CSAT stands for Civil Services Aptitude Test. It is a part of the UPSC Prelims (Civil Services Exam – Preliminary). CSAT intends to assess the aptitude of the candidate in solving ‘Reasoning and Analytical’ questions, apart from ‘Reading Comprehension’ which broadly can be divided into Math and English.
CSAT is qualifying in nature which means that you must score above 33% . However, it can be a problem for students who have been out of touch with either English or Math for a while. Both Mathematical and Linguistic skills take some time to develop but this can be done with adequate practice of a few weeks or months esp. up to a point where a student can qualify the CSAT.
Syllabus for CSAT for UPSC Prelims
- Comprehension
- Interpersonal skills including communication skills;
- Logical reasoning and analytical ability
- Decision-making and Problem-solving skills
- 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)
How to prepare Math and Logical Reasoning for CSAT
The Math asked in CSAT is non-technical and basic level math taught during school and does not require much specialized training. However, the nature of Math as a subject is such that the abstract concepts have to grasped before you can solve questions with confidence. This is what you need to know –
- Math Phobia: This is the overarching fear and anxiety which comes with the thought of doing ( or not being able to do ) Math. Students who do not achieve Math fluency in school generally pick up on the aversion and try to avoid Math for the rest of their lives as if it were a ghost from the past. This is understandable and something which can be overcome.
Read more about how to overcome Math phobia: overcome math anxiety for CSAT
- Not being good at Math does not mean you cant improve: Logic and reasoning is embedded in the brain and our way of thinking as humans. We all compute and calculate automatically in everyday life. With Math, the process is just more deliberate and methodical. CSAT will test a basic ability to think logically and solve some problems.
- Math is like a Blockbuster TV Series : It builds on itself and the concepts are highly inter-related and inter-dependent. You will need a basic understanding of addition to appreciate multiplication (although there are debates between mathematicians about if Multiplication is merely repeated addition or something more). So if you miss an important portion, the rest of it will not make sense. Somewhere in school years if this chain is broken, Math can suddenly become incomprehensible. So the sequence of concepts is very important.
- Math is a language: The intimidating thing is the symbols in Mathematics and it may take some time to get used to them. But the symbols are a means to convey some relationship and with practice, you will be able to understand the math ‘language’ with ease. Even though the language of Math can be highly advanced in later stages, the questions in the CSAT will be of a very basic X-class level like LCM, Percentages etc.
- You can’t learn Math by reading it: Problem solving, abstract reasoning and logic are just symbol-less forms of Math questions. But your skill will ONLY improve if you work the problems out yourself. Reading a problem and mentally trying to arrive at the correct answer is not a good answering strategy. Performance on these too, can be sharpened and improved with practice.
- Use Rough Work while solving questions: Math questions in CSAT have to be solved with paper and pen and not by thought alone. This is the reason why most errors occur.
Where to Prepare Math for CSAT from?
The traditional approach is to start with class 6-10 NCERT for Math and solve them. But there are better ways of achieving the same goal. Math is a universal subject and there are many excellent resources for learning it online.
*Both English and Math in UPSC are universal skills and there is no reason to follow an Indian institute over the global leaders such as Brilliant.org and IELTS.
The internet is replete with courses, lectures and explanation videos about Math. The best source I could find for learning and sharpening Math skill is brilliant.org/ . The teaching method is world class and full of quizzes and interactive exercises which will lead you through Math concepts step-by-step. Math can be notoriously hard to teach because it is an intuitive process but this app seems to have cracked the code. Another advantage of brilliant.org/ is that there will be a gradual increase in difficulty level.
https://brilliant.org/courses/#/math/logic-and-deduction
Here are some highly-engaging games and quizzes for CSAT Math-
English in CSAT for UPSC Prelims is all about your ability to comprehend text. Reading comprehension is the level of understanding of a text/message. This understanding comes from the interaction between the words that are written, and how they trigger knowledge outside the text/message.
It all boils down to your ability to process information deeply.
UPSC CSAT reading passage are aimed at testing the following-
- Did you understand the deeper meaning implicit in the passage?
- Are you able to filter information to eliminate the irrelevant information?
- Did you understand the context(broader debate, discussion topic) which the passage is a part of?
They Key ability master for English in CSAT Prelims is to read between the lines
Some passages can seem technical and hard to grasp but you should not be intimidated by this. Every passage will contain enough information to enable you to answer the questions correctly. Your only challenge is to quickly connect and relate to the topic of the passage which may be anything from philosophy, arts, history, geology or paleontology.
EXAMPLE PASSAGE 1 :
Global population was around 1.6 billion in 1990—today it is around 7.2 billion and growing. Recent estimates on population growth predict a global population of 9.6 billion in 2050 and 10.9 billion in 2100. Unlike Europe and North America, where only three to four per cent of population is engaged in agriculture, around 47 per cent of India’s population is dependent upon agriculture. Even if India continues to do well in the service sector and the manufacturing sector picks up, it is expected that around 2030 when India overtakes China as the world’s most populous country, nearly 42 per cent of India’s population will still be predominantly dependent on agriculture.
QUESTIONS FROM THE PASSAGE:
Which of the following is the most logical and rational inference that can be made from the above passage?
(a) Prosperity of agriculture sector is of critical importance to India.
(b) Indian economy greatly depends on its agriculture.
(c) India should take strict measures to control its rapid population growth.
(d) India’s farming communities should switch over to other occupations to improve their economic conditions.
CORRECT ANSWER:
(b) Indian economy greatly depends on its agriculture
EXAMPLE PASSAGE 2 :
Though I have discarded much of past tradition and custom, and am anxious that India should rid herself of all shackles that bind and contain her and divide her people, and suppress vast numbers of them, and prevent the free development of the body and the spirit; though I seek all this, yet I do not wish to cut myself off from that past completely. I am proud of that great inheritance that has been and is, ours and I am conscious that I too, like all of us, am a link in that unbroken chain which goes back to the dawn of history in the immemorial past of India.
QUESTIONS FROM THE PASSAGE:
The author wants India to rid herself of certain past bonds because
(a) he is not able to see the relevance of the past
(b) there is not much to be proud of
(c) he is not interested in the history of India
(d) they obstruct her physical and spiritual growth
CORRECT ANSWER :
(d) they obstruct her physical and spiritual growth
READING STRATEGIES FOR PREPARING FOR CSAT ENGLISH
CRITICAL INSIGHTS ABOUT CSAT ENGLISH IN UPSC PRELIMS
- Reading is an act of translation: English is the second language for most Indians and reading is a subconscious process of translating the text into language the brain understands better. This activity is like a muscle- the more you practice, the better this 'translator muscle' will become.
- Good Reading is visualization : Most of all learning is visual. We convert the text into images while reading to make sense of it. We also spin narratives and storylines around the text. Approach every passage as a challenge of visualization and form a movie in your head about the topic being taught about.
- Reading comprehension is about understanding emotions: Notice the mood of the writer- is it critical, angry, resentful or pleading ? Also notice your own emotions after engaging with the passage? What was the intention of the writer to make you feel?
Where To Prepare CSAT English from?
There is no reason to pay for test series or courses for CSAT English when the worlds best content is available for free. In as much as English comprehension is covered, the world gold standard for testing is called IELTS- International English Language Testing System. IELTS is used by Western English speaking countries. The level of questions in the IELTS is perfect for UPSC CSAT English. It also happens to be the BEST source of practice material and question bank.
If you wish to check if your level of English is enough for the CSAT, solve 1 question paper and if you score more than 60% marks, then your English skills are enough for the English portion of CSAT.
PRACTICE TEST WITH ANSWER KEY FOR CSAT ENGLISH: DOWNLOAD
You should practice IELTS reading tests to improve your reading comprehension muscles but remember that you will need to practice and solve at least 10 of these papers to see a difference in your score.
I have collected and curated THOUSANDS of reading comprehension passages for you to practice which you can find here-
CSAT ENGLISH QUESTION BANK FOR PRACTICE : DOWNLOAD HERE
I hope this helps!
Tc
Ravi Kapoor, IRS
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Thank u Sir g.
IT IS A VERY INSIGHTFUL THANK YOU..
Thank you sir ,
It is helping me very much so that I improved a lot.
Yes sir it helped alott. Thank you.