The UPSC CSE-2022 Prelims Exam is just around the corner. It will be held on 5th June 2022. The preliminary exam has two objective-type papers- General Studies Part I, and General Studies Part II. These exams, collectively, are called the Civil Service Aptitude Test or CSAT. General Studies Part II, basically referred to as CSAT’s marks are not included in the prelims cut off but the candidate must qualify in it to appear in the Mains Exam. The Candidate who does not qualify for the CSAT or General Studies Part II paper is not eligible to sit in the mains examination. CSAT exams are like screening tests that candidates need to clear for appearing in UPSC mains. Candidates are required to score 33 % marks to clear these exams and appear on the Mains examination list.
Before appearing for this examination, every serious UPSC aspirant seeks the necessary guidelines to follow during the CSAT for better results. 2018 batch IFS officer Anupam Sharma who has already written important suggestions for the UPSC prelims exam, in a long thread on his Twitter account, came up with another tweet thread focused on the CSAT examination. He shared important tips and tricks with aspirants on how to qualify UPSC prelims CSAT examination.
Strategy for UPSC Prelims CSAT
His first thread of tweets says, “Solve past question papers 2011-2021: Start from latest (2021), Then Move back, Do 1 paper per day, Set 2 hour alarm and try to complete within. You can give 15-20 min extra for the initial 3-4 papers.
“You should give avg1.5-2 minutes per Question (assuming attempts – 60 out of 80); Max 3-4 minutes per question (Use Stopwatch here).Check Answers from Official Key.”
Analysis of PYQs
His second tweet was related to the analysis of previous years’ questions papers (PYQs). He said, “Analyse PYQs, particularly Maths/Quant/DI and Logical Reasoning. For Questions, you couldn’t answer (within 3-4 min) or answered wrong, check the Solution from Solved Papers. Understand it better and try to memorize its methodology.
“Repeat this process for every paper (2021-2011).”
Categorize
In his third tweet, Mr. Sharma describes the importance of the categorization of CSAT areas. He said, “Ultimately you will know broadly 2 areas of Questions: 1-Manageable/Strong: which you usually solve in less than 3 minutes with decent accuracy. 2- Unmanageable/Weak: unsolvable for you, or, taking more than 3 minutes, or, poor accuracy. You just need to work on this from starting.”
Do not waste time
In his fourth tweet, Mr. Sharma said, “During the exam, avoid solving or wasting time on Questions from your weak areas. It will save time. Focus mainly on questions from your strong areas. For example, 30/30 English, 15/30 Math, and 15/20 Logical. No such questions should be left unseen.
“If English passages take time, then attempt Math + Logical first.”
UPSC Aspirants Are Praising Him For This Thread
IFS officer Anupam Sharma is getting much praise and love for his suggestion on the UPSC exam. UPSC aspirants are reacting to his tweets and thanking him for them. One of the users said, “2021 CSAT was the toughest. If the same pattern repeats this year too, then solving PYQs of 2011-16 won’t help much, as the pattern is a bit different. I scored above 100 in 2011-16 CSAT PYQs, but I scored 10 marks below the cut-off in 2021 paper.”
While one user thanked and praised him, writing, “Excellent and mesmeric thread Sir, u have no idea about the way you are helping aspirants, you are making an enormous impact on students, your passion for teaching is contagious. Mind-blowing points of the thread.”
Another user said, “Efforts put forth by students plus suggestions given by Anupam Sir through this thread increase the probability of cracking UPSC for aspirants. Infinite times thanks Sir, you are amazing.”
Read More: Do’s And Don’t For UPSC Prelims Examination
