Civil Service Examination- CSAT in Preliminary Exam and Language Papers in Mains – qualifying papers
Apart from the compulsory papers- whose marks will add up to form the final list- there are some qualifying papers which will have to be cleared with a certain margin or percentage slab in order to be considered for the checking of the compulsory papers. These are involved in both levels of Civil Service Examination- CSAT in Preliminary Exam and Language Papers in Mains. A discussion upon the syllabus and examination pattern has been done below.
Prelims Stage: CSAT
Syllabus of CSAT-
• 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)
Also See : UPSC Exams
Previous Years Questions:
Read the following passage and answer the three items that follow:
A tennis coach is trying to put together a team of four players for the forthcoming tournament. For this 7 players are available: males A, Band C; and females W, X, Y and Z. All players have equal capability and at least 2 males will be there in the team. For a team of four, all players must be able to play with each other. But, B cannot play with W, C cannot play with Z and W cannot play with Y.
45. If Y is selected and B is rejected, the team will consist of which one of the following groups?
a) A, C, Wand Y
b) A, C, X and Y
c) A, C, Y and Z
d) A, W, Y and Z
Q- Five people A, B, C, D and E are, seated about a round table, Every chair is spaced equidistant from adjacent chairs,
I. C is seated next to A.
II. A is seated two seats from D.
III. B is not seated next to A.
Which of the following must be true?
I. D is seated next to B
II. E is seated next to A.
Select the correct answer from the codes given below:
a) I only
b) II only
c) Both I and II
d) Neither I nor II
Mains Level- Language Papers:
Compulsory Language- English
The qualifying papers of English and Hindi:
UPSC says, the papers on Essay, General Studies and Optional Subject of only such candidates will be taken cognizance who attain 30% marks in Indian Language and 25% marks in English as minimum qualifying standards in these qualifying papers.
Syllabus of English:
The aim of the paper is to test the candidate’s ability to read and understand serious discursive prose, and to express his ideas clearly and correctly in English. The pattern of questions would be broadly as follows :-
(i) Comprehension of given passages.
(ii) Precis Writing
(iii) Usage and Vocabulary
(iv) Short Essay
Structure of the paper
The type of questions asked are –
1. Essay – 100 marks
2. Reading comprehension – 60 marks
3. Precis – 60 marks
4. Translation :
a) English to compulsory language (e.g. Hindi) – 20 marks
b) Compulsory language to English – 20 marks
5. Grammar and basic language usage – 40 marks
Note 1 : The Papers on English will be of Matriculation or equivalent standard and will be of qualifying nature only. The marks obtained in these papers will not be counted for ranking.
Note 2 : The candidates will have to answer the English and Indian Languages papers in English and the respective Indian language (except where translation is involved).
Previous Years Question;
Write an essay in about 600 words on any one topic:
- What kind of crisis is India facing-moral or economic?
- Participating in sports helps develop good character.
- Should students be allowed to grade their teachers?
- Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted.
Indian Language:
For the Language medium/ literature of languages, the scripts to be used by the candidates will be as under-
Language Script
Assamese Assamese
Bengali Bengali
Gujarati Gujarati
Hindi Devanagari
Kannada Kannada
Kashmiri Persian
Konkani Devanagari
Malayalam Malayalam
Manipuri Bengali
Marathi Devanagari
Nepali Devanagari
Oriya Oriya
Punjabi Gurumukhi
Sanskrit Devanagari
Sindhi Devanagari or Arabic
Tamil Tamil
Telugu Telugu
Urdu Persian
Bodo Devanagari
Dogri Devanagari
Maithilli Devanagari
Santhali Devanagari or Olchiki
Note: For Santhali language, question paper will be printed in Devanagari script; but candidates will be free to answer either in Devanagari script or in Olchiki.
Note: Paper A will not be compulsory for candidates hailing from the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim.
Most Commonly taken up- Hindi
Only the basics of the language since it is a test of the Hindi ‘language’ is to be covered. No need to go in depth of the Hindi literature and intricate readings of the same. The paper consists of:
Nibandh: Hindi Essay: 2 essays (no choice in the topics) each for 50 marks totalling 100 marks.
Gadyansh: Reading comprehension: 12 passages each for 5 marks totalling 60 marks.
Sankshepan: Précis writing: Here you have to condense a piece of prose given, for 60 marks.
Anuvad: Translation: From English to Hindi (20 marks) and Hindi to English (20 marks) totalling 40 marks.
10 marks questions: Muhavare; Shudhi; Paryayavachi; Yugm (totalling 40 marks)
Booklist:
Samanya Hindi Book by Unique Publications
UPSC question papers of the past 10 years
After the analysis of the syllabuses of the qualifying subjects it can be easily concluded that leaving these on chance will be a foolish mistake to make. The only strategy one can follow is that of continuous practice for these papers. Keep your mind ready for all the possible challenges that might come your way. Be regular.
Happy preparation, guys!
Author: Anushka Mishra
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