Mrunal [Studyplan] CSAT Aptitude Paper 2_ Comprehension & Reasoning, Analysis, Previous Papers, Free...

6/13/2014 Mrunal [Studyplan] CSAT Aptitude Paper 2: Comprehension & Reasoning, analysis, previous papers, free studymaterial, cutoffs (part 1 of 3) Mrunal

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[Studyplan] CSAT Aptitude Paper 2: Comprehension & Reasoning, analysis, previouspapers, free studymaterial, cutoffs (part 1 of 3)

1. Chart: Analysis of all CSAT papers so far2. [Section I] Comprehension for CSAT

1. Step1: Finish theory2. How to prepare high level reasoning?3. Step#2: Move hands while reading passage4. Step#3: Maximum practice5. Comprehension: Why read Non-GS columns?6. What about the English passages?

3. [Section II] Reasoning for CSAT1. [Block 1] High level (HL) reasoning in CSAT

1. Sample questions: Logical Connectives2. Sample questions: Syllogism

2. [Block2] Arrangement1. A1: Blood relation2. A2: Grouping: People vs clothing/city/occupation/relation3. A3: Line Sequence / Comparison problems4. A4: Arrangement: table Circular / Rectangular5. A5: Conditional Team selection6. A6: Scheduling lectures, events, journey7. A7: Direction sense test

3. [Block 3] Reasoning: Non Verbal4. [Block 4] Reasoning: Misc. Topics / Low priority

1. M1: Missing number pattern2. M2: Sequence Series3. M3: Coding decoding4. M4: Logical Venn Diagrams5. M5: Calendar6. M6: Data Sufficiency (DS)

5. [Block 5] Reasoning: Totally Ignore these topics4. Study schedule for the remaining days5. Why people cant finish paper?

1. P1: Start with English passages2. P2: Dont keep counting black circles in OMR sheet3. P3: Dont come back for sets4. P4: Keep sitter Questions for the end

6. Become data processor NOT data collector7. Booklist for CSAT exam Paper II?

1. Backup#1: Banking, insurance etc.2. Backup#2: no competitive exam3. Backup#3: higher difficulty exams

8. Book related doubts9. Appendix1: Sacred cutoffs of CSAT prelim exams

10. 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 butfirst, How to prepare for CSAT paper II (aptitude) in a systematic and time-bound manner thattoo via selfstudy?

1. Comprehension and Reasoning Youre here2. Mathematics & Data Interpretation: high priority topics3. Decision Making + Mathematics: Medium & low priority topics

Structure of CSAT paper II (Aptitude)

Total Questions: 80Total Marks: 200Marks for correct answer: 2.5Negative 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 selectcandidates for next stage the Mains exam.

Four Sections of CSAT Paper II (Aptitude)

1. Comprehension (i) to test your understanding (ii) to test English2. Reasoning3. Mathematics4. 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 comefrom 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 2011 2012 2013

Comprehension passages (printed in both Hindi and English) 28 32 24

Passages to test your English knowledge (printed only in English) 9 8 8

Total 37 40 32

UPSC comprehension passages are tougher than banking, insurance, staff selection and StatePSCs 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 interpretationsets. [Same trend in CAT- upto mid-2000s, one passage 5 MCQs, nowadays 1 passagecontains 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 given2. With reference to the passage, which of the above assumptions is/are valid?

Interferences

3. What does the author imply?4. What does the passage imply?5. Which one of the following statements conveys the inference of the passage?6. Which of the following inferences can be made from the passage?

Central theme*

7. Which of the following statements constitute central passage of the theme?8. What is the essential message being conveyed?9. Which of the following best describes the thoughts of the author?

10. 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 provideassumptions and inferences as wrong options.

Passages Questions 2011 2012 2013

Comprehensionpassages

High level reasoning (HL) Find assumption, inference,central theme

10 8 8

other MCQs e.g. finding meaning of a phrase, cause-effectetc.

14 24 20

A. Subtotal: Comprehension 28 32 24

B. Englishpassages

i.e. those easy passage given before Decision Makingsegment, and only printed in English. No Hindi translationgive.

9 8 8

Total MCQs A+B 37 40 32

Many candidates dont need to practice comprehension at home. And in the exam, they makesilly mistakes by mixing up facts, assumptions, and inferences with the central theme. You need astrong 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 muchmore 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 Title Topics to focus

1basic oflogic

How to identify conclusion? he has given list of keywords on page 6.

2someinformationtips

Logical connective theory explained on page 19 and 20. He did not usethe word Logical Connective. He calls them hypotheticalreasoning. But either way its important for both CSAT and CAT. Afterthat read following article:

[Reasoning] Logical Connectives (if, unless, either or) for CSAT, CAT

shortcuts formulas approach explained

3 Assumptions

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 theanswers- why he classified something as Assumption?Otherwise in the comprehension youll always endup in 50:50doubt.Page 53: Exercise 3C, particularly the end part questions dealingwith assumption in passages.

5Evaluatinginference

Page 119-122: how to avoid confusion while deriving inference?Page 127 onwards: all the question passages. Also read fullexplanation given in the answers.

10 Cause EffectPage 287 onwards: differentiating between immediate cause vsprinciple cause. Itll help particularly in the passages related to science,environment or economy.

6

evaluatingthe givencourse ofaction

This will also help indirectly in the Decision Making Questions:

Page 168: how to determine whether a suggestion action reducesor solves the problem?Page 171: how to determine if suggestion solution is practical ornot?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 argumentsCh.8 Punch line.

So far, UPSC hasnt asked GMAT like questions about strengthen/weaken arguments in thegiven 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 worthimplementing for CSAT. While reading the passage, do two things:

1. Note down the assumption & premises on the margin, in a short-hand 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 andagain, 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 thepassage:

1. Passage: Language of the leader2. Passage: Meteor showers part I; Part II3. Passage: Multinational corporations

Additional tips from the same instructor:

3. How not to read the passage? 90% focus vs 20% focus4. 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 Imnot 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 theirpassages doesnt even justify 50 rupees for the book.If you can get such books from library then do borrow and practice. Otherwise dont wastemoney 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. (downloadlinks given in appendix of this article)

2. 500 passages gathered from pagalguy.coms old threads related to CAT preparation foryear 2011 and 2012. (download links given in appendix of this article)

3. Pagalguy thread for CAT RC discussion 20134. 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 comprehensionpassages 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 cut-pastes the passagesfrom prominent English newspapers and academic books. From his side, he only designsthe MCQs, and gives Hindi translations.Therefore, irrespective of your medium in mains exam, you have to read Englishnewspapers and magazines.Just because you finished college in English medium, doesnt automatically make youmaster 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 getyourself familiar with the sentence flow and vocabulary of such academic / column typepassages.Otherwise, in the exam, youll take 15 minutes just to read one passage, while otherplayers finish the same within 3 minutes. In past exams, many candidates failed to finishentire paper, only because of this reason.



To get a taste of comprehension passages, the best place is the Book review segmentwithin 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-reviews4. 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 gettime. Most candidates avoid such articles/columns in newspaper, thinking this is not importantfor General studies syllabus. But Keep in mind-Comprehension is a perishable skill that mustbe 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. Soonce youre done with that theory, youve automatically gained knowledge of such easyEnglish passages.But still for practice of such passages, you may go through papersets of Bank and SSCexams (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 Reasoning Topics 2011 2012 2013

High Level

Syllogism 3 5 0

Logical connectives 0 2 0

assumption / inference / conclusion 0 5 0

Subtotal: High level Reasoning 3 12 0

Arrangement

1 case vs. many questions 0 5 11

1 case 1 question 1 7 5

blood relation 3 1 0

Direction sense test 1 0 0

Sub Total: Sitting Arrangement 5 13 16

Non-Verbal

reflection from mirror 1 0 0

min. colors required to paint 1 0 0

which figure next 0 2 3

Cube figure 0 2 1

Subtotal: Non-Verbal 2 4 4

Misc

Venn Diagrams 1 1 1

Missing number pattern 1 0 3

Subtotal: Misc 2 1 4

TotalFinal Total Reasoning 12 30 24

% weightage in Paper II 15 37.5 30

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



UPSC asked no syllogism / logical connectives in 2013, but they filled up the quota of highlevel reasoning by asking 8 such MCQ (find assumption, inference etc) within 32comprehension MCQs.

High level reasoning (HLR) 2011 2012 2013

Standalone MCQs within reasoning section 3 12 0

HLR-MCQs within comprehension section 10 8 8

total HL reasoning 13 20 8

% weightage in CSAT Paper II (out of 80) 16% 25% 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 ofthe following conclusion is valid? then move to three statement and four statementsyllogism.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 morecomfortable. 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 followingarticles(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. Butthatd 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 EitherJohn is stupid or John is lazy?

a. John is lazy/therefore, John is not stupidb. John is not lazy/therefore, John is stupidc. John is not stupid/therefore, John is lazyd. John is stupid/therefore, John is not lazy

(CSAT 2012)Examine the following statements:

1. I watch TV only if I am bored2. 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 TVB. 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 B2. Either C & D are of same age or D is older than C3. B is older than C

Which of the following conclusions can be drawn from the above statements?

a. A is older than Bb. B and D are of the same agec. D is older than Cd. A is older than C

Sample questions: Syllogism

(Prelim 1998) consider following statements:

1. all members of Mohans family are honest2. some members of mohans family are not employed3. some employed persons are not honest4. 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 honestc. the honest members of Mohans family are not employedd. 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.


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Codes:

a. 1 and 3b. 1 and 2c. 2 and 3d. 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 2B. 2 and 3C. 1 and 3D. 1 and 4


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 frustratedb. Some drug addicts are whimsicalc. All frustrated people are drug addicts.d. Whimsical people are generally frustrated


1. Only those who have a pair of binoculars can become the member of the birdwatchersclub.

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 allsuch 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 practiceyou 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 arebrothers, A is doctor. E is an engineer married to one of the brothers and has two childrenB 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 inthe family. The family members are lawyer, teacher, salesman, engineer, accountant anddoctor. 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 thedaughter of B Then, the uncle of D is?MK Pandey Chapter 20 from Page 612 onwards. Understand the concept of backtrackingand how to draw family tree- especially for complex problems like A is wife of B who isnot an engineer etc.then do all exercises in 20A (page 628 onwards). but it is only for warmup. The realUPSC level sets begin from Exercise 20B and 20C. First solve them on your own, thenunderstand the full explanation and technique shown by MK Pandey.

Page Questionscombined problem of bloodrelation plus __.

Explanation

633 12-19 intelligence comparison 670

635 27-31 Weight comparison. 673

638 51-55Sitting arrangement + agecomparison.

680 (but he did not explain this one, justgave answer)

643 79-83 Trait comparison. 687-688

653 50-54 occupation 705

653 55-59 occupation 705

655 70-73 nothing 706

660 111-115 nothing try yourself

662 132-135 surnames 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 andso 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, Delhiand Ernakulam as their hometowns (Not necessarily in that order). They are studying inEngineering, Medical, Commerce, Economics and History Colleges (Not necessarily in thatorder). None of the five boys is studying in his hometown, but each of them studies in one of thecities 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 (notnecessarily in the order). No person wore shirt and pant of the same colour. Further, it isgiven that, A did not wear shirt of black colour. B did not wear shirt of blue colour. C didnot wear shirt of orange colour. A did not wear the pants of green colour. B wore pants oforange 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 hasto go up to meet his IAS officer friend. The doctor is equally friendly to all, and has to goup as frequently as go down. The engineer has to go up to meet his MLA friend abovewhose flat lives the professors friend. From the ground floor to the top floor, in whatorder do the five professionals live?

How to prepare? In MK Pandey Chapter 20:

Page Questions understand his technique explained in page __

599 ex1 602

632 1-5 667

638-39 51-55 680 although has no explanation

657 88-92 707

658 98-102 707

663 140-144 710

664 145-149 710

A3: Line Sequence / Comparison problems

Youre given information about people standing in a line / cars parked / marks or height or wealthof 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 notoldest. Q older than S but not than P or R. P richer than Q but not S. Arrange these men indescending order of their age and richness.(CSAT 2011) In a queue, Mr. X is fourteenth from the front and Mr. Y is seventeenth fromthe end, while Mr. Z is exactly in between Mr. X and Mr. Y. If Mr. X is ahead Mr. Y andthere 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 scoredmore than Rama. Padma scored more than Rama but less than Ratna. Who scored the



highest?



608-09 Point (3), Ex.7 609-10

633 12-19 670

635 27-31 673

644-45 91-95 689

645-46 96-100 690

649-51 25-36 699-700

654 65-69 706

660 116-121 708

661 122-126 708-709

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 arenot 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 spacedequidistant from adjacent chairs. C is seated next to A. A is seated two seats from D. B is notseated 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 2IV. Neither 1 nor 2



604-05

Ex5, Ex6606-608. pay attention to definite information vs comparative informationvs negative information and how he utilizes all three of them to make thearrangement.

637 39-43677-678 observe how he prepares diagram to accommodate complex info- gender vs marital status vs position on a circular table

640 62-71681-684. again observe how he prepared diagram to accommodate complexinfo of gender vs profession vs intelligence vs position on a rectangulartable.

654 60-64 This is for self-exercise.

655 74-77 this is for self-exercise

659 108-110 708

661 122-126 708-709

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 theforthcoming 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 ondifferent aspects of the composition of a piece of music. Seven persons are available forthis work; they are Rohit, Tanya, Shobha, Kaushal, Kunal, Mukesh and J aswant. Rohit andTanya will not work together. Kunal and Shobha will not work together. Mukesh and Kunalwant to work together. the only MCQ given.

How to prepare? MK Pandey Chapter 20:


621 Ex14621-623. Obverse his shortcut method, he focuses on the options that are blatantly violating the selection rules, thus he eliminates wrong optionsquickly.

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, Englishand Mathematics have to be arranged in a week from Monday to Friday. Only one lecturecan be arranged on each day. Economics cannot be scheduled on Tuesday. Guest faculty forHistory is available only on Tuesday. Mathematics lecture has to be schedules immediatelyafter the day of Economics lecture. English lecture has to be scheduled immediatelybefore the day of Economics lecture. ***then MCQs start**



634 20-26 671-673

638 44-50 678-679

641 72-78 684-687

651 37-43 702

656 78-82 706

659 103-107 708

662 127-131 709

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 andthen 18 km due South. How far is he from the starting point?

1. 6 km2. 12 km3. 33 km4. 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. North2. North-east3. North-west4. West

(2011) The houses of A and B face each other on a road going north-south, As being on thewestern side. A comes out of his house, turns left, travels 5 km, turns right, travels 5 km to thefront 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 Chapter8.

[Block 3] Reasoning: Non Verbal

Non-Verbal 2011 2012 2013

reflection from mirror 1 0 0

Min. colors required to paint the given figure. 1 0 0

which figure next (similar to those SSC/Bank question) 0 2 3

Cube figure which side will have what color / number / alphabet. 0 2 1

Subtotal: Non-Verbal 2 4 4

MK Pandey doesnt cover non-verbal reasoningPreparation 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-Evenchapters related to paper cutting and paper folding type MCQs.Reason: UPSC is full of uncertainty. Similarly nothing prevents them from asking papercutting / 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 ifyou begin right now (June), your skill/dexterity will perish by August end. Besides youcannot 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 andunnecessarily 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 assumption-inference.

Reasoning Misc. 2011 2012 2013

Missing number pattern 1 0 3

Venn Diagrams 1 1 1

total 2 1 4

M1: Missing number pattern

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

fig1 fig2 fig3

16 64 64

9 18 25 25 18 1 9 18 1

36 16 X

Answer choice: 4 / 16 / 25 / 36.(CSAT 2013) find the missing number X in following series

figure 1 figure 2 figure3

84 81 88

14 12 18 9 ? 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 andpractice the sumsTip: in the exam, solve these sums in the end. Because sometimes it may take 10 seconds,and sometimes even after 10 minutes of trial-error you may not see the pattern. So dontwaste 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 seriesis

a. 24/3/96b. 25/3/96c. 26/3/96d. 27/3/96

(1998) .Which one of the following satisfies relationship Dda:aDD:Rrb: ?

a. DDAb. RRRc. bRR



d. BBr

In the missing number questions we saw UPSC asked it twice- 2006 and 2013. So farUPSC hasnt asked sequence/series- but nothing prevents them from asking, especiallyunder the aegis of Chairman DP Agarwal, to break the backs of coaching classes and seniorplayers. Therefore, you should prepare such chillar topics as well.Dont live under overconfidence that just because xyz topic was not asked in last threeexams, so UPSC will never ask it in future exams.

Preparation Source: RS Aggarwal,Chapter 2 number analogy, following types

Type 8: number analogyType 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 codeATEXXXQIBVO refer to?

a. EAGERb. WAFERc. WAGERd. WATER

(2000) In a certain code, MARCH is written as OCTEJ, how is RETURN written in that code?

A. TFUVSMB. QGSTQMC. TGVWTPD. 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 nextarticle under Maths strategy.

2. Logical: youre given a complex Venn diagram, without any quantity or percentages. Itcontains overlapping of squares, rectangles, circles and triangles, then you have to identifywhich of them are both singer and painters etc.

In last three exams, UPSC asked both type of Venn diagrams. They also asked such MCQs in1996, 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. Thursdayb. Fridayc. Saturdayd. Sunday

Preparation source: My article under Aptitude series- click meBy the way, I consider Permutation, combination, probability, clock angles and mathematicalVenn 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 resideson a separate floor. Further,

1. T doesnt reside on topmost floor2. Q doesnt reside on ground floor3. 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 sufficientb. only 2 and 3 sufficientc. 1, 2 and 3 are sufficientd. 1, 2 and 3 are insufficient.

(2006) they gave four dice figures. and asked which of them are sufficient to find out thenumbers opposite to each other.

How to prepare DATA SUFFICIENCY?

Prepare data sufficiency ONLY after learning all the theories in reasoning andmathematics- 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 mainlyreserved for Bank exams. Again I use the word may because DP Aggarwal may ask It forbreaking the backs. but sometimes youve to take calculated risk hahaha

Topic What does it contain?RS

AggarwalMK

Pandey

1. Analyticaldecisionmaking or

2. EligibilityTests

In a big paragraph, first youre given recruitmentconditions. Then 4-5 Cases where youve to takeappropriate action e.g. select candidate, refer tomanager etc.This type of questions not seen in UPSC, henceignore.

18 Ch.12



3. Input-Output or

4. SequentialOutputTracing

First youre given an example: input, step I, II, III,IV, V then output. Then youre required to dosimilar for given 4-5 MCQs.

7

Ch.13,14, 15and16

Study schedule for the remaining days

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

Month What To Prepare Why?

JuneuptoMidJuly

high level reasoning +comprehension

Comprehension practice & mock tests will only causefrustration IF you dont finish high level reasoning theoryfirst.

maths: with emphasis onrecording all thecalculation errors andshortcuts in your diaryof mistakes.

Because it has so many topics, youve to start early.Besides, concepts related to HCF, LCM, Time-speed-distance etc will remain for longer duration in memory -Compared to dexterity over non-verbal reasoning or datainterpretation.

MidJuly toAugust9

Data interpretation(DI)sitting arrangementNonverbalreasoningmisc. topics undermaths & reasoningComprehensionpractice

Hardly contain any theory. Even if you finish entire DItoday 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 feelsleepy. 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. Downloadzip file from bottom.

Why people cant finish paper?

In past exams, many candidates have failed to finish entire aptitude paper within two hoursduration. Why?

1. They dont read columns in Hindu, IE, frontline, EPW etc. Hence they take 10-15 minutesto 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 /inferencetype question theyre 50:50 doubtful. YET they dont skip it, they just keep pondering overit for another 10-15 minutes.

3. At home, they dont study maths out of fear, and study reasoning in a casual manner. So tocross the imaginary cutoffs they come back again and again on same comprehensionpassages, 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 diagramdoesnt 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. Sotheyve 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 pageitllcontain those English testing passages (= those passages without Hindi translations). Solvethem first because its the easiest section in the entire paper. Lets assume cut off is xx. Thenyouve 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, 4For 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 therough-page. Then begin solving all passages one by one. I dont recommend this methodbecause:

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 comprehensionquestion 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 minutesbefore exam ends.But most candidates keep counting their black circles, after every 20-30 MCQs or every 30-45minutes- 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 MCQyoure 50:50 undecided. You mark its number on the last page of question paper, hoping Illcome 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 yourshort term memory just like Amir Khan in Ghajni. Youll have to spend another 3-5-7minutes 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 imaginarycutoff. In UPSC, usually Gut-feeling answers are wrong answers. So dont dig your grave innegative marking.

Same applies to blood relation, sitting arrangement, Data interpretation type sets. Solve theentire 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 coding-decoding, find analogy; ORNon-verbal questions like find next figure in the diagram, what will be the number / coloron xyz face of dice.For all such questions, note their page number on the rough space. Only when yourefinished with other questions, begin solving these questions. (this is one type of marks andreview in online exams)Reason: sometimes it may take 1 minute, sometimes 10 minutes to crack the pattern insuch MCQs. You dont want to break mental-rhythm during middle of the paper with suchbumpy-road MCQs, reserve them for the last lap.Same advice for any unconventional maths/reasoning questions. Donot break rhythm tosolve something that youve never encountered before at home. or youll end up throwinggood money after bad money.Remember: Youre not required to tick 80/80 MCQs to qualify for Mains. UPSC will giveyou only 2.5 marks whether you solve a given question in 1 minute or in 10 minutes. Solearn 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 toughaptitude questions, but theyre not that tough. You can solve most of them throughtraditional 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 gatheringmaterial for aptitude. So stop that material collection activity and get start practicing fromthe traditional books.

Booklist for CSAT exam?

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

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 VermaReasoning: RS Aggarwal OR BS Sijwali

if youre buying second hand then RS Aggarwal because contains more practice Qsthan Sijwali.



if youre buying brand new then BS Sijwali because ~Rs.200 cheaper than RSAggarwal and yet covers all topics with good number of practice questions.

Comprehension: MK Pandeys Analytical Reasoning (for assumption inference and highlevel reasoning) then maximum practice using online resources.English grammar: Objective General English by SP Bakshi (Mind it: this is not asked in CSATPaper 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 fornon-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 area-volume-perimeter =useless for CAT, CDS and SCRA.

3. Their Data interpretation sets dont have lengthy calculations and peculiar problems seen inbanking exams = useless for IBPS and SBI exams. Then youll have to buy another papersetor DI book.

4. They usually avoid input-output, eligibility test topic asked in banking exam. = useless forIBPS, 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, insuranceand Banking.

Therefore, if youre planning to give non-UPSC exams as career backup, then avoid purchasingAptitude manuals. At max, these manuals will help in CAPF (Assistant commandant) but notmuch 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 Sharmab. If youre weak at maths then Sarvesh Kumar.

2. Reasoning: dependsa. 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 toughsets on sentence arrangement and sentence correction. (Mind it CSAT doesnt askverbal ability /grammar). Hence use the sources given in backup#1.

b. Arun Sharma OR Ajay Singh then maximum practice from pagalguy.com threads forcomprehension and verbal ability. (Mind it CSAT doesnt ask verbal ability likethose sentence correction or sentence arrangement).

Book related doubts

Q. I already have purchased CSAT paper II Manual by xyz publication, do I need to referthose 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 for10-15 days. That way he can practice new stuff from your book while you get to practice theimportant 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 forcomprehension section of UPSC for those assumption / inference type of questions.RS Aggarwals chapters on logic-assumption-inference are just practice workbook, hardlyexplaining the theory/ concepts in detail.MK Pandeys puzzle test/ sitting arrangement chapter contains good number of UPSC levelquestion 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 asanalogy, 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 secondhand copy even in tier II cities.

Q. I already have CAT books OR CAT coaching material for reasoning. DO I need othersbooks?Ans. CAT material will work just fine. But with conditions-

1. CAT material usually doesnt cover non-verbal reasoning beyond those cube color, diceface 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, becausetheyre not seen in UPSC so far:

i. games and tournamentsii. 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 terminology2. 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 publicationhouses.

Appendix1: Sacred cutoffs of CSAT prelim exams

Only for the informative purpose. DONOT enter the examhall with cutoff mindset. Each UPSCpaper is unique, each years demography is unique. If some baba or Sir has adviced that youmust tick minimum 55 MCQs in aptitude, ignore them. If you cant solve an MCQ then youCANNOT solve that MCQ, dont dig your grave with guess work or gut feeling just to cross 55.

out of 400 2011 2012 2013 yet to come. Lord Curzon stonewalled my RTI

GEN 198 209

OBC 175 190



SC 165 185

ST 161 181

PH1- Ortho 135 160

PH2-Visual 124 164

PH3-Hearing 96 111

Sectional cutoff: no.Paperwise cutoff: no. They combine marks of GS+aptitude: total out of 400Preliminary (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/0s4I32bAjTl3bmUPSC uploaded these papers on its official site but PDF quality very bad. Hard to read thepassages, and size too big especially 2013 paper pdf alone is 22 MB. Hence Ive collected betterquality PDFs from testkafunda.com + included official answerkey from UPSC. 2013s answerkey 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/0sSHBgG2lnFPwxIn the next article, well see the studyplan for mathematics and decision making.For more on aptitude, visit Mrunal.org/Aptitude.

URL to article: http://mrunal.org/2014/06/studyplan-csat-aptitude-paper-2-comprehension-reasoning-analysis-previous-papers-free-studymaterial-cutoffs-part-1-2.html

Posted By Mrunal On 03/06/2014 @ 18:20 In the category Aptitude

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