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CSP General Studies Paper II: Syllabus Analysis & Strategy

CSAT or General Studies Paper II, what should we call this thing?

The term CSAT ( Civil Service Aptitude Test) is coined by major league coaching classes and not officially recognized by the UPSC. Not even used in the notifications. But ever since UPSC changed the Civil Services Preliminary Examination structure in 2011, General Studies Paper-II is popularly known as CSAT, if not both of the CSP General Studies papers. But to be precise, the name of Civil Services Preliminary Exam is still intact, even though from 2013 onwards therell be a common screening test i.e. CSP for both Civil Services (Main) Examination and IFoS (Main) Examination. Names of the papers would still be printed in UPSC test booklets General Studies Paper I and General Studies Paper II.
Interpersonal skills including communication skills Skills which one needs while dealing with different people during different situations, for better and healthy results. Basic Interpersonal skills, namely: Communication Skills Listening Skills Stress Management Assertiveness Decision Making Problem Solving Verbal Communication Non-Verbal Communication

Why no question is asked from this section? Those who expected grammar questions as there is a term called communication skill in syllabus were disappointed by UPSC, by not asking any questions from these areas at all. There were no questions in Interpersonal skills section, but questions came coupled with decision making and problem solving. It doesnt mean UPSC will stick to the same type of questions in future too. They can go for language skill testing questions, but that may put students from rural background at a disadvantage, and thats probably the main reason why UPSC has not tried those areas directly in question paper. For solving the Decision making and problem solving section, best answer is often derived by using the interpersonal skills, and thats what UPSC expects from future Civil Servants .

2 Decision-making and problem-solving The-no-negative-marking questions (7-8) come from this section. Decision Making skills are not separate from Interpersonal Skills they are very well related. Question will be asked placing you in the shoes of a Civil Servant. You are expected to think and take decisions like an officer. The most common type of question asked is situation analysis type Your instant response is asked and different marks being awarded to the most appropriate and not so appropriate answer.

Why IAS? Why now? A last resort to prove all detractors wrong? Prestige, job, or service of general public? Do you know how rural BPL families cope with life during this period of high inflation? Do you want to work for them? The answer to the question is more or less the same, no matter how you respond, it has to be idealistic but when board asks this question, Why IAS? they actually want to know what does it mean to you in your words. Thats what interview is all about, assessing your perspective by your responses. Its a human nature, we are all willing to have more, achieve more in life. Services like IAS captivates us for that reason. While you can contribute in development of the country in countless ways, we are all part of this process even though some of us arent aware of it, India is the sum of her peoples efforts and as a concerned citizen I want to contribute more; the scope of work in IAS is large; your work can affect a huge mass of public, you can make a difference in their lives. The thing that attracts me is that a civil servant has the privilege working on the grassroots level of the challenges our country is facing. In spite of people who want to work for the general public? Why we dont progress?