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CIVIL
SERVICES (PRELIMS) 2016 -PAPER II
Civil
Services (Prelims) 2016-Paper II had 80 questions. Each of the 80
questions carried equal marks of 2.5. For each of the questions,
0.833 marks was deducted for any wrong answer marked. Out of a total
of these 80 questions, there were 27 English questions (from 23
passages), 22 Reasoning and 31 Maths questions. These questions,
however, were placed in a random order. In English part, all the
questions were pertaining to the passages. The
nature of the questions was such that the answer cannot be obtained
by simply scanning through the passage. The nature of the questions
were such that in order to attempt them, a diverse application of
skills was required -speed reading skills, accurate comprehension,
ability to draw inferences, understand the inherent assumptions,
decode the tone of the author, understand the writing style etc. In
general these questions were DIFFICULT. So, for all those candidates
who had not done basic practice would have found this area a real
tough one to crack. However in the test area of "Maths" and
"Reasoning", some of the questions were doable. Still,
there were some qs from Maths & Reasoning which were more time
consuming. Again, students, who had not done enough practice would
have faced enormous difficulty there. While the overall difficulty of
the paper has been on the higher side, a
well prepared candidate can
still identify about 40 qs (out of a total of 80 qs) which are doable
in nature. Even if one concentrates on these questions and attempt
them, once can cross the cut-off marks of 33%.
The
questions can be classified area-wise. The table below gives the
broad overview of the questions which were there related to each of
the test areas.
|
TEST AREA |
NUMBER OF QUESTIONS |
MAXIMUM POSSIBLE MARKS |
DIFFICULTY LEVEL |
|
Comprehension |
27 |
67.5 |
DIFFICULT |
|
Basic Numeracy |
30 |
75 |
MODERATE -DIFFICULT |
|
Analytical Ability & Logical Reasoning |
23 |
57.5 |
MODERATE -DIFFICULT |
|
General Mental Ability |
|
TOTAL |
80 |
200 |
DIFFICULT |
Let
us analyze the different types of questions from each of the test
area, number of doable questions in each of the test area.
COMPREHENSION
No.
of Questions:27
The
paper had 27 questions from a total of seventeen
passages. The passages were drawn majorly from subject areas
like Social, Economics, Environment, Polity. The questions demanded
deeper understanding of the concept, extending beyond the passage.
None of the questions could be answered without a thorough reading of
the passages. Overall, the Comprehension passages were moderate
-difficult. The length of the passages (40 words per passage to 270
words per passage) were more or less on the similar lines as the
previous year. In most of the questions, you have to identify the
correct/incorrect statement(s)/assumption(s)/inference(s). A score,
which is definitely achievable, in this test area, alone, will be 25+
marks.
|
S No |
Starting words of the Passage |
|
Number of Qs |
Level of difficulty |
|
1 |
By killing transparency and competition, crony capitalism |
|
1 |
Moderate |
|
2 |
Climate adaptation may be rendered ineffective if policies are not |
|
1 |
|
3 |
Understanding of the role of biodiversity in the hydrological |
|
1 |
|
4 |
In the last decade, the banking sector has been restructured with a high degree |
|
1 |
|
5 |
Safe and sustainable sanitation in slums has immeasurable |
|
1 |
Moderate -Difficult |
|
6 |
To understand the nature and quantity of Government proper for man, it is
necessary |
|
1 |
Difficult |
|
7 |
The nature of the legal imperatives in any given state corresponds to the
effective |
|
1 |
Difficult |
|
8 |
About 15% of global green house gas emissions come from agriculture practices.
This includes |
|
1 |
Moderate |
|
9 |
As we look to 2050, when we will need to feed two billion more people |
|
1 |
Moderate |
|
10 |
All humans digest mother's milk as infants, but until cattle began being
domesticated 10,000 years ago |
|
1 |
Moderate -Difficult |
|
11 |
The conceptual difficulties in National Income comparisons between
underdeveloped and |
|
1 |
Difficult |
|
12 |
An increase in human made carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could initiate a
chain reaction |
|
1 |
|
13 |
Historically, the biggest challenge to world agriculture has been to achieve a
balance |
|
4 |
|
14 |
Accountability, or the lack of it, in governance generally, and civil services,
in particular |
|
4 |
Moderate |
|
15 |
In general, religious traditions stress our duty to god, or to some universally
ethical principle. |
|
2 |
Difficult |
|
16 |
Biomass as fuel for power, heat, and transport has the highest mitigation
potential of all |
|
4 |
Difficult |
|
17 |
We are witnessing a dangerous dwindling of biodiversity in our food supply |
|
1 |
Moderate -Difficult |
|
TOTAL (17 Passages) |
27 |
|
BASIC
NUMERACY
No.
of Questions:30
The
number of questions pertaining to Basic Numeracy was 30. The
questions were from different topics (Numbers, Equations, Ratio, Time
& Work, Time & Distance, Averages, Mixtures, Geometry &
Mensuration, Probability etc). A candidate, well prepared, can answer
at least 13 questions, with at least 80% accuracy in about 35
minutes.
|
S No |
Topic/Area |
Number of Qs |
Nature of Qs |
Number of doable Qs |
|
1 |
Numbers |
5 |
MODERATE -DIFFICULT |
2 |
|
2 |
Equations, Ratio |
6 |
3 |
|
3 |
Percentages, Profit, Loss |
5 |
2 |
|
4 |
Averages, Mixtures, Alligations |
4 |
2 |
|
5 |
Time & Work |
2 |
1 |
|
6 |
Time & Distance |
2 |
1 |
|
7 |
Geometry & Mensuration |
4 |
1 |
|
8 |
Probability |
1 |
- |
|
9 |
Permutations & Combinations |
1 |
- |
|
Total |
30 |
Moderate -Difficult |
12 |
ANALYTICAL
ABILITY & LOGICAL REASONING, GENERAL MENTAL ABILITY
No.
of Questions:23
This
test area comprises questions from topics like Sequencing,
Arrangement, Distribution, Coding Decoding, Critical Reasoning etc
There were at least 10 doable questions (out of 23). A good time
allocation strategy will be 35 minutes for these questions.
|
S No |
Topic/Area |
Number of Qs |
Nature of Qs |
Number of doable Qs |
|
1 |
Directions |
3 |
|
1 |
|
2 |
Distribution (Puzzles) -2 sets |
8 |
4 |
|
3 |
Coding Decoding |
1 |
1 |
|
4 |
Critical Reasoning (Inferences, Conclusions, Assumptions) |
3 |
1 |
|
5 |
Cubes |
1 |
1 |
|
6 |
Arrangement -Circular |
1 |
1 |
|
7 |
Quants based Reasoning |
2 |
|
|
8 |
Arrangement -Linear (Set based questions) |
3 |
1 |
|
9 |
Miscellaneous |
1 |
|
|
Total |
23 |
Moderate |
10 |
|
