About IAS Prelims 2012

IAS Prelims 2012 was based on the new pattern which consists of two papers, i.e. General Studies and CSAT. IAS prelims in 2012 marked the following continuity and changes vis-à-vis last year:

1.The weightage of sections like History and Polity increased in 2012, last year the weightage was low for these traditional subjects.  In past, if we keep aside the last two years as exception these two sections were given high weightage in IAS prelims. Thus this year the trend has been more or less what it used to be if we keep aside the last two years as exceptions.

2.The close and confusing choices are hallmark of the IAS exam prelims. This year too, the trend was clearly visible in almost all the questions.

3.The weightage of Economy section got reduce this year as compared to the last year. Also this year the questions on Economy were much more direct and less time consuming.

4.The Science section in IAS prelims 2012 was entirely based on the application type. The applications along with the fundamentals were required to solve the questions.

5.The difficulty level of the questions in IAS 2012 prelims based on Science and its application was almost same as compared to the last year

6.In IAS prelims 2012 the CSAT paper was of same difficulty level as of last year.

7.Paper 2 of IAS prelims 2012 was just not about the aptitude but also about the time management and optimization.

8.The Reading Comprehensions were very length as compared to the last year IAS prelims.

9.The Reading Comprehensions were tougher for the students who were from Hindi medium as these passages were originally from English language which was further translated.

10.The optimization and management of time in the paper like this thus becomes the key to success in the cut throat competition like this.

11.The questions on Arithmetic and Mathematical calculations were very less this year. The number of questions on Mathematical calculations were replaced by the questions based on the Reasoning.

12.The expected Cut off in the IAS 2012 is about 200 marks.

13.As per the previous trends, the 90 marks in Paper I  and about 110 to 115 marks would make a good score to clear the cut offs of the exam.

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IAS cut off: Strategies, Ways and Means to achieve it!

Clearing IAS cut off is the first and foremost aim of ever civil services aspirant. In this section we would like to talk about the means and ways to clear IAS cut off.  It is not the aptitude that would count but also the mental toughness and presence of mind would also play an equal role. The following strategy is advisable to clear the exam:

1. Practice as many questions as possible to clear the IAS cut off.

2. It is advisable to solve the previous year question papers.

3. On must go through the question papers of previous two years as many times as possible.

4. Try to analyze the question from different perspectives. If you are able make a guess that why the particular question has been asked in the G.S. question paper, you can predict a few questions for the forthcoming paper as well.  

5. There would be a context to every question that is been asked in the G.S paper. Thus be familiar with the current happenings across the globe. Not just the events but there context is also very important. 

6. It is essential to know the areas where one is weak and strong at.

7. Few subjects like Economics, Geography and Environment cannot be ignored at any cost.

8. In Paper 2, the difficulty level of Mathematics is of High School level. Thus if one practice this section well, it will pay high returns.

9. There are always questions on topics like Time and Distance, Probability, Permutation and Combinations. These topics should be covered from all the dimensions. One must practice the questions on this very meticulously.

10.  Reasoning is also one of the areas where difficulty level is not very high. Reasonable number of questions practiced from this area will yield very good premium.

11. As far as reasoning is concerned it is expected that the difficulty level would go up in the future years. Thus one must be ready to see unexpected questions from this particular section.

12. Data interpretation is the area which is little bit tricky, but again the mastery can be gained with optimum practice.

13. Even if one is very strong in one area, or a particular area has been one of the subjects during the academic life, one should always revise the area at least once before the prelims.