UPSC CDS 2022 Section-wise Preparation Strategies for English/GK/Math in Combined Defence Services Exam

UPSC CDS 1 2022 Preparation Strategies: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) will be conducting the Combined Defence Services (1), 2022 Written Exam on 10th April 2022 for admission of 341 vacancies in the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Indian Naval Academy (INA), Air Force Academy (AFA), Officers’ Training Academy (OTA) (both Men & Women). Candidates must qualify in the CDS Written Exam by obtaining the minimum qualifying marks to be called for the UPSC CDS SSB Interview 2022 (Intelligence and Personality Test). UPSC CDS 1 Admit Card 2022 is available for download from 14th March 2022 to 10th April 2022. UPSC CDS 2022 Online Registration ended on 11th January 2022 at 6 pm. In this article, we have shared the UPSC CDS 1 2022 Section-wise Preparation Strategies for English Language, General Knowledge, and Elementary Mathematics. 

UPSC CDS 2022 Important Dates

UPSC CDS 1 2022 Exam Pattern

The UPSC CDS 1 2022 Written Exam will include sections namely English, General Knowledge, and Elementary Mathematics as per the Institutions. The papers will consist of Objective Type questions only. The questions papers (test booklets) of Elementary Mathematics & General Knowledge will be set bilingually in Hindi as well as English.

The maximum marks allotted to the written examination and to the interviews will be equal for each course. This means that the maximum marks allotted to the written examination and to the interviews will be 300, 300, 300, and 200 each for admission to the Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy, Air Force Academy, and Officers’ Training Academy respectively.

For Admission to Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy, and Air Force Academy

For Admission to Officers’ Training Academy

UPSC CDS 1 2022 Written Exam Section-wise Preparation Tips

Candidates preparing for the UPSC CDS 1 2022 Written Exam are advised to create an effective study plan. One should start with assessing the syllabus & cut-offs, know important topics, analyze subject-wise topics to understand their strong & weak areas. Half of the preparation is done when one knows what and how much to study. Practicing every day is the key to scoring high and expanding your skills at solving questions. Practice as many previous years' question papers, mock tests, quizzes, etc with a timer as possible to keep your mind adapted to the exam setting and quick solving strategies. Most importantly, keep your morale and confidence high while giving yourself sufficient rest intervals during preparation time.

Let us the section-wise preparation tips for UPSC CDS 1 2022 Written Exam.

How to prepare English Language for UPSC CDS 2022?

Syllabus: Reading Comprehension, Spotting Errors, Sentence Rearrangement, Idioms & Phrases, Ordering of Sentences, Cloze Test (Fill in the Blanks), Synonyms & Antonyms, Vocabulary

English Language for UPSC CDS 2022 is one of the most scoring sections where the candidates will be assessed for their skills in English Grammar, Vocabulary, and Comprehension. As per the previous year question paper for UPSC CDS 2021, one can expect upto 10 questions each in Reading Comprehension, Synonyms, Antonyms, Idioms & Phrases, Parts of Speech, Cloze Test (Fill in the Blanks), Spotting Error, Ordering of Sentence, Sentence Completion, Preposition & Determiners.

Good command over English Grammar and Vocabulary is the key to scoring high in the English Language section. Read the newspapers, magazines, editorials, and books. Mark new words and look up their meaning in the dictionary. Solve as many previous years’ question papers, mock tests, quizzes as possible to boost your performance. Take up any of these Best Books to prepare for CDS English Language such as High School English Grammar & Composition Edition by Wren and Martin, Objective General English by SP Bakshi or Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis to practice Grammar exercises. 

Reading Comprehension: Regular practice is crucial to developing your speed, understanding tones of RCs. Read the passage carefully and examine the theme to spot keywords & answers easily. Aim to attempt 4 to 5 RCs every day, build the habit to note important points, solve data-driven questions. Most importantly, RCs are to be solved calmly so that you do not have to keep revisiting the passage repeatedly.

Spotting Errors: A strong understanding of grammar and vocabulary is a MUST for spotting grammatically incorrect sentences. Brush up basic rules of grammar, tenses, verbs, adverbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, prepositions, conjunction, articles, singular & plural rules, vocabulary to spot errors in the sentence. Regular reading practice will also aid in solving Error Detection questions.

 Sentence Rearrangement: These questions include rearranging jumbled lines to form a sensible sentence. Strong vocabulary and grammar aid in finding the logical sequence of the lines. Look at the connectors to spot the flow. Look at the articles, adverbs, definers, connectors, pronouns, etc to take cues while arranging the lines of the sentences. 

Idioms & Phrases: One should have the knowledge and aim at expanding their knowledge bank of most common Idioms & Phrases in English. Practice at least 10 Idioms & Phrases every day throughout the preparation time.

Ordering of Sentences: This requires a basic understanding of the Grammar for the construction of sentences. The sentence order can only be right when one understands Clauses (subject-object-verb), Modifiers, adverbs, auxiliary verbs, indirect objects, prepositional phrases, etc. Always place the Subject first. After completing the sentence order, re-read it in order to get the proper flow of the sentence.

Cloze Test (Fill in the Blanks): A good command over English Grammar, Vocabulary, Nouns, pronouns, tenses, prepositions, conjunctions, adjectives, subject-verb, and agreement rule, etc, Idioms & Phrases, and Clauses are the key to solving Cloze Test (Fill in the Blanks) questions in CDS English. The questions usually have a clue hence it is advised to re-read the sentences twice or thrice carefully. 

Synonyms & Antonyms: Candidates must be well versed that synonyms are words or phrases that carry the identical meaning as the word in question while antonyms are words or phrases that are the opposites of the word in question. Scoring high in Synonyms & Antonyms questions requires a good hold of vocabulary. Learn at least 10 -20 new words every day.

Candidates can download the UPSC CDS (I & II) Previous Year Question Papers (2021 to 2016) English Language in PDF format to boost their preparation. Click Here.

How to prepare General Knowledge for UPSC CDS 2022?

Syllabus: History, Geography, Politics, Economics, Science (Physics, Chemistry, Biology), Current Affairs, Static GK

Candidates are advised to revise all elementary subjects such as History, Geography, Politics, Economics, Science (Physics, Chemistry, Biology), Static GK, and latest Current Affairs. To score high in Static GK questions, read all important Articles & Schedules in the Indian Constitution, Chief Ministers, Cabinet Ministers, Governors, Important Personalities, important Temples, Dams, UNESCO Heritage Sits, Art & Culture, National Parks, Bird Sanctuaries, Wildlife Sanctuaries, etc, list of longest rivers, highest mountains, sports winners (Indian), etc. As per previous years' question paper analysis, one can expect 10-20 questions each in History, Geography, Politics, Economics, Science (Physics, Chemistry, Biology).

To score high in Current Affairs, make a habit of reading newspapers (online or hardcopy), read news related to government schemes, summits & conferences, science & tech, sports news, index & reports, budget allocations, Defense events, important appointments, etc. Read books such as Manorama Yearbook, magazines such as Competition Success Review (CSR), Pratiyogita Darpan, newspapers such as The Hindu, The Economic Times, etc. As per previous years' question paper analysis, one can expect upto 20-22 questions in Current Affairs.

Candidates can download the UPSC CDS (I & II) Previous Year Question Papers (2021 to 2016) General Knowledge in PDF format to boost their preparation. Click Here.

How to prepare Elementary Mathematics for UPSC CDS 2022?

Syllabus: Arithmetic, Algebra, Trigonometry, Geometry, Mensuration, and Statistics.

Candidates are advised to revise all elementary Mathematics to score high. Solve as many previous years' questions papers as possible to speed up your solving skills and accuracy. Build your basics, create tables & charts for clarity, apply correct formulas, and aim to solve the questions in a timed manner. Do not waste time on questions you are unable to solve. The important topics to focus on in the CDS Mathematics section are:

Arithmetic: Number System, Elementary Number Theory, Division Algorithm, Factorization Theorem. H.C.F. and L.C.M. Euclidean algorithm. Logarithms to base 10, laws of logarithms, use of logarithmic tables. One can expect 20 to 25 Arithmetic questions.

Algebra: Remainder Theorem, H.C.F., L.C.M., Theory of polynomials, solutions of quadratic equations, relation between its roots and coefficients (only real roots to be considered). One can expect 25 to 30 Algebra questions.

Trigonometry: Sine ×, cosine ×, Tangent × when 0° < × < 90° Values of sin ×, cos × and tan ×, for × = 0°, 30°, 45°, 60° and 90° Simple trigonometric identities. Use of trigonometric tables. Simple cases of heights and distances. One can expect 15 to 20 Trigonometry questions.

Geometry: Lines and angles, Plane and plane figures, and Theorems on (i) Properties of angles at a point, (ii) Parallel lines, (iii) Sides and angles of a triangle, (iv) Congruency of triangles, (v) Similar triangles, (vi) Concurrence of medians and altitudes, (vii) Properties of angles, sides, and diagonals of a parallelogram, rectangle, and square, (viii) Circles and its properties including tangents and normals, and (ix) Loci. One can expect 10 to 12 Geometry questions.

Mensuration: Areas of squares, rectangles, parallelograms, triangles, and circles. Areas of figures which can be split up into these figures (Field Book), Surface area and volume of cuboids, lateral surface and volume of right circular cones and cylinders, surface area, and volume of spheres. One can expect 10 to 12 Mensuration questions.

Statistics: Collection and tabulation of statistical data, Graphical representation frequency polygons, histograms, bar charts, pie charts, etc. Measures of central tendency. One can expect 10 to 12 Statistics questions.

Candidates can download the UPSC CDS (I & II) Previous Year Question Papers (2021 to 2016) Elementary Mathematics in PDF format to boost their preparation. Click Here.

UPSC CDS 1 2022 Admit Card