ability
• Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. -Class X level)
• English Language Comprehension skills (Class X level).
• Questions relating to English Language Comprehension skills of Class X level (last item in the Syllabus of Paper-II) will be tested through passages from English language only without providing Hindi translation thereof in the question paper.
• The questions will be of multiple choice, objective type.
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