Civils Marathon X: CSAT - Prelims paper II

History of CSAT

Civils prelims examination contains two papers. The first paper is General Studies and the second paper is CSAT. (Civil Services Aptitude Test.) .This was introduced in 2011 to test the candidates analytical skills. This paper contains 80 objective type ( MCQ) questions. Each question carries 2.5 marks. Negative marking is also there. One third of the maximum marks will be deducted. The duration of the examination is two hours. The language is English or Hindi.

This paper is a qualifying paper with 33 per cent of 100 marks i.e. 66 marks. For a wrong answer, candidate will lose 0.83 marks.

If the candidate is not qualified in this paper, paper I will not be counted. There was a lot of agitation with respect to this paper and in 2014, Government of India has announced that CSAT will be only a qualifying paper from 2015 onwards.

GS paper II in mains examination is Polity. There should be no confusion .

Lot of agitation took place during the year 2014 to convince the Government of India and UPSC that the compulsion of English language for the candidates is a hurdle. It even went up to Parliament Street with slogans and finally the Government of India has taken a decision to make this a qualifying paper only. The candidates, while preparing, ignore this paper with the confidence that they can easily get 66/200 marks. The level of mathematics is of the standard of 10th class. But those who have completed their Post-graduation or Engineering subjects might have forgotten the basics. They should acclimatize themselves with the basic theories of Mathematics. Practice makes a man perfect. Don't neglect this paper with the assumption that you can easily get over. There are many candidates who fail to get minimum marks and they have lost the chance. So keep track of the essentials of this paper and be confident to answer them within 120 minutes..

♦ Maths bricks to break CSAT BRICS

Candidates should not ignore the CSAT paper, thinking it is only a qualifying paper. If candidates feel that their general English comprehension and basic mathematics skills are not up to the mark, they should spend a decent amount of time on this paper. Download the previous papers and solve them as many as you can.

CSAT 2021 paper

The first four questions were based on four passages to be answered.

1. What are the logical assumptions that can be made from the passage given above:

Ans: It is the duty of everyone to propagate some religious denomination. ( only one example is given as a sample out of 4. This is not the answer)

2. Which among the following is the most logical and rational inference that can be made from the passage given above:

Ans: It is impossible for men to establish a good Dominion.(sample answer-not correct answer)

3. With reference to the above passage the following assumptions have been made:

Ans: Occurrence of inequality is detrimental to the survival of democracy.

4. Which of the following statements best reflects the crux of the passage given above:

Ans: Education of all citizens ensures a perfect, functional and sustainable democracy.

5 to 9 questions are on mental ability 10 to 13 questions are passages

In Mathematics, one question is - Which day is 10th october 2027

Answer: Sunday, Monday, Friday, Saturday

In case the candidate is not proficient in English, he can concentrate on other aspects of the paper. The main constraint is two hours duration. Answer previous question papers to gain confidence.

The following books are recommended for study.

1. CSAT paper II manual by Madhukar Kumar Bhagat

2. CSAT paper II by Arihant

3. Analytical reasoning by MK Pandey

4. Verbal and non-verbal reasoning by RS Agarwal.

Serious candidates do not need to memorize or go through multiple books. Take tests

to manage two hours duration to answer 80 questions .If the Candidate leaves a question blank in the O M R answer sheet, no marks will be deducted. Don't be under tension to answer this paper. Some candidates did not attend the evening examination for the fear that they did not do well with the first paper in the morning. However they will be losing an attempt. Good luck.

(Author is retired Additional Director General, Doordarshan, Delhi)