Q. What is pattern of UPSC CSE Prelims Exam ?
Ans : Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) conducts Civil Services Exam (IAS Exam) annually to select candidates for various Government posts. The UPSC CSE exam is conducted in 2 – stages: Preliminary & Mains.
UPSC CSE Preliminary Exam is objective type in nature, whereas, the UPSC CSE Mains exam comprises of 9 Subjective papers and a Personality Test (Interview).
Here, we will be discussing everything that a UPSC IAS aspirant needs to know about UPSC CSE Preliminary Exam in detail.
UPSC CSE Preliminary Exam is a screening test to select candidates for Civil Services Main Examination. It comprises of 2 compulsory Papers that are conducted on same day in two – sessions via offline mode (pen – paper).
1. Both the papers of UPSC CSE Prelims exam will be objective type in nature (multiple choice questions).
2. Each paper will be of 2 hours duration.
3. Each paper will be of 200 marks.
4. There will be negative marking for incorrect answers. 1/3rd marks (0.33 marks) will be deducted as penalty for wrong answers.
5. Question papers for the papers of UPSC Preliminary Exam will be set in both Hindi & English.
6. There is a cut-off in the IAS Preliminary Exam which varies every year and is decided by the UPSC. The marks obtained in General Studies Paper – I of the UPSC IAS Exam alone are considered in deciding the cut-off and selecting candidates for the UPSC CSE Mains Exam.
7. The General Studies Paper – II of the Civil Services Preliminary Exam will be a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%.
Pattern of the UPSC CSE Preliminary Exam
|
Paper Name |
Time Duration |
No. of Questions |
Total Marks |
Nature of Paper |
|
GS Paper I |
2 hours |
100 |
200 |
Marks considered for Preliminary Exam Merit |
|
GS Paper II (CSAT) |
2 hours |
80 |
200 |
Qualifying in nature |
A crucial part of one’s preparation is having the right study material. The below given links would provide an aspirant UPSC CSE Syllabus, Booklist, Preparation Strategy & Study Material & Online Prelims Test Series.
Read UPSC CSE Prelims Syllabus here (click here)
Read Dos & Don’ts for UPSC CSE Prelims Exam (click here)
Read UPSC CSE Booklist for Various Subjects (click here)
Read Monthly Current Affairs & Prelims Exclusive Material (click here)
Solve UPSC CSE Previous Year Papers (click here)
Get Online Prelims Test Series 2019 (click here)
All The Best!
