UPSC CDS 2020: Preparation hacks to score more; tips and tricks
by Careers DeskBy: Careers Desk | New Delhi | Updated: January 31, 2020 1:37:22 pm
UPSC CDS 2020 is scheduled to be conducted on February 2
UPSC CDS 2020: The UPSC CDS 2020 exam is on February 2. It is a crucial exam for all the candidates who dream of serving esteemed armed forces. Once you are done with the exam, CDS answer key can be checked to calculate scores of English, mathematics, general knowledge papers separately.
Your target should be to score not only as much as past year CDS cut-offs, but to score as much as you can. This is because there is no constant in cut-offs and they keep changing, so even if they go high this time, you should be able to clear them.
Hard work, dedication and a calm collected mind during exam will surely give you your best CDS result and you will be able to qualify for SSB.
To help you add more marks in your total score, here we are with some quick tips that will help you during the exam
1. When you get the CDS question paper, first read all the questions
To get started with, candidates should, first of all, read the question paper carefully as soon as they receive it. There is a possibility that the easy questions are given in the last and if they start solving instead of reading, then they might not reach the section that can actually help them to score better. Why we are saying this because all the four sets almost have the same questions which are just shuffled. So, there are chances that easy questions might be scattered or given in the last.
2. Time will be your greatest friend, as well as your worst enemy during exam
As you can see in your CDS admit card and the notification, you will get two hours only for each paper. In only 120 minutes each, you will have to solve 100 math questions, 120 GK questions, and 120 English questions. Remember that time management is a prominent part of the exam strategy. Students should maintain their maximum efficiency in the first hour of the exam and should solve the questions that they are fully confident of during this time.
Time management is specifically required in maths and English paper where candidates have to solve the questions or do the reordering of sentences or reading of the passage.
3. Cross-check maths answers before marking in OMR sheet
In maths paper, we suggest that candidates should mark the answers in OMR sheets, once they are done solving at least 5-6 questions. This way they will get some time to review their answers before finally marking them. Also, efficiency and flow will not get disturbed. If a candidate is solving the Maths paper in English then they can use the Hindi section to do the rough work and vice versa. Candidates can solve the lengthy papers of trigonometry or statistics at the end of the paper.
4. First solve the maths question and then look at the options (may not always work though…)
While solving the maths questions, candidates should avoid checking the options first. They should solve the questions by using the method known to them and then they can look at the options. It is possible that the presence of wrong answers in the option list, might impact the answer of the candidates.
5. Use elimination method in General Knowledge
In the General Knowledge paper, we suggest that candidates should use the elimination method. Even if the candidate is sure about the answer, still they should check each and every option and then mark the most suitable one. There might be two correct options available, but the candidate has to choose the best one, by using the elimination method.
6. Attempt these questions first in English
In English paper, candidates should not waste their maximum time in the section where they have to do the reordering of the sentence or reading of the passage. Instead, they should go for the easy questions first and then they can solve the remaining ones.
7. Remember, there will be negative marking in the CDS exam
Without taking the negative marking lightly, candidates should be very clear about the questions they are going to answer. Understand it in this way, say if a candidate has answered one right questions and given wrong answers of three, then the wrong answers will eat-up the marks of the right one. By doing this, the chances of clearing the individual cut-off also become minimal. Hence, candidates should stick to the questions they are 100 per cent sure of.
8. Do not waste time in calculating number of attempted questions
Avoid calculating the number of questions attempted during the exam. In the duration of two hours, candidates should focus on solving the question paper by avoiding any such distractions. Candidates can check the attempted questions once they are done solving the question paper.
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