Syllabus for CSAT. Many candidates are in a confused state of mind. I am
suggesting here a Tentative Book List to start with. I will update it as
and when I receive inputs from my Batchmates. Here the edge will be with
people who are smart in English Language, Quick Mathematics & Reasoning
Skills & Good Grounding in Current Events & General Knowledge. Both papers
are of equal weightage, so EQUAL ATTENTION must be given. Practice of
simple maths, verbal & non-verbal reasoning of Bank PO Standard will help
as Social Science students are generally poor in these things (me
included). Don't go for CAT standard as they will not help & that kind of
brain is not needed in Civil Services. The Approach for CSAT will be
different & it will depend on HOW MUCH INTEREST YOU CAN GENERATE TO
REPETEDLY PRACTISE PAPER 2 sample questions. Read the text books in both
papers & only then solve MCQs. Don't jump on the MCQs the moment you see
them. Basic ground rules must be known before you start practising …
Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) 2011 would consist Paper I and Paper
II. Applicants having full knowledge of the English will have better
chance to succeed in CSAT 2011.
Paper 1
Pattern:
Total Marks: 200
Duration: 2 Hours
Syllabus:-
• Current events of national and international importance >>>>
1. THE HINDU
2. WIZARD CURRENT EVENTS FOR PRELIMS
3. VAJIRAM CURRENT EVENTS BOOKLETS (OPTIONAL,IF YOU HAVE TIME)
• History of India and Indian national movement
1. SPECTRUM MODERN INDIA
2. MEDIEVAL & ANCIENT – NCERT or WIZARD BOOKLETS (In 20-25 pages)
• Indian and World Geography- physical, social, economic geography of
India and the world >>>> NCERT 11TH & 12TH 4 BOOKS
1. FUNDAMENTAL OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
2. INDIA PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
3. FUNDAMENTALS OF HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
4. INDIA – PEOPLE & ECONOMY
• Indian Polity and governance – constitution, political system,
panchayati raj, public policy, Rights issues, etc. >>>>> NCERT POLITICAL
SCIENCE BOOKS 11TH & 12TH
1. INDIAN CONSTITUTION AT WORK (IMPORTANT)
2. OUR CONSTITUTION By SUBHASH KASHYAP or D D BASU (BETTER)
YOU CAN DOWNLOAD NCERT TEXTBOOKS FROM NCERT WEBSITE.
http://www.ncert.nic.in/index1.html
• Economic and social development – sustainable development, poverty,
inclusion, demographics, social sector initiatives etc.
1. NCERT INDIAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (CLASS XI)
2. ECONOMIC SURVEY 2010-11
3. UMA KAPILA (OPTIONAL)
• General issues on environmental ecology, bio-diversity and climate
change-that donot require subject specialization >>>>>
1. YOJANA (will help)
2. THE HINDU (articles on these topics)
3. INDIA YEAR BOOK 2011 & MANORAMA YEAR BOOK 2011 (OCCASSIONAL READING)
• General science
1. NCERT 9TH,10TH
2. TATA McGRAW HILL GUIDE (SCIENCE,MENTAL ABILITY & GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
SECTIONS)
Paper 2
Pattern:
Total Marks: 200
Duration : 2 Hours
This paper holds the key as many will not be comfortable with the pattern
of questions & the surprise elements. Still, we can hope that UPSC will
ask simple questions this year, at least. Be prepared for it. Plan a nice
strategy to deal this paper. Read thoroughly all BASIC TEXT BOOKS & then
solve MCQs. Be meticulous as you were with the optional paper in earlier
Preliminary.
Syllabus :-
• Comprehension
1. Comprehension 1, 2 and 3 Student Books (with Keys) by D'Arcy
Adrian-Vallance, Lewis Lansford
Pearson Longman Publication (May be helpful. Not needed for those whose
command over English is good.)
See the link for download: -
http://www.ebook3000.com/Comprehension-1--2-and-3-Student-Books--with-Keys-_82408.html
2. You can also search Scribd for books on Comprehension & other subjects
like Decision Making & Problem Solving.
• Interpersonal skills including communication skills
1. The Seven Challenges Workbook A Guide to Cooperative Communication
Skills for Success at Home and at Work by Dennis Rivers. DOWNLOAD LINK -
http://www.newconversations.net/communication_skills_workbook_summary_and_toc.htm
THE QUESTIONS MAY NOT COME DIRECTLY FROM THIS BOOK. BUT IT WILL GIVE YOU
AN IDEA ABOUT WHAT TO READ & SOME THEMES & ISSUES IN COMMUNICATION.
2. YOU CAN ALSO READ "COMMUNICATION" CHAPTER FROM BOOKS LIKE
ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR by STEPHEN P. ROBBINS, ESSENTIALS OF MANAGEMENT
by KOONTZ & WEIRICH TO GET SOME THEORETICAL CONCEPTS. THEY WILL HELP &
QUESTIONS MAY COME FROM THEM.
• Logical reasoning and analytical ability
1. VERBAL & NON-VERBAL REASONING by R S AGARWAL
2. ANALYTICAL REASONING by R S AGARWAL
• Decision making and problem solving
1. SEARCH "PROBLEM SOLVING", "TECHNIQUES OF PROBLEM SOLVING", "DECISION
MAKING", "TECHNIQUES OF DECISION MAKING" ETC IN GOOGLE & WIKIPEDIA & READ
SOME 30-50 PAGES ON THEM.YOU CAN ALSO READ CHAPTERS LIKE DECISION MAKING
FROM ROBBINS,KOONTZ WEIRICH TO HAVE THEORETICAL KNOWLEDGE.
THEY MAY ASK: -
What is the technique of Problem Solving in which we solve the problem in
a model of the system before applying it to the real system?
Ans: - Abstraction (Source: - Wikipedia)
2. VERBAL & NON-VERBAL REASONING by R S AGARWAL
3. ANALYTICAL REASONING by R S AGARWAL
• General mental ability
1. GENERAL MENTAL ABILITY SECTION OF TATA McGRAW HILL GUIDE
2. FOCUS SHOULD BE ON PROBABILITY, PERMUTATIONS & COMBINATIONS & OTHER
AREAS WHICH HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY ASKED BY UPSC IN PRELIMINARY EXAM LAST 3
YEARS 2008,09 & 10.
3. VERBAL & NON-VERBAL REASONING by R S AGARWAL or ANALYTICAL REASONING by
R S AGARWAL
• Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude etc.
(Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data
sufficiency etc. –Class X level)
1. Quantitative Aptitude by R S Agarwal(MUST BE READ THOROUGHLY)
2. QUICKER MATHS (MAGICAL BOOK SERIES) by M. Tyra(SHOULD BE READ
THOROUGHLY)
• English language comprehension skills (Class X level)
READ ANY TWO BOOKS.OCCASSIONAL READING OF 1-2 CHAPTERS IN FREE TIME WILL
HELP.
1. A Practical English Grammar (Thomson & Martinet )
2. A University Grammar of English by Quirk and Greenbaum (Better.But
don't know whether it is available with Sood or Jawahar Book Depo.,Ber
Sarai)
3. High School English Grammar & Composition by Wren and Martin
YOU NEED NOT READ ALL THESE BOOKS IN DETAIL. BUT, SOME BASIC STUDY OF
THESE TEXTS WILL CERTAINLY HELP IN INCREASING YOUR CONFIDENCE LEVEL TO
HANDLE PAPER 2 IN CSAT.YOU CAN READ LIKE THIS :-
ONE CHAPTER FROM THOMSON & MARTINET
ONE CHAPTER FROM QUANTITATIVE APTITUDE BY R S AGARWAL
COMMUNICATIONS CHAPTER FROM ROBBINS
ONE CHAPTER FROM M TYRA
& THEN SOLVE ALL MCQS FROM THE CHAPTERS U HAVE READ.
THE IDEA IS TO GAIN EXTENSIVE KNOWLEDGE IN A SPAN OF 6-8 MONTHS.DON'T GO
TOO DEEP.JUST 1 CM DEEP,BUT 1O KM WIDE ...IN PAPER 2 REMEMBER SOME
FORMULAE,WRITE THEM DOWN IN XEROX PAPERS & PASTE NEAR UR STUDY TABLE SO
THAT U CAN REVISE THEM MANY TIMES ...
BON VOYAGE!
May 3, 2010 11:34 PM
INTERVIEW PREPARATION FOR IAS : PART II :-
by Dr, Bijay Ketan Upadhyaya, IAS
THE MOTHER OF ALL INTERVIEWS : PART II :-
16. PREPARE YOUR STATE & DISTRICT THOROUGHLY.FOR THIS TAKE HELP FROM YOUR
STATE GOVT WEBSITE, ITS SOCIAL WELFARE, INDUSTRIES DEPT, STATISTICS ABOUT
YOUR STATE, DISTRICT, TOURISM SECTOR, SOCIAL SECTOR SCHEMES IN YOUR STATE,
DISTRICT ETC.
17. YOUR PREPARATION FOR INTERVIEW SHOULD START FROM JANUARY 1 ONWARDS SO
THAT YOU GET 3 MONTHS TIME TO PREPARE.
18. READ SOME LATEST GOOD NOVELS OR NON-FICTION BOOKS.
19. REGULARLY LISTEN TO ALL INDIA RADIO NEWS AND DISCUSSIONS AT 2-2.30 PM
& 9-10 PM.
20. YOU CAN DOWNLOAD ALL DISCUSSIONS IN ALL INDIA RADIO & BBC
DOCUMENTARIES FROM INTERNET & LISTEN TO THEM AGAIN & AGAIN.AFTER LISTENING
TO ONE DISCUSSION 2 TIMES TRY TO SPEAK 2-3 MINUTES ON THE SAME TOPIC & TRY
TO EMULATE THE WAY THE GUESTS SPOKE IN THAT TALK.THIS IS A GOOD WAY TO
IMPROVE YOUR SPOKEN ENGLISH & EXPRESSIVE POWER.
21. ANSWER EXACTLY WHAT THEY HAVE ASKED.DON'T BEAT AROUND THE BUSH.DON'T
SAY SOMETHING WHICH THEY HAVE NOT ASKED.BE PRECISE & TO THE POINT.SPEAK
THE MOST IMPORTANT POINT FIRST & THEN TELL OTHER POINTS IN THE ORDER OF
THEIR IMPORTANCE.
22. WHEN ONE VIEW BASED QUESTION IS ASKED TAKE 5-10 SECONDS & THEN ANSWER
ELABORATELY FOR 2-3 MINUTES.IF THEY STOP YOU INBETWEEN,THEN STOP & LISTEN
TO WHAT THEY ARE SAYING.BE A GOOD LISTENER.
23. UNLESS YOUR STAND IS PROVED WRONG, STICK TO YOUR STAND.DON'T CHANGE
YOUR VIEW JUST BECAUSE THEY COUNTER-QUESTIONED YOU.
24. WHEN THEY LAUGH OR SAY THAT YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS TOPIC …
REMAIN COOL, STICK TO YOUR POINT.THEY ARE JUST TESTING YOUR CONFIDENCE
LEVEL & SEEING HOW YOU REACT TO SUCH A SITUATION.
25. THEY ARE BASICALLY TESTING YOUR ATTITUDE, CONFIDENCE LEVEL, CHARACTER
AND PERSONALITY.SO GIVE MORE EMPHASIS TO VIEW-BASED QUESTIONS.
26. MOREOVER, HELD YOUR HEAD HIGH & BE CONFIDENT THROUGHOUT THE INTERVIEW.
27. WHEN YOU DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER THEN CONFIDENTLY SAY : "SORRY SIR,I DO
NOT KNOW THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION".THERE IS NOTHING TO BE AFRAID OF OR
FEEL EMBARASSED …
28. IF YOU WANT COACHING THEN GO FOR SAMKALP & VAJIRAM & RAVI. BUT FOR
INTERVIEW PREPARATION 2-3 LIKE-MINDED & EQUALLY MOTIVATED FRIENDS CAN DO
WONDERS.THEY CAN POINT OUT YOUR WEAKNESSES & CAN ASK YOU VARIETY OF
QUESTIONS ... SO GROUP DISCUSSION WITH FRIENDS IS BETTER.IF YOU ARE GIVING
INTERVIEW FOR THE FIRST TIME,THEN TAKE HELP OF COACHING.
29. THAY CAN ASK MANY INNOVATIVE QUESTIONS LIKE PROMINENT PERSONALITIES
BORN ON YOUR DATE OF BIRTH,HOW YOU RESEMBLE THEM ETC. SO BE PREPARED FOR
SURPRISES.BUT TACKLE THEM WITH FULL CONFIDENCE ...
30. YOUR GRADUATION SUBJECT & YOUR OPTIONALS.REFRESH YOUR MEMORY.JUST
BROWSE THROUGH IMPORTANT TERMS WHICH A LAYMAN CAN ASK YOU ABOUT THESE
SUBJECTS.FOR EX,IF YOUR SUBJECT IS PSYCHOLOGY THEY MAY ASK : WHAT IS
PSYCHOANALYSIS ? CAN YOU PERFORM PSYCHOANALYSIS ON SONIA GANDHI ? SHE
SEEMS MYSTERIOUS.WAS FREUD AN ECCENTRIC GENIUS ? HOW CAN PSYCHOLOGY HELP
YOU IN YOUR CARRER AS AN ADMINISTRATOR ? PSYCHOLOGY IS "DEFINITELY" NOT A
SCIENCE ... WHAT IS YOUR VIEW ON IT ? TELL US ABOUT DIFFERENT BRANCHES OF
PSYCHOLOGY & WHICH BRANCH YOU LIKE THE MOST & WHY ?YOU GRADUATED IN
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING(SAY) BUT YOU TOOK PSYCHOLOGY & PUB AD AS OPTIONALS
... WHY ? ETC.
THE QUESTIONS THAT CAN BE GENERATED ARE ENDLESS.THE MORE YOU THINK
BEFORE-HAND THE BETTER PREPARED YOU ARE ... AS "FORTUNE FAVOURS THE
PREPARED MIND".
BELIEVE THAT "LUCK IS JUST ANOTHER NAME FOR PURE HARDWORK ...
I THINK THIS GIVES ENOUGH INDICATION.IF ANY SPECIFIC QUERIES U CAN ASK …
ALL THE BEST ..
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