Strategy for Comprehension

In terms of Comprehension Candidate needs to improve their comprehend power as comprehension consists half of the paper. It is bilingual, Hindi and English both, daily newspaper reading could keep you in safe. The paper also gave importance to testing English language skills. A comprehension exercise consists of a passage upon which questions are set to test to candidate’s ability to understand the content of the given text and infer information and meaning from it. For doing best in comprehension one should keep few points in mind while attempting this. Firstly, read the passage thoroughly and carefully, if the meaning of the passage is not clear in very first reading then quickly go through the passage again. The meaning of the passage should be very clear and one should understand what the writer is trying to convey. Here we can find that paper one is helpful to solve, for instance in the the Passage section questions like “inclusive growth”, "creative society” ”ecosystems” are the part of 2011 paper second, which is very much part of paper one. English Language Comprehension is a major concern for hindi medium candidates they should take it seriously, a basic English grammar such as High School English Grammar & Composition by Wren and Martin could be useful.

Strategy for Decision Making and Problem Solving

Although Decision making and Problem Solving section had less contribution in question paper but there is difference, the questions asked in this section had no penalty for wrong answer. All questions are purely application based. For example "You are officer in charge for providing medical facilities to the survivors of an earthquakes affected area. Despite your best possible effort, people put allegations against making money out of the funds given for relief. You would………”. Student must attempt this section it is quite scoring and the nature of questions is also practical, one must have experience the given situation at one or another moment. Here again paper one will help you out as the questions being asked is socio-economic-political in nature. In administration Decision making is a process diverging to explore the possibilities and then converging on solution. One of the touchstones of Decision making is its successful implementation. There is no virtue in merely taking quick decisions. What matters is whether the decision is implemented or not. It is also necessary that your course of action must figure out the situation well. There are books available in the market but as far as I am concern this books won’t help in your preparation, this section have to develop by yourself. Search Techniques of Decision making and Techniques of Problem Solving in Google and Wikipedia and read some 30-50 pages on them. You can also read chapters like Decision making from Robbins, Koontz Weirich to have theoretical knowledge.

Strategy for Logical Reasoning and Analytical Ability

Logical reasoning and analytical ability is also matter of concern. It has as many as 13 questions, you are required to solve problems related to blood relation, syllogism, sitting arrangement, series completion, coding decoding, puzzle test, logical sequence etc. Verbal and nonverbal Reasoning by R S Agarwal and General Mental Ability Section of Tata McGraw Hill Guide have good parts in this section. Solve the Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning questions that come out in magazines like General Knowledge Today, Pratiyogita Darpan etc.  Taking a mock test of mathematics and general ability questions would be a good practice and help to pick out the most appropriate option. Develop the skill to solve mathematical & reasoning problems faster. It comes with practice. So the sooner you start practicing, the better your chances of clearing CSAT in 2012.

Strategy for Quantitative Aptitude, Basic Numeracy and Data Interpretation

Quantetive Aptitude, basic numeracy and data interpretation is also a major section. You should make your mathematics, reasoning & mental ability side strong .We have Basic numeracy in syllabus but there is nothing basic in questions paper, yes your basics should be clear but you should raise your level beyond the basics. Number System, Average, Percentage, Ratio and Proportion, Profit and Loss, Time and Work, Time and Distance are the important topics. Data interpretation has charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. Basic concepts from your 11th and 12th class mathematics should be very clear and you should be able to derive and apply the formulas to any given situation. If the concepts are clear you will be able to relate and then solve each problem confidently. Solving mock question papers is the easiest road to cracking any Math's paper. Don’t just solve questions, solve them quickly, and keep track of them time you take to solve a question. You will have limited time during the papers so stick to your time limit and solve mock papers within the stipulated time. Keep a stopwatch if required. For this section you must go thoroughly, Quantitative Aptitude by R S Agarwal and Quicker Maths (Magical Book Series) by M. Tyra.