CIVIL SERVICES (PRELIMS) 2015 -PAPER II
Civil
Services (Prelims) 2015 - 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 30 English questions (from 23
passages), 25 Reasoning and 25 Maths questions. These questions,
however, were placed in a random order. In English part, all the
questions were pertaining to the passages. In
the earlier years, it has been seen that the number of comprehension
passages used to be in the range of 10-12 but for this year 2015, the
number of passages has been more than doubled. Also, 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 VERY 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, one 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
|
30
|
75
|
DIFFICULT
|
Basic
Numeracy
|
25
|
62.5
|
MODERATE
-DIFFICULT
|
Analytical
Ability & Logical Reasoning
|
25
|
62.5
|
MODERATE
-DIFFICULT
|
General
Mental Ability
|
TOTAL
|
80
|
200
|
DIFFICULT
|
The
table below gives the number of questions (difficulty level wise)
with respect to each test area.
-
Test
Area
|
Number
of Questions (Level of Difficulty wise)
|
Easy
|
Medium
|
Difficult
|
Total
|
Comprehension
|
0
|
7
|
23
|
30
|
Basic
Numeracy
|
10
|
3
|
12
|
25
|
Analytical
Ability & Logical Reasoning
|
15
|
3
|
7
|
25
|
General
Mental Ability
|
Total
|
25
|
13
|
42
|
80
|
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: 30
The
paper had 30 questions from a total of twenty three 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 extremely
difficult. The length of the passages (44 words per passage to 262
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 good
score in this test area, alone, will be 27+ marks.
-
S
No
|
Starting
words of the Passage
|
Approx
number of words in passage
|
Number
of Qs
|
Level
of difficulty
|
1
|
Climate
Change is already making many people hungry......
|
86
|
1
|
Difficult
|
2
|
The
Global Financial Stability Report finds that the share of
portfolio...
|
94
|
1
|
Difficult
|
3
|
Open
defecation is disastrous when practised in very densely...
|
119
|
1
|
Difficult
|
4
|
We
generally talk about democracy but when it comes to any
particular...
|
98
|
1
|
Moderate
|
5
|
The
existence/establishment of formal financial institutions that
offer...
|
93
|
2
|
Moderate
-Difficult
|
6
|
Governments
may have to take steps which would otherwise be an infringement
on the Fundamental Rights of individual....
|
139
|
1
|
Difficult
|
7
|
India
has suffered from persistent high inflation. Increase in
administered prices...
|
82
|
1
|
Difficult
|
8
|
No
Right is absolute, exclusive or inviolable....
|
45
|
1
|
Moderate
|
9
|
The
conflict between man and state...
|
84
|
1
|
Moderate
|
10
|
Climate
change is a complex policy issue with major implications in terms
of finance..
|
170
|
4
|
Moderate
-Difficult
|
11
|
The
richer States have a responsibility to cut down carbon
emissions...
|
102
|
1
|
Difficult
|
12
|
Set
against a rural backdrop....
|
112
|
1
|
Difficult
|
13
|
The
ultimate aim of the government is not to control...
|
82
|
1
|
Difficult
|
14
|
Our
municipal corporations are understaffed...
|
102
|
1
|
Moderate
|
15
|
Flamingos
in large flocks in the wild are social....
|
44
|
1
|
Difficult
|
16
|
Vast
numbers of Indian citizens without bank accounts....
|
109
|
1
|
Difficult
|
17
|
Individuals,
groups and leaders who promote human development....
|
134
|
2
|
Moderate
-Difficult
|
18
|
Human
history abounds in claims....
|
38
|
1
|
Difficult
|
19
|
By
2050, the Earth's Population...
|
94
|
1
|
Moderate
|
20
|
Many
people in India feel....
|
50
|
1
|
Difficult
|
21
|
India
accounts for nearly a fifth of the ...
|
105
|
1
|
Difficult
|
22
|
Foods
travel more than the people who eat them...
|
76
|
1
|
Difficult
|
23
|
I
must say that, beyond occasionally exposing me to laughter, my
constitutional...
|
262
|
3
|
Moderate
-Difficult
|
TOTAL
(23 Passages)
|
30
|
DIFFICULT
|
BASIC
NUMERACY
No.
of Questions:25
The
number of questions pertaining to Basic Numeracy was 25. The
questions were from different topics (Numbers, Equations, Ratio, Time
& Work, Time & Distance, Data Interpretation). A candidate,
well prepared, can answer at least 12 questions, with at least 80%
accuracy about 30 minutes.
-
S
No
|
Topic/Area
|
Number
of Qs
|
Nature
of Qs
|
Number
of doable Qs
|
1
|
Numbers
|
3
|
MODERATE
-DIFFICULT
|
1
|
2
|
Equations,
Ratio
|
8
|
4
|
3
|
Percentages,
Profit, Loss
|
2
|
1
|
4
|
Averages,
Mixtures, Alligations
|
1
|
1
|
5
|
Time
& Work
|
1
|
1
|
6
|
Time
& Distance
|
2
|
1
|
7
|
Data
Interpretation
|
3
|
1
|
8
|
Geometry
& Mensuration
|
1
|
1
|
9
|
Permutations
& Combinations
|
4
|
1
|
Total
|
25
|
Moderate
-Difficult
|
12
|
ANALYTICAL
ABILITY & LOGICAL REASONING, GENERAL MENTAL ABILITY
No.
of Questions:30
This
test area comprises questions from topics like Number Series,
Sequencing, Arrangement, Comparison, Non-Verbal
Reasoning,Distribution, Venn diagrams, Clocks, etc There were at
least 14 doable questions (out of 30). 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
|
Missing
Number in the series (Figure based)
|
3
|
MODERATE
|
2
|
2
|
Directions
|
1
|
1
|
3
|
Distribution
(Puzzles)
|
2
|
1
|
4
|
Venn
diagrams
|
2
|
1
|
5
|
Comparison
|
5
|
3
|
6
|
Non
Verbal Reasoning
|
1
|
1
|
7
|
Critical
Reasoning (Inferences, Conclusions, Assumptions)
|
5
|
1
|
8
|
Clocks
|
1
|
1
|
9
|
Cubes
|
1
|
1
|
10
|
Deductions
|
2
|
1
|
11
|
Miscellaneous
|
2
|
1
|
Total
|
25
|
Moderate
|
14
|
|