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[Studyplan] CSAT Aptitude Paper 2: Comprehension &

Reasoning, analysis, previous papers, free studymaterial,
cutoffs (part 1 of 3)
Posted By On 03/06/2014 @ 6:20 pm In Aptitude | 226 Comments
1. Chart: Analysis of all CSAT papers so far
2. [Section I] Comprehension for CSAT
1. Step1: Finish theory
2. How to prepare high level reasoning?
3. Step#2: Move hands while reading passage
4. Step#3: Maximum practice
5. Comprehension: Why read Non-GS columns?
6. What about the English passages?
3. [Section II] Reasoning for CSAT
1. [Block 1] High level (HL) reasoning in CSAT
1. Sample questions: Logical Connectives
2. Sample questions: Syllogism
2. [Block2] Arrangement
1. A1: Blood relation
2. A2: Grouping: People vs clothing/city/occupation/relation
3. A3: Line Sequence / Comparison problems
4. A4: Arrangement: table Circular / Rectangular

5. A5: Conditional Team selection

6. A6: Scheduling lectures, events, journey
7. A7: Direction sense test
3. [Block 3] Reasoning: Non Verbal
4. [Block 4] Reasoning: Misc. Topics / Low priority
1. M1: Missing number pattern
2. M2: Sequence Series
3. M3: Coding decoding
4. M4: Logical Venn Diagrams
5. M5: Calendar
6. M6: Data Sufficiency (DS)
5. [Block 5] Reasoning: Totally Ignore these topics
4. Study schedule for the remaining days
5. Why people cant finish paper?
1. P1: Start with English passages
2. P2: Dont keep counting black circles in OMR sheet
3. P3: Dont come back for sets
4. P4: Keep sitter Questions for the end
6. Become data processor NOT data collector
7. Booklist for CSAT exam Paper II?
1. Backup#1: Banking, insurance etc.
2. Backup#2: no competitive exam

3. Backup#3: higher difficulty exams

8. Book related doubts
9. Appendix1a: Sacred cutoffs of CSAT prelim exams
10.

Appendix1b: Minimum Passing marks in CSAT prelims

11.

Appendix2: Download links

Prologue to a mile long article

Yes, Just like YOYO Honey Singh, Im also alive. and [Current] series will be
resumed soon but first, How to prepare for CSAT paper II (aptitude) in a
systematic and time-bound manner that too via selfstudy?
1. Comprehension and Reasoning Youre here
2. Mathematics & Data Interpretation: high priority topics
3. Decision Making + Mathematics: Medium & low priority topics

Structure of CSAT paper II (Aptitude)

Total Questions: 80
Total Marks: 200
Marks for correct answer: 2.5
Negative marking: Yes MINUS 0.83 marks. i.e. -33% of correct
answer.
Sectional cutoffs: No. They combine marks for both paper I and
paper II to select candidates for next stage the Mains exam.
Four Sections of CSAT Paper II (Aptitude)
1. Comprehension (i) to test your understanding (ii) to test English
2. Reasoning

3. Mathematics
4. Decision making (without negative marking)

Chart: Analysis of all CSAT papers so far

From above charts, it is evident that in all three years, maximum number
of questions have come from Comprehension. So, lets start with that.

[Section I] Comprehension for CSAT

HL: High level reasoning (Find assumption, inference, central theme in the
passage)
Reading Comprehension
Comprehension passages (printed in both Hindi and English)
Passages to test your English knowledge (printed only in English)
Total

2011
28
9
37

2012
32
8
40

2013
24
8
32

UPSC comprehension passages are tougher than banking, insurance, staff

selection and State PSCs because:
1. CSAT comprehension dont ask straightforward who, when or
where type of MCQs.
2. Even when they ask what and why, you cant find answer
directly from a single sentence of the passage. They test your
understanding of the entire passage.
3. In CSAT 2011 and 2012, one passage would contain set of 5-6 MCQs.
But in 2013, one passage contains barely 2-3 questions. Hence
youve to read more number of passages to get same amount of
MCQs. Similar trend in sitting arrangement and data interpretation

sets. [Same trend in CAT- upto mid-2000s, one passage 5 MCQs,

nowadays 1 passage contains barely two MCQs.]
4. They even ask High level reasoning questions within the passages.
(Find assumptions / inferences)

Step1: Finish theory

Youll encounter the High level reasoning topic within Comprehension
segment, for example:

Assumptions
1. Which of the following assumptions are valid? then 2-3-4 statements
given
2. With reference to the passage, which of the above assumptions
is/are valid?

Interferences
1 What does the author imply?
1 What does the passage imply?
1 Which one of the following statements conveys the inference of the
passage?
1 Which of the following inferences can be made from the passage?

Central theme*
1 Which of the following statements constitute central passage of the
theme?
1 What is the essential message being conveyed?
1 Which of the following best describes the thoughts of the author?
1 Which one of the following statements constitutes the central theme
of this passage?

These are examples of HIGH LEVEL REASONING.

*as such central theme is not high level reasoning question, but to
confuse you, they provide assumptions and inferences as wrong options.
Passages
Comprehension
passages
B. English
passages
Total MCQs

Questions
High level reasoning (HL) Find assumption, inference,
central theme
other MCQs e.g. finding meaning of a phrase, causeeffect etc.
A. Subtotal: Comprehension
i.e. those easy passage given before Decision Making
segment, and only printed in English. No Hindi
translation give.
A+B

2011 2012 2013

10

14

24

20

28

32

24

37

40

32

Many candidates dont need to practice comprehension at home. And in

the exam, they make silly mistakes by mixing up facts, assumptions, and
inferences with the central theme. You need a strong grip over high level
reasoning theory to tick correct option in this section.

How to prepare high level reasoning?

Recommended Book: Analytical Reasoning by MK Pandey (BSC
Publication)

RS Aggarwal also covers these topics but MK Pandeys explanations

and examples are much more refined and lucid, particularly for
comprehension angle.
CSAT Manuals by TMH, Pearson, Arihant etc. also cover, but not in a
thorough manner.
As such MK Pandey is written for Bank exams, hence not all chapters
are important for UPSC. Do selective study in following sequence
Chapter
1
2

Title

Topics to focus
How to identify conclusion? he has given list of keywords on
basic of logic
page 6.
some information Logical connective theory explained on page 19 and 20. He did
tips
not use the word Logical Connective. He calls them
hypothetical reasoning. But either way its important for both
CSAT and CAT. After that read following article:

10

[Reasoning] Logical Connectives (if, unless,

either or) for CSAT, CAT shortcuts formulas
approach explained

Page 29. When assumption is invalid?

Page 30. When assumption cannot be out rightly

rejected?

page33. Difference between implications and

assumption.

All the practice exercises + read the full explanation

given in the answers- why he classified something as
Assumption? Otherwise in the comprehension youll
always endup in 50:50 doubt.

Page 53: Exercise 3C, particularly the end part

questions dealing with assumption in passages.

Page 119-122: how to avoid confusion while deriving

inference?

Page 127 onwards: all the question passages. Also read

full explanation given in the answers.

Assumptions

Evaluating
inference

Cause Effect

evaluating the
given course of
action

Page 287 onwards: differentiating between immediate cause vs

principle cause. Itll help particularly in the passages related to
science, environment or economy.
This will also help indirectly in the Decision Making
Questions:

Page 168: how to determine whether a suggestion action

reduces or solves the problem?

Page 171: how to determine if suggestion solution is

practical or not?

Page 172: are you solving the problem or creating a new

one?

After above Core theory is done, go through following:

Ch.4 Forcefulness of the arguments.

 Ch.9 Strengthening and weakening the arguments

Ch.8 Punch line.
So far, UPSC hasnt asked GMAT like questions about strengthen/weaken
arguments in the given passage. But nonetheless, above theory will help
you digest the passages better.

Step#2: Move hands while reading passage

ManhattanGMATTM is a prominent coaching class in USA(!) Their
comprehension tips are worth implementing for CSAT. While reading the
passage, do two things:
1. Note down the assumption & premises on the margin, in a shorthand note.
2. Highlight the important phrases. (GMAT/CAT done online, their
software has this facility. You can do the same even on paper
question paper via pen / highlighter)
This helps quickly eliminating options without having to re-read the whole
passage again and again, thus saving precious time during the exam. To
see practical demo, go to following links. Their instructor Stacey Koprince
showed her own notes and thought process while reading the passage:
1. Passage: Language of the leader
2. Passage: Meteor showers part I; Part II
3. Passage: Multinational corporations
Additional tips from the same instructor:
1 How not to read the passage? 90% focus vs 20% focus
1 How to find the central theme / central point?
Once this is over, time for maximum practice. How?

Step#3: Maximum practice for Comprehension?

 As such every publication house has released a separate book on

comprehension. But Im not impressed with their content vs MRP.
Most of their tips are just bolbachhan without telling specifically do
this or do that.
Then they give 20-30 practice passages and charge 200-300 rupees.
But the quality of their passages doesnt even justify 50 rupees for
the book.
If you can get such books from library then do borrow and practice.
Otherwise dont waste money buying such special comprehension
books for CSAT.
For practice you can use following resources:
1. Last three years CSAT papers- to get a taste of the difficulty level of
UPSC. (download links given in appendix of this article)
2. 500 passages gathered from pagalguy.coms old threads related to
CAT preparation for year 2011 and 2012. (download links given in
appendix of this article)
3. Pagalguy thread for CAT RC discussion 2013
4. this website got another 250 passages: codecoax.com/grerc/
You can find many more resources by just a google search. e.g. just type
1000 comprehension passages But keep in mind just ~3 months left.
Dont get fixated over RC. Youve to prepare & practice other topics as well.

Comprehension: Why read Non-GS columns?

UPSC examiner doesnt write new passage himself. He merely cutpastes the passages from prominent English newspapers and
academic books. From his side, he only designs the MCQs, and gives
Hindi translations.
Therefore, irrespective of your medium in mains exam, you have to
read English newspapers and magazines.

 Just because you finished college in English medium, doesnt

automatically make you master of English. Avoid such
overconfidence.
The English textbooks youve read for engineering, medicine,
pharma or commerce theyre *NOT* the same English that UPSC
passages will contain. Therefore, youve to get yourself familiar with
the sentence flow and vocabulary of such academic / column type
passages.
Otherwise, in the exam, youll take 15 minutes just to read one
passage, while other players finish the same within 3 minutes. In
past exams, many candidates failed to finish entire paper, only
because of this reason.
To get a taste of comprehension passages, the best place is the
Book review segment within Hindu, Indian express, Frontline and
EPW. Because they first talk about the book, then about the
contemporary issue dealt in the book e.g. arts, economics, science,
environment, philosophy etc.
Links:
1. indianexpress.com/tag/book-review/
2. thehindu.com/books/
3. epw.in/book-reviews
4. frontline.in/books/ (requires free registration)
of course it doesnt mean youve to read all four each day. Just keep an eye
as and when you get time. Most candidates avoid such articles/columns in
newspaper, thinking this is not important for General studies syllabus.
But Keep in mind-Comprehension is a perishable skill that must be
polished with regular reading of such non-GS English columns.
By the way,

What about the English passages?

 Yes, what to do with those easy passages given before decision

making questions? (i.e. printed only in English and not in Hindi)
As such no separate preparation necessary. Because MK Pandey is
entirely in English. So once youre done with that theory, youve
automatically gained knowledge of such easy English passages.
But still for practice of such passages, you may go through
papersets of Bank and SSC exams (only if youve time left!)
Anyways, enough of comprehension, lets move to the next segment of
CSAT paper II:

[Section II] Reasoning for CSAT

Type
High Level

Arrangement

Non-Verbal

Misc
Total

Reasoning Topics
Syllogism
Logical connectives
assumption / inference / conclusion
Subtotal: High level Reasoning
1 case vs. many questions
1 case 1 question
blood relation
Direction sense test
Sub Total: Sitting Arrangement
reflection from mirror
min. colors required to paint
which figure next
Cube figure
Subtotal: Non-Verbal
Venn Diagrams
Missing number pattern
Subtotal: Misc
Final Total Reasoning
% weightage in Paper II

[Block 1] High level (HL) reasoning in CSAT

2011
3
0
0
3
0
1
3
1
5
1
1
0
0
2
1
1
2
12
15

2012
5
2
5
12
5
7
1
0
13
0
0
2
2
4
1
0
1
30
37.5

2013
0
0
0
0
11
5
0
0
16
0
0
3
1
4
1
3
4
24
30

UPSC asked no syllogism / logical connectives in 2013, but they filled up

the quota of high level reasoning by asking 8 such MCQ (find
assumption, inference etc) within 32 comprehension MCQs.
High level reasoning (HLR)
Standalone MCQs within reasoning section
HLR-MCQs within comprehension section
total HL reasoning
% weightage in CSAT Paper II (out of 80)

2011
3
10
13
16%

2012
12
8
20
25%

2013
0
8
8
10%

Weve already prepared the high level reasoning for comprehension i.e.
logical connectives, assertion, reasoning, central theme from MK
Pandeys book. Only one important topic left = Syllogism.

Syllogism
For this, refer to MK Pandeys Chapter 11 page 301 onwards.
Start with mastering two statements. e.g. all cats are dogs, all dogs
are pigs then which of the following conclusion is valid? then move
to three statement and four statement syllogism.
MK Pandey has explained two methods to solve syllogism: AEIO
method vs Venn diagram. I prefer AEIO, some prefer Venn diagram,
and you can pick whichever you find more comfortable. Either way,
do all the exercises and read the answer explanations in his book.

If you prefer AEIO method, then:

 Mug up the tables given on 306, 307, 311, 321 (short form of table6)
and read following articles(theyre based on AEIO method)
[Reasoning] Syllogism (All Cats are Dogs): Method, approach,
techniques, shortcuts explained for IBPS, SSC, CSAT and CAT

[Reasoning] Three-Statement Syllogism: technique, method, shortcuts

for IBPS, SSC, CSAT, CAT, CMAT

[Reasoning Q] 3-Statement Syllogism doubt Question: Apples,

Mangoes, Vegetarians

[Reasoning] 4-Statement Syllogism: Approach, Techniques, explained

for SBI PO (High level reasoning) and UPSC CSAT paper 2

If you still have time and mood, you can get additional practice from RS
Aggarwals book. But thatd be an overkill because only ~3 months left.

Sample questions: Logical Connectives

(Prelim 1995) Which of the following can be inferred from the
statement that Either John is stupid or John is lazy?
a. John is lazy/therefore, John is not stupid
b. John is not lazy/therefore, John is stupid
c. John is not stupid/therefore, John is lazy
d. John is stupid/therefore, John is not lazy
(CSAT 2012)
Examine the following statements:
1. I watch TV only if I am bored
2. I am never bored when I have my brothers company.
3. Whenever I go to the theatre I take my brother along.
Which one of the following conclusions is valid in the context of the above
statements?
A. If I am bored I watch TV

B. If I am bored, I seek my brothers company.

C. If I am not with my brother, than ill watch TV.
D. If I am not bored I do not watch TV.
(CSAT 2012) Consider the following statements:
1. Either A & B are of same age or A is older than B
2. Either C & D are of same age or D is older than C
3. B is older than C
Which of the following conclusions can be drawn from the above
statements?
a. A is older than B
b. B and D are of the same age
c. D is older than C
d. A is older than C

Sample questions: Syllogism

(Prelim 1998) consider following statements:
1. all members of Mohans family are honest
2. some members of mohans family are not employed
3. some employed persons are not honest
4. some honest persons are not employed.
Which of the following inferences can be drawn from above statements?
a. all members of Mohans family are employed.
b. all employed members of Mohans family are honest

c. the honest members of Mohans family are not employed

d. the employed members of Mohans family are not honest.
(CSAT 2011). Examine the following statements:
1. All animals are carnivorous.
2. Some animals are not carnivorous.
3. Animals are not carnivorous.
4. Some animals are carnivorous.
Codes:
a. 1 and 3
b. 1 and 2
c. 2 and 3
d. 3 and 4
(CSAT 2011) Examine the following statements:
1. All trains are run by diesel engine.
2. Some trains are run by diesel engine.
3. No train is run by diesel engine.
4. Some trains are not run by diesel engine.
Codes:
A. 1 and 2
B. 2 and 3
C. 1 and 3
D. 1 and 4

(CSAT 2012) Consider the following statements:

1. All artists are whimsical.
2. Some artists are drug addicts.
3. Frustrated people are prone to become drug addicts.
From the above three statements it may be concluded that:
a. Artists are frustrated
b. Some drug addicts are whimsical
c. All frustrated people are drug addicts.
d. Whimsical people are generally frustrated
(CSAT 2012) Consider the following statements:
1. Only those who have a pair of binoculars can become the member
of the birdwatchers club.
2. Some members of the birdwatchers club have cameras.
3. Those members who have cameras can take part in photo-contests.
Which of the following conclusions can be drawn from the above
statements?
a. All those who have a pair of binoculars are members of the
birdwatchers club.
b. All members of the birdwatchers club have a pair of binoculars.
c. All those who take part in photo-contests are members of the
birdwatchers club.
d. No conclusion can be drawn.

[Block2] Arrangement

 Within arrangement, I also include blood relation and direction

sense test because in all such sums, youve to drag a chart/diagram
in the rough sheets to get the answer.
MK Pandey has covered them under Chapter 20 Problem solving.
For additional practice you can use RS Aggarwals chapter 5, 6 and 8.

A1: Blood relation

(1998) A to F are members of a family consisting 4 adults and 3
children. A and D are brothers, A is doctor. E is an engineer married
to one of the brothers and has two children B is married to D and G
is their child. Who is C?
(2009) There is a family of 6 persons A, B, C, D, E and F. There are
two married couples in the family. The family members are lawyer,
teacher, salesman, engineer, accountant and doctor. D, the
salesman is married to the lady teacher. The doctor is married to the
lawyer. F, the accountant is the son of B and brother of E. C, the
lawyer is the daughter-in-law pf A. E is the unmarried engineer. A is
the grandmother of F. How is E related to F?
(CSAT 2011) A is the brother of B, C is the father of A, D is brother of
E, E is the daughter of B Then, the uncle of D is?

 MK Pandey Chapter 20 from Page 612 onwards. Understand the

concept of backtracking and how to draw family tree- especially for
complex problems like A is wife of B who is not an engineer etc.
then do all exercises in 20A (page 628 onwards). but it is only for
warmup. The real UPSC level sets begin from Exercise 20B and
20C. First solve them on your own, then understand the full
explanation and technique shown by MK Pandey.
Page Questions
633
635

12-19
27-31

638

51-55

643
653
653
655
660
662

79-83
50-54
55-59
70-73
111-115
132-135

combined problem of blood

relation plus __.
intelligence comparison
Weight comparison.
Sitting arrangement + age
comparison.
Trait comparison.
occupation
occupation
nothing
nothing
surnames

Explanation
670
673
680 (but he did not explain this one,
just gave answer)
687-688
705
705
706
try yourself
709

For additional practice, you may refer RS Aggarwal Ch. 5 Blood relations
(page 261 onwards) .
To complicate the question, often the examiner doesnt ask
straightforward blood relation but embeds it in the problem related to
grouping- people vs. relation vs occupation vs car color and so on. Hence
our next preparation should focus on:

A2: Grouping: People vs clothing/city/occupation/relation

(Prelims 2010) Gopal, Harsh, Inder, Jai and Krishnan have Ahmedabad,
Bhopal, Cuttack, Delhi and Ernakulam as their hometowns (Not
necessarily in that order). They are studying in Engineering, Medical,
Commerce, Economics and History Colleges (Not necessarily in that
order). None of the five boys is studying in his hometown, but each of
them studies in one of the cities given above.Further, it is given that:
i.

Gopals hometown is Ernakulam.

ii.

Harsh is not studying in Ahmedabad or Bhopal.

iii.

Economic college is in Bhopal.

iv.

Inders hometown is cuttack.

v.

Krishnan is studying in Delhi.

vi.

Jai is studying in Ernakulam and the History College4 is in his

hometown Ahmedabad.

vii.

Engineering College is situated in Ernakulam.

**then youve to solve four MCQs about who belongs to which city and
college.
(CSAT 2012) Three persons A, B & C wear shirts of Black, Blue and
Orange colours (not necessarily in the order). No person wore shirt
and pant of the same colour. Further, it is given that, A did not wear
shirt of black colour. B did not wear shirt of blue colour. C did not
wear shirt of orange colour. A did not wear the pants of green
colour. B wore pants of orange colour. What were the colours of the
pants and shirts worn by C respectively?
(CSAT 2013) In five flats, one above the other, live five professionals.
The professor has to go up to meet his IAS officer friend. The doctor
is equally friendly to all, and has to go up as frequently as go down.
The engineer has to go up to meet his MLA friend above whose flat
lives the professors friend. From the ground floor to the top floor, in
what order do the five professionals live?
How to prepare? In MK Pandey Chapter 20:
Page
599
632
638-39
657
658
663
664

Questions
ex1
1-5
51-55
88-92
98-102
140-144
145-149

understand his technique explained in page __

602
667
680 although has no explanation
707
707
710
710

A3: Line Sequence / Comparison problems

Youre given information about people standing in a line / cars parked /

marks or height or wealth of people in a sequence, then youve to solve
the MCQs. observe samples:
(Prelims 2010) P, Q, R and S are four men. P oldest but not poorest.
R richest but not oldest. Q older than S but not than P or R. P richer
than Q but not S. Arrange these men in descending order of their
age and richness.
(CSAT 2011) In a queue, Mr. X is fourteenth from the front and Mr. Y
is seventeenth from the end, while Mr. Z is exactly in between Mr. X
and Mr. Y. If Mr. X is ahead Mr. Y and there are 48 persons in the
queue, how many persons are then between Mr. X and Mr. Z?
(CSAT 2012) Rama scored more than Rani. Rani scored less than
Ratna. Ratna scored more than Rama. Padma scored more than
Rama but less than Ratna. Who scored the highest?
How to prepare? In MK Pandey Chapter 20:
Page
608-09
633
635
644-45
645-46
649-51
654
660
661

Questions
Point (3), Ex.7
12-19
27-31
91-95
96-100
25-36
65-69
116-121
122-126

understand his technique explained in page __

609-10
670
673
689
690
699-700
706
708
708-709

Additional practice: RS Aggarwal ch.6 on puzzle tests.

A4: Arrangement: table Circular / Rectangular

(2000) A to F are sitting on a circular table. A is between D and F. C
opposite of D. D and E are not on neighboring chairs. Which of the
following must be true? (then various possibilities given
(CSAT 2013) Five people A, B, C, D and E are, seated about a round table,
every chair is spaced equidistant from adjacent chairs. C is seated next to
A. A is seated two seats from D. B is not seated next to A. Which of the
following must be true?

I.

D is seated next to B.

II.

E is seated next to A.

III.

Both 1 and 2

IV.

Neither 1 nor 2

How to prepare? In MK Pandey Chapter 20:

Page
60405
637
640
654
655
659
661

Questions understand his technique explained in page __

606-608. pay attention to definite information vs comparative
Ex5, Ex6 information vs negative information and how he utilizes all three of them
to make the arrangement.
677-678 observe how he prepares diagram to accommodate complex
39-43
info- gender vs marital status vs position on a circular table
681-684. again observe how he prepared diagram to accommodate
62-71
complex info of gender vs profession vs intelligence vs position on a
rectangular table.
60-64
This is for self-exercise.
74-77
this is for self-exercise
108-110 708
122-126 708-709

Then RS Aggarwal Ch 6

A5: Conditional Team selection

(CSAT 2013) A tennis coach is trying to put together a team of four
players for the forthcoming tournament. For this 7 players are
available: males A, Band C; and females W, X, Y and Z. All players
have equal capability and at least 2 males will be there in the team.
For a team of four, all players must be able to play with each other.
But, B cannot play with W, C cannot play with Z and W cannot play
with Y. Then 3 MCQ given
(CSAT 2013) The music director of a film wants to select four persons
to work on different aspects of the composition of a piece of music.
Seven persons are available for this work; they are Rohit, Tanya,
Shobha, Kaushal, Kunal, Mukesh and J aswant. Rohit and Tanya will
not work together. Kunal and Shobha will not work together.
Mukesh and Kunal want to work together. the only MCQ given.

How to prepare? MK Pandey Chapter 20:

Page Questions understand his technique explained in page __
621-623. Obverse his shortcut method, he focuses on the options that are
621 Ex14
blatantly violating the selection rules, thus he eliminates wrong options
quickly.
636 32-38
674 to 676
643 84-90
688- important dont misread the last condition!
652 44-49
703 to 705
658 93-97
this is for self-exercise

Then RS Aggarwal Ch.6 Type 5: from page 356 onwards.

A6: Scheduling lectures, events, journey

Observe the pattern of MCQs asked in previous CSAT exams:
(CSAT 2012) Guest lectures on five subjects viz., Economics, History,
Statistics, English and Mathematics have to be arranged in a week
from Monday to Friday. Only one lecture can be arranged on each
day. Economics cannot be scheduled on Tuesday. Guest faculty for
History is available only on Tuesday. Mathematics lecture has to be
schedules immediately after the day of Economics lecture. English
lecture has to be scheduled immediately before the day of
Economics lecture. ***then MCQs start**
How to prepare? In MK Pandey Chapter 20:
Page
634
638
641
651
656
659
662

Questions
20-26
44-50
72-78
37-43
78-82
103-107
127-131

understand his technique explained in page __

671-673
678-679
684-687
702
706
708
709

For additional practice, RS Aggarwal Ch6 Puzzle test (page 288)

A7: Direction sense test

Sample questions from previous prelims
(2009) A person travels 12 km due North, then 15 km due East, after that

15 km due West and then 18 km due South. How far is he from the
starting point?
1. 6 km
2. 12 km
3. 33 km
4. 60 km
(2010)In a meeting, the map of a village was placed in such a manner that
south-east becomes north, north-east becomes west and so on. What will
south become?
1. North
2. North-east
3. North-west
4. West
(2011) The houses of A and B face each other on a road going north-south,
As being on the western side. A comes out of his house, turns left, travels
5 km, turns right, travels 5 km to the front of Ds house. B does exactly the
same and reaches the front of Cs house. In this context, which one of the
following statements is correct?
a. C and D live on the same street.
b. Cs house faces south.
c. The houses of C than 20 km apart.
d. None of the above
How to prepare?
MK Pandey doesnt deal with Direction sense test topic. For this
consult RS Aggarwal Chapter 8.

[Block 3] Reasoning: Non Verbal

Non-Verbal
reflection from mirror
Min. colors required to paint the given figure.
which figure next (similar to those SSC/Bank question)
Cube figure which side will have what color / number / alphabet.
Subtotal: Non-Verbal

2011
1
1
0
0
2

2012
0
0
2
2
4

2013
0
0
3
1
4

MK Pandey doesnt cover non-verbal reasoning

Preparation source: A modern Approach to verbal and non-verbal
reasoning, RS Aggarwal (S.Chand Publication)

solve all the chapters given under in the non-verbal reasoning

section of that book-Even chapters related to paper cutting and
paper folding type MCQs.
Reason: UPSC is full of uncertainty. Similarly nothing prevents them
from asking paper cutting / paper folding type questions. So
practice a few sum from each variety.
Reserve the practice quota of non-verbal, for the last month before
exam. Because even if you begin right now (June), your skill/dexterity
will perish by August end. Besides you cannot really makes revision
notes for this topic. (Except a few points in cube theory- number of
faces, how many smaller cubes if x number of cuts are made etc.)
Just like find missing number MCQs, these should also be done at
last during the exam. Sometimes particularly in the cube questions,

candidates cannot crack the pattern and unnecessarily waste 10-15

minutes for a one MCQ. Avoid doing that. Save these non-verbal
reasoning questions for the end.

[Block 4] Reasoning: Misc. Topics / Low priority

Odd ball topics = Not regularly asked in large amount. You cannot see a
pattern over the years- unlike sitting arrangement or assumptioninference.
Reasoning Misc.
Missing number pattern
Venn Diagrams
total

2011

2012

1
1
2

0
1
1

2013
3
1
4

M1: Missing number pattern

(Prelim 2006) find the missing number X in following series
fig1
9

fig2
16
18
36

25

25

fig3
64
18
16

64
18
X

Answer choice: 4 / 16 / 25 / 36.

(CSAT 2013) find the missing number X in following series
figure 1
84
14

12

figure 2
81
18

figure3
88
?

11

The missing number (?) in figure 3 is? Answer choice: 7/16/21/28

Preparation source: RS Aggarwal Ch16: Inserting the missing
character Page 628 and practice the sums
Tip: in the exam, solve these sums in the end. Because sometimes it
may take 10 seconds, and sometimes even after 10 minutes of trialerror you may not see the pattern. So dont waste too much time.

M2: Sequence Series

(1995) consider the series given below. 4/12/95, 1/1/96, 26/2/96, The
next term of the series is
a. 24/3/96
b. 25/3/96
c. 26/3/96
d. 27/3/96
(1998) .Which one of the following satisfies relationship Dda:aDD:Rrb: ?
a. DDA
b. RRR
c. bRR
d. BBr
In the missing number questions we saw UPSC asked it twice- 2006
and 2013. So far UPSC hasnt asked sequence/series- but nothing
prevents them from asking, especially under the aegis of Chairman
DP Agarwal, to break the backs of coaching classes and senior
players. Therefore, you should prepare such chillar topics as well.
Dont live under overconfidence that just because xyz topic was not
asked in last three exams, so UPSC will never ask it in future exams.
Preparation Source: RS Aggarwal,
Chapter 2 number analogy, following types
Type 8: number analogy
Type 9: Alphabet Analogy
Chapter 3: Classification, following types
Type 4: choosing odd numerical (indirectly helpful in missing
number)

 Type 5: choosing the odd letter group

M3: Coding decoding

(1999) In a code language, SOLID is, written as WPSLPIMFHA. What does
the code ATEXXXQIBVO refer to?
a. EAGER
b. WAFER
c. WAGER
d. WATER
(2000) In a certain code, MARCH is written as OCTEJ, how is RETURN
written in that code?
A. TFUVSM
B. QGSTQM
C. TGVWTP
D. TGRVSO
Preparation Source: RS Aggarwal, Chapter 4.
Optional: MK Pandey Chapter 17 and 19 on coded relationships and
inequalities

M4: Logical Venn Diagrams

There are two type of Venn diagram questions
1. Mathematical: in a society 30% people drink coffee and 50%.well
see about this in next article under Maths strategy.
2. Logical: youre given a complex Venn diagram, without any quantity
or percentages. It contains overlapping of squares, rectangles,
circles and triangles, then you have to identify which of them are
both singer and painters etc.

In last three exams, UPSC asked both type of Venn diagrams. They also
asked such MCQs in 1996, 1998 and 2001. Hence should be prepared.
Preparation Source: RS Aggarwal, Chapter 9 Logical Venn diagrams.
What to do with mathematical Venn diagrams? well see in next article
under Maths strategy.

M5: Calendar
Sample questions from previous prelims
(2008) March 1, 2008 was Saturday. Which day was it on March 1,
2002?
a. Thursday
b. Friday
c. Saturday
d. Sunday
Preparation source: My article under Aptitude series- click me
By the way, I consider Permutation, combination, probability, clock angles
and mathematical Venn diagrams as part of mathematics. Well see them
in next part.

M6: Data Sufficiency (DS)

Not seen in recent times, but has been asked in pre-CSAT era, as part of
age / sitting arrangement / blood relation type problems. Observe
(2006) P, Q, R, S and T live in a five storied building (ground+4), and
each of them resides on a separate floor. Further,
1. T doesnt reside on topmost floor
2. Q doesnt reside on ground floor
3. S resides on one story above P, and one below R.
To know which person resides on ground floor, which of the above
statements are sufficient?
a. only 1 and 3 sufficient

b. only 2 and 3 sufficient

c. 1, 2 and 3 are sufficient
d. 1, 2 and 3 are insufficient.
(2006) they gave four dice figures. and asked which of them are
sufficient to find out the numbers opposite to each other.

How to prepare DATA SUFFICIENCY?

Prepare data sufficiency ONLY after learning all the theories in
reasoning and mathematics- particularly age problems and number
system.
MK Pandey Chapter 7, Page 203 onwards
(optional) RS Aggarwals chapter 17 on data sufficiency. Although
thatll be overkill, because MK Pandeys chapter is far better and
thorough than RS Aggarwal.

[Block 5] Reasoning: Totally Ignore these topics

You may Ignore because these topics are not seen in UPSC exams so far.
Theyre mainly reserved for Bank exams. Again I use the word may
because DP Aggarwal may ask It for breaking the backs. but sometimes
youve to take calculated risk hahaha
Topic

What does it contain?

1. Analytical
decision
making or
2. Eligibility
Tests

RS
MK
Aggarwal Pandey

In a big paragraph, first youre given

recruitment conditions. Then 4-5
Cases where youve to take
appropriate action e.g. select candidate,
18
refer to manager etc.
This type of questions not seen in
UPSC, hence ignore.
7

Input-Output
or

Ch.12

First youre given an example: input,

step I, II, III, IV, V then output. Then
youre required to do similar for given

Ch. 13,
14, 15
and 16

Sequential
Output
Tracing

4-5 MCQs.

Study schedule for the remaining days

Random preparation based on mood swings = road to #EPICFAIL.
Proceed in following manner.
Month

Why?
Comprehension practice & mock tests will
high level reasoning +
only cause frustration IF you dont finish
comprehension
high level reasoning theory first.
June
Because it has so many topics, youve to start
upto Mid maths: with emphasis on
early. Besides, concepts related to HCF,
July
recording all the calculation
LCM, Time-speed-distance etc will remain
errors and shortcuts in your diary for longer duration in memory -Compared to
of mistakes.
dexterity over non-verbal reasoning or data
interpretation.

Mid July
to
August 9

What To Prepare

Data interpretation (DI)

sitting arrangement

Nonverbal reasoning

misc. topics under maths

& reasoning

Comprehension practice

Hardly contain any theory. Even if you

finish entire DI today itself, your skill/
dexterity will get rusted by August. Hence
reserve the quota for Mid-July to Mid-august.

August 10 to 23rd (14 days) should be spent in revision.

Practice aptitude after dinner. That way your hands keep moving
and brain doesnt feel sleepy. Allot your fresh hours in daytime to
general studies preparation.
For comprehension, make a resolve to solve at least 3-5 passages on
daily basis. Download zip file from bottom.

Why people cant finish paper?

In past exams, many candidates have failed to finish entire aptitude paper
within two hours duration. Why?
1. They dont read columns in Hindu, IE, frontline, EPW etc. Hence they
take 10-15 minutes to read a passage, which a CAT/GMAT-master
can finish in barely 3-5 minutes.
2. At home, they dont study high level reasoning theory. So for every
assumption /inference type question theyre 50:50 doubtful. YET
they dont skip it, they just keep pondering over it for another 10-15
minutes.
3. At home, they dont study maths out of fear, and study reasoning in
a casual manner. So to cross the imaginary cutoffs they come back
again and again on same comprehension passages, even when
theyre unable to solve it, and repeat point #2.
4. They take too much time solving non-verbal reasoning and sitting
arrangement questions. Even after creating the diagram for sitting
arrangement / blood relation- their diagram doesnt match with any
of the answer choice, so they spend another 10-15 minutes in fixing
It, re-reading the entire caselet.
5. At home they only read the sums from books and mugup
formulas. But in real life exam, they make silly mistakes in every
multiplication, addition, subtraction and division. So theyve to redo
the same question multiple times.

To avoid such firefighting and epicfails:

1. Be thoroughly prepared for Maths, reasoning and English.
2. Keep a wrist watch in the exam hall.
3. Observe following principles:

P1: Start with English passages

Donot start with first page of the question paper. But, immediately open
4th or 5th last pageitll contain those English testing passages (= those
passages without Hindi translations). Solve them first because its the

easiest section in the entire paper. Lets assume cut off is xx. Then
youve already filled up your tank by 8 correct questions.
Now your brain and hands are warmed up, open first page and start with
1, 2, 3, 4
For the first ~65 questions, UPSC doesnt have sections. Youll come
across comprehension, reasoning and maths questions at random
intervals.
Some people first mark the page number / Question numbers of
comprehension passages on the rough-page. Then begin solving all
passages one by one. I dont recommend this method because:
1. Youll end up wasting precious moments in just flipping through
pages.
2. You might accidentally miss a single maths /reasoning question
hiding between two comprehension sets.
So, just move with the flow Q no. 1, 2, 3, 4so whatever maths, reasoning
or comprehension question you face in that sequence, either solve or skip
or put on mark-n-review.

P2: Dont keep counting black circles in OMR sheet

Ideally you should count the black circles in OMR sheet only once, in those
last 5-7 minutes before exam ends.
But most candidates keep counting their black circles, after every 20-30
MCQs or every 30-45 minutes- how many did I attempt? (imaginary) cutoff
cross hogaa ki nahi?
This is a bad habit because:
1. You are wasting precious time in a non-productive activity.
2. Creates stress on your subconscious brain, prompts you to tick
answers based on gut-feeling, even where youre 50:50 doubtful.
3. You try to Fit wrong formula/ logic in to solve tough MCQs in
maths/ reasoning.
4. You keep coming back to the sets again and again.

P3: Dont come back for sets

Scenario: a passage contains 3 questions. You solved 2 MCQs confidently,

but in one MCQ youre 50:50 undecided. You mark its number on the last
page of question paper, hoping Ill come back at the end of the exam.
This is a bad idea for two reasons
1. When you come back, the understanding of that passage would
have evaporated from your short term memory just like Amir Khan
in Ghajni. Youll have to spend another 3-5-7 minutes re-reading the
passage.
2. In the last few minutes before exam ends, person is usually under
fear-factor of Cutoffs so, even if he is 50:50, he ticks answer on
Gut feeling just to overcome that imaginary cutoff. In UPSC, usually
Gut-feeling answers are wrong answers. So dont dig your grave in
negative marking.
Same applies to blood relation, sitting arrangement, Data interpretation
type sets. Solve the entire set in one go. Avoid coming back for a single
unsolved MCQ from such set.

P4: Keep sitter Questions for the end

Whenever you come across find missing number, find codingdecoding, find analogy; OR
Non-verbal questions like find next figure in the diagram, what will
be the number / color on xyz face of dice.
For all such questions, note their page number on the rough space.
Only when youre finished with other questions, begin solving these
questions. (this is one type of marks and review in online exams)
Reason: sometimes it may take 1 minute, sometimes 10 minutes to
crack the pattern in such MCQs. You dont want to break mentalrhythm during middle of the paper with such bumpy-road MCQs,
reserve them for the last lap.
Same advice for any unconventional maths/reasoning questions.
Donot break rhythm to solve something that youve never
encountered before at home. or youll end up throwing good money
after bad money.

 Remember: Youre not required to tick 80/80 MCQs to qualify for

Mains. UPSC will give you only 2.5 marks whether you solve a given
question in 1 minute or in 10 minutes. So learn to prioritize and
make best use of time.
*youre welcome to add more principals in the comments below*

Become data processor NOT data collector

1. UPSC introduced aptitude paper in 2011. At that time, people spent
countless hours on net, gathering tonnes on PDFS and webpages
related to other higher level aptitude exams (CAT, GMAT etc.) hoping
that UPSC will ask tough questions from it.
2. But now three years have gone, the paper analysis so far reveals
that yes UPSC asks tough aptitude questions, but theyre
not that tough. You can solve most of them through traditional
aptitude books. You dont have to download terabytes of material,
pdfs, movies, softwares meant for CAT/GMAT etc. You dont have to
be on 24/7 internet gathering material for aptitude. So stop that
material collection activity and get start practicing from the
traditional books.

Booklist for CSAT exam?

Aptitude Book choice depends on career backup (in case you fail UPSC).
Dont waste on money separate set of books for every exam. CSAT
Aptitude is a curious combination of both higher and lower level exams
than UPSC. So, books meant for both type of exams, work just fine with
slight jugaads.

Backup#1: Banking, insurance etc.

Jobs: IBPS, SBI, Staff Selection (SSC), CAPF (Assistant Commandant), AFCAT,
LIC, NICL-AAO, ACIO, FCI, State PSC lower level, & other central
government or PSU jobs.
In that case, use following book combination for the CSAT paper II
Maths: Fast track to Objective Arithmetic by Rajesh Verma
Reasoning: RS Aggarwal OR BS Sijwali

o if youre buying second hand then RS Aggarwal because

contains more practice Qs than Sijwali.
o if youre buying brand new then BS Sijwali because ~Rs.200
cheaper than RS Aggarwal and yet covers all topics with good
number of practice questions.
Comprehension: MK Pandeys Analytical Reasoning (for assumption
inference and high level reasoning) then maximum practice using
online resources.
English grammar: Objective General English by SP Bakshi (Mind it: this
is not asked in CSAT Paper II but sentence correction / grammar
important for non-UPSC aptitude exams.)

Backup#2: no competitive exam

Plan: If I cannot clear UPSC then Ill simply go back to private sector job/
business.
In that case use any CSAT Manual by Tata Macgraw Hill
(TMH), Arihant or Pearson etc. (Whichever you can find cheaper second
hand.)
As such I dont have good opinion about such aptitude manuals because
theyre hardly useful for non-UPSC exams:
1. They dont contain detailed trigonometry, quadratic equation=
useless for SSC, CDS, SCRA, CAT etc.
2. No logarithms, no coordinate geometry, no geometry beyond areavolume-perimeter = useless for CAT, CDS and SCRA.
3. Their Data interpretation sets dont have lengthy calculations and
peculiar problems seen in banking exams = useless for IBPS and SBI
exams. Then youll have to buy another paperset or DI book.
4. They usually avoid input-output, eligibility test topic asked in
banking exam. = useless for IBPS, SBI and LIC/NICL exam, youll have
to buy another book or paperset at that time.
5. Very few questions on non-verbal reasoning = not sufficient practice
for SSC, insurance and Banking.

Therefore, if youre planning to give non-UPSC exams as career backup,

then avoid purchasing Aptitude manuals. At max, these manuals will help
in CAPF (Assistant commandant) but not much outside that.

Backup#3: higher difficulty exams

CDS, CAT, CMAT, SNAP, XAT & other higher level exams.
1. Maths: Quantum CAT by Sarvesh Kumar (OR Arun Sharma)
a. IF youre already good at maths then Arun Sharma
b. If youre weak at maths then Sarvesh Kumar.
2. Reasoning: depends
a. In CDS they dont ask reasoning. So, for CSAT use the
reasoning books mentioned under backup#1 (because CSAT
asks reasoning questions!)
b. For CAT you may use Gajendra Kumar (Disha publication). And
then maximum practice from pagalguy.com threads for
reasoning.
3. Comprehension: depends
a. CDS: Passages easier than CSAT. But they fill-up the difficulty
quota by giving tough sets on sentence arrangement and
sentence correction. (Mind it CSAT doesnt ask verbal ability
/grammar). Hence use the sources given in backup#1.
b. Arun Sharma OR Ajay Singh then maximum practice from
pagalguy.com threads for comprehension and verbal ability.
(Mind it CSAT doesnt ask verbal ability like those sentence
correction or sentence arrangement).

Book related doubts

Q. I already have purchased CSAT paper II Manual by xyz publication,
do I need to refer those separate books on maths and reasoning?
Ans. No need. If you already have bought such manual, just study the

topics listed in this article, from respective chapters.

You can also try desi-Jugaad: find a friend in your city with RS Aggarwal,
exchange books for 10-15 days. That way he can practice new stuff from
your book while you get to practice the important sections from his.
Q. I already have RS Aggarwal, do I need MK Pandey?
MK Pandeys high level reasoning concepts are far better than others.
Particularly useful for comprehension section of UPSC for those
assumption / inference type of questions.
RS Aggarwals chapters on logic-assumption-inference are just
practice workbook, hardly explaining the theory/ concepts in
detail.
MK Pandeys puzzle test/ sitting arrangement chapter contains good
number of UPSC level question sets, along with useful explanations
and tips.
+ highly useful for SBI and IBPS exams.
Q. I already have MK Pandey, do I need RS Aggarwal?
Yes because MK Pandey doesnt cover many of the low- level
reasoning topics such as analogy, non-verbal reasoning, and
direction sense test.
Anyways, you dont need a brand new RS Aggarwal, try to find
second hand used copy. Aggarwal is in the market since 90s, you
shouldnt have much trouble finding its second hand copy even in
tier II cities.
Q. I already have CAT books OR CAT coaching material for reasoning.
DO I need others books?
Ans. CAT material will work just fine. But with conditions1. CAT material usually doesnt cover non-verbal reasoning beyond
those cube color, dice face questions. But UPSC is asking which
figure next? so for that much practice, download SSC/ bank
papers or borrow someones RS Aggarwal.

2. You may Ignore / low-prioritize following topics from CAT reasoning

material, because theyre not seen in UPSC so far:
i.

games and tournaments

ii.

pipe-network

iii.

Data sufficiency (asked but low priority)

Q. Ive CSAT books from xyz jholachhap publication house exclusively

in Hindi medium. Can I rely on them?
No. Hindi maadhyam aptitude books are bogus waste of time and money
because
1. They complicate even easy concepts by using too
much shuddha Hindi terminology
2. Theyre full of printing mistakes in answers. it ruins the mood and
tempo while practicing sums at home.
Therefore, when it comes to aptitude books, better go for English books of
reputed publication houses.

Appendix1: Sacred cutoffs of CSAT prelim exams

Only for the informative purpose. DONOT enter the examhall with cutoff
mindset. Each UPSC paper is unique, each years demography is unique. If
some baba or Sir has adviced that you must tick minimum 55 MCQs in
aptitude, ignore them. If you cant solve an MCQ then you CANNOT solve
that MCQ, dont dig your grave with guess work or gut feeling just to cross
55.
Exam
General
OBC
SC
ST
PH-1 Ortho
PH-2 Visual
PH-3 Hearing
Total

CS (Prelim)*
241
222
207
200
199
184
163
400

CS (Main)#
564
534
518
510
510
502
410
1750

CS(Final)
775
742
719
707
725
718
613
2025

Minimum passing marks: Prelims

From the above * and # , now we know UPSCs official system of
minimum passing marks (this was never disclosed in RTIs so far).
it implies that if you failed to reach minimum passing marks in any
one paper then they wont select you for next stage, even if you get
best marks in other papers.
BUT overall merit list prepared by combing scores of both GS +
Aptitue paper.

CSAT (GS)
CSAT (Aptitude)
total

MAX marks
200
200
400

Minimum
passing
marks
30
70

Must get
atleast __ MCQs
correct*
12
28

*1 MCQ worth 2.5 marks. And assume no MCQs is wrongly attempted.

PS: unlike Bank exams there is no sectional cutoffs within an individual
paper. (This is confirmed via RTI many times)
Sectional cutoff: no.
Paperwise cutoff: no. They combine marks of GS+aptitude: total
out of 400
Preliminary (CSAT) marks counted only for shortlisting candidates to
next stage (i.e. Mains examination).
Final selection depends on the combined score of mains + interview.

Appendix2: Download links

#1: UPSC CSAT: Aptitude papers of 2011, 2012, 2013
Link: https://files.secureserver.net/0s4I32bAjTl3bm
UPSC uploaded these papers on its official site but PDF quality very bad.

Hard to read the passages, and size too big especially 2013 paper pdf
alone is 22 MB. Hence Ive collected better quality PDFs from
testkafunda.com + included official answerkey from UPSC. 2013s answer
key will come only after final result, because again Lord Curzon
stonewalled my RTI.
IF you want topicwise sorted question papers, refer CSAT Topicwise solve
papers (1995-2013) by Disha Publication.

#2: 500 Reading comprehension (RC) from Pagalguy.com

Link: files.secureserver.net/0sSHBgG2lnFPwx
In the next article, well see the studyplan for mathematics and decision
making.
For more on aptitude, visit Mrunal.org/Aptitude.

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