General Studies Paper-II (popularly known as CSAT) of the Civil Servicespreliminary examination is a qualifying paper where candidates need to score minimum marks of 33% (total marks allotted to CSAT is 200). With the advent of the internet, resources in terms of books, study materials, video content etc are easily available and hence one can crack the UPSC CSAT exam without coaching. What a candidate should keep in mind is to understand the nature of the exam, strategise, plan and implement well.
| Looking for study material to prepare for the upcoming Civil Services Exam?
Refer to the links below and complement your UPSC exam preparation: |
Civil Services Preliminary Exam Pattern
The preliminary exam is the first stage of the Civil Servicesexamination. The details are given below:
- It comprises two compulsory Papers, namely General Studies Paper 1 and Paper 2. Both papers comprise multiple-choice questions.
- General studies Paper 1 focuses on current events, world geography, history, general science etc.
- General Studies Paper 2 (CSAT) focuses on:
- 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)
- There is negative marking for wrong answers in both Papers. 1/3rd (0.33) of marks assigned to that question will be deducted. The duration of the exam, marks, number of questions in GS 1 and GS 2 of the preliminary exam are given in the table below:
| S.No. | Papers | Number of Questions | Maximum marks | Duration of the Examination |
| 1 | General Studies Paper I | 100 | 200 | 2 hours |
| 2 | General Studies Paper II | 80 | 200 | 2 hours |
- The question papers will be set both in Hindi and English.
- It is mandatory for candidates to appear in both the GS 1 and 2 Papers. If candidates do not appear in both the papers of the preliminary exam, they will get disqualified.
Strategy to Crack UPSC CSAT without Coaching
If you are planning to prepare for CSAT, then:
- Go through the CSAT Syllabus first
- Do a thorough analysis of the CSAT Previous Year Question Papers and understand the trend of the exam.
- If you have the confidence to tackle the CSAT question paper with ease without coaching, then look for resources and prepare a plan.
- Your study plan should include a separate time slot for CSAT preparation. Based on your strengths and weaknesses, determine the number of hours that you would like to spend on CSAT preparation.
- After going through each topic, solve practice questions given in the book or study materials.
- Join mock tests. You can start off with solving sectional tests. Mock tests will improve your confidence level and help you keep a track of your preparation. After attempting mock tests, check your answers and try to understand why you made careless mistakes. Analysis of the exam paper is very important. If you don’t try to correct your mistakes, you are more likely to commit the same mistakes during the actual exam.
- When you think you are ready and you have covered the syllabus and necessary materials, solve the previous year question papers and full-length tests in a simulated environment. Based on your performance in the tests, determine the topics you should focus on. Revise the concepts, formulae and practise accordingly.
Over the years the difficulty level of the CSAT exam has increased and therefore you should not take the CSAT exam lightly! If you clear the cut-off for Paper-1 but do not qualify in paper-2, you will not be eligible to write the main examination. Therefore, based on your strengths and weaknesses, you need to decide if you want to do self-study or join a coaching institute.
Books and Study Materials for the CSAT Examination
The following tables comprise a list of books, website links to various study materials for English, Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Aptitude.
- Logical Reasoning
Go through the article on3 sutras to prepare for reasoning ability. This article will help you get an overview of topics that are very important for UPSC as well as other competitive exams.
| Statement and Conclusions | Reasoning Analogies | Data Sufficiency |
| Order & Ranking | Seating Arrangements | Logical Reasoning |
Books for Logical Reasoning
| S.No. | Name of Books | Name of Authors/Other Publications |
| 1. | A Modern Approach to Verbal and Non Verbal Reasoning | R. S. Agarwal, S.Chand Publications |
| 2. | A New Approach to Reasoning: Verbal, and Non-Verbal and Analytical | B. S Sijwali & Indu Sijwali, Arihant Publications |
| 4. | How to Crack Test of Reasoning: In All Competitive Examinations | Jaikishan and Premkishan, Arihant Publications |
- Quantitative Aptitude (Basic Arithmetic Skill):
Important areas pertaining to quantitative aptitude are listed below. You can also refer to the Quantitative Aptitude page to brush up your arithmetic skills.
Books for Quantitative Aptitude
| S.No. | Name of Books | Name of Authors/Other Publications |
| 1. | Quantitative Aptitude Quantum CAT | Sarvesh K. Verma, Arihant Publications |
| 2. | How to Prepare for Quantitative Aptitude for CAT | Arun Sharma |
| 3. | Quantitative Aptitude for Competitive Examinations | R.S. Aggarwal, S.Chand Publications |
Comprehension and English
Reading a good newspaper is very important to improve your reading skills. Ensure that you increase your reading speed overtime and critically analyse what you are reading. You can refer to the following resources for English and Comprehension.
Books and Other Resources for Comprehension and English Language
| S.No. | Name of Books and Other Resources | Name of Authors/Other Publications |
| 1. | Oxford English Grammar Course: Advanced | Michael Swan and Catherine Walter |
| 2. | Oxford English Grammar Course: Intermediate | Michael Swan and Catherine Walter |
| 3. | Advanced English Grammar | Martin Hewings |
| 4. | High School English Grammar and Composition | H. Martin and P. C. Wren |
| 5. | Word Power Made Easy | Norman Lewis |
| 6. | Newspaper | The Hindu OR The Indian Express |
If at any time you feel that self-study is not working for you, you can always join coaching. You should understand where you stand when it comes to your marks in CSAT mock papers. If you think coaching will help you improve your scores, don’t hesitate to join one. However, if you are doing well in CSAT mock tests and are able to achieve a good score, then continue with your self-study plan.
Related Links
Comments