CSAT(Civil Service Aptitude Test)- Prelims Paper 2

UPSC CSAT Paper 2 :

CSAT Meaning:

The full form of CSAT is the Civil Services Aptitude Test. It was introduced as a part of the UPSC Civil Services Exam (Preliminary) to test the analytical skills, reasoning ability and aptitude of UPSC aspirants.

UPSC CSAT SYLLABUS AND STRATEGY FOR UPSC PRELIMS:

CSAT Exam Pattern:

- CSAT or Civil Services Aptitude Test was introduced in 2011 to test candidates’ analytical skills. It is the second paper in the UPSC Prelims. Officially, it is known as General Studies Paper-II.

The CSAT exam pattern for UPSC:

- Number of questions: 80 Objective-Type (MCQ) questions
- Negative Marking: Yes (1/3rd of the maximum marks for the question)
- Time: 2 hours
- Type of Exam: Offline exam
- Language of CSAT exam paper: English/Hindi
- Maximum Marks: 200
- CSAT qualifying marks: 66 marks (33% qualifying criteria)

Syllabus (CSAT PAPER 2): 200 marks with 100 Questions (Qualifying Nature)

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)

UPSC CSAT Pattern of Marking:

Marking Scheme

- Total Marks: 200
  Number of Questions: 80
  Marks per Question: 2.5
  Negative Marking: 1/3rd of the marks assigned to the question (i.e., 0.83 marks deducted for every wrong answer).

Key Points about Marking

- Correct Answer: +2.5 marks for each correct response.
  Incorrect Answer: -0.83 marks deducted for each incorrect response.
  Unattempted Question: No marks awarded or deducted.
  Minimum Qualifying Marks: 33% of the total marks, i.e., 66 marks out of 200.

Impact of Negative Marking

- Accuracy is crucial. Blind guessing can reduce your overall score significantly.
- Only attempt questions where you’re reasonably confident.

Example Calculation

Suppose you attempt 60 questions:

Correct: 45 questions = 45×2.5=112.5
Incorrect: 15 questions = 15×0.83=12.45
Net Score: 112.5−12.45=100.05

Thus, you would qualify (as the score is above 66). For more clarification or mock tests, let me know!

Important Books:

A Modern Approach to Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning by Dr.R.S.Aggarwal (Reasoning)
Civil Services Aptitude Test by Arihant or R S Aggarwal.
Analytical Reasoning by M.K. Pandey (for quick Comprehensions) or Lucent General English
RS Aggarwal or Arun Sharma : Logical Reasoning
- English: Word Power Made Easy
Examlife Test Series

If a candidate gives more than one answer, it will be treated as a wrong answer even if one of the given answers happen to be correct and there will be same penalty as above for that question.

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CSAT Detailed Syllabus

CSAT Paper 2

Part A

Sentence Improvement.
Spotting Errors.
Prepositions.
Fill in the blanks.
Idioms and Phrases.
Sentence Arrangement.
Antonyms.
Passage Completion.
Synonyms.
Error Correction (Phrase inBold).
Joining Sentences.
Error Correction(Underlined Part).
Substitution.
Active Voice and Passive Voice.
Sentence Completion.
Para Completion.

Part B

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).