How Do I Prepare UPSC GS PAPPER II 2023? | UPSC CSAT 2023

CSAT or Civil Services Aptitude Test 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

Maximum Marks: 200

CSAT qualifying marks: 66 marks (33% qualifying criteria)

CSAT Syllabus – GS Paper II – UPSC Prelims 2023

The CSAT (Civil Services Aptitude Test) syllabus for UPSC 2023 .

1. Comprehension
2. Interpersonal skills including communication skills
3. Logical reasoning and analytical ability
4. Decision-making and problem-solving
5. General mental ability
6. Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency, etc. – Class X level)

Best books for CSAT 2023 (GS Paper II):

• CSAT Paper – 2 Manual by TMH
• Analytical Reasoning – M. K. Pandey
• Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning – R. S. Aggarwal

However, since the CSAT exam in UPSC CSE was made qualifying in 2015, candidates need to score only 33% to qualify for Mains, provided they score above the cut off in UPSC Prelims – GS Paper I. 

The qualifying nature and the level X standard questions in CSAT mean that serious candidates do not need to memorise or go through multiple books.

First, all candidates should try to solve UPSC previous year question papers for CSAT and then decide on a preparation strategy.

CSAT marking scheme:

The CSAT paper consists of 80 questions which the candidate has to finish in the allotted time of 2 hours only.

Each question carries 2.5 marks in the CSAT paper making the total to 200 marks.

Candidates must remember that there is negative marking in the CSAT paper.

For every incorrect answer, the candidate is penalised 1/3rd of the total marks allotted to that question, i.e., 0.83 marks will be cut.

If a question is not attempted, i.e., the candidate leaves it blank on the OMR sheet, no marks will be cut for that question.

CSAT strategy for IAS Prelims 2023:

Candidates should not ignore the CSAT paper thinking it is only a qualifying paper.

If candidates feel that their general English comprehension and basic math skills are not up to the mark, they should spend a decent amount of time on the CSAT paper.

This holds true especially for aspirants from the humanities and arts background who have not been in touch with such subjects ever since their school days.

For those candidates who are at ease with the type of questions asked in the CSAT paper, practising the adequate number of UPSC previous years’ question papers for CSAT will do.

But if candidates do not practice the CSAT question papers, it would be very difficult to complete the 80 questions in the prescribed time limit of two hours.

Remember, candidates should score at least 66 marks. If they do not qualify, even very high marks in the GS paper I will not help them clear the IAS prelims stage.

For candidates to increase their speed in solving math questions in the CSAT paper, they can take help from certain well-used math's tricks.

Questions from data interpretation, logical reasoning, etc. are generally easy but if the candidate is unfamiliar with them, answering them can be a tricky affair. This is where practice becomes essential.

Also, some of the CSAT questions are lengthy and rather time-consuming. It becomes doubly important for candidates to practice mock test papers or enroll for a reliable CSAT test series.

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