UPSC Civil Services Prelims exam pattern includes CSAT paper which carries 80 questions with a weightage of 200 marks. Being a qualifying exam, aspirants usually overlook its importance. In this article, we have provided effective steps that will help to prepare for the CSAT paper.
UPSC Civil Services (Prelims) 2021 - CSAT Syllabus
Before beginning your preparation it is necessary that you go through the syllabus for the CSAT paper. The CSAT paper syllabus is broadly divided into the following categories:
- Reading Comprehension
- Interpersonal skills including communication skills;
- Logical reasoning and analytical ability
- Decision making and problem-solving ability
- General mental ability
One of the most tricky areas of CSAT paper is comprehension while Basic numeracy, General Mental Ability, and Logical reasoning are of higher difficulty and may take time to solve if not practiced. Given the uncertainty of the CSAT paper and the low cut-off, aspirants can follow the below-mentioned tricks to qualify the exam.
Tips to Prepare for the UPSC IAS Prelims CSAT Paper
Devote your maximum time for the preparation of your GS Paper I but allot a one hour slot for the preparation of GS Paper-II I;e CSAT paper. As compared to Paper I, the CSAT is defined and can easily be prepared if you dedicate one hour for its preparation daily.
★ Identify your Weakest Area - For identifying your weakest subject, you can solve previous year papers of UPSC Civil Service Exams. This will not only help you in the practice but also know your strong and weak areas.
★ Time Management - While attempting the practice papers it is necessary that you take into consideration the time you spend in solving each question. One should practice more to reduce the average time spent on solving a question.
★ Identify your Strong Subjects - It is recommended that once a candidate knows his strong subjects, he/she should solve questions from that section first. This will not only help them feel confident about their preparation but also assess their performance and not panic if stuck on a tricky question.