CSAT: A Practical Guide to Securing 66.67 Marks in UPSC Prelims 2025
Today, let’s step away from syllabus-heavy discussions and focus on a critical yet often neglected aspect of UPSC preparation — the strategy for the CSAT paper inside the exam hall. Whether you're a first-timer or a seasoned aspirant, a clear, tactical approach can significantly impact your performance on May 25, the day of the prelims.
1. Let Go of Preconceived Notions
A common myth among candidates is that the CSAT paper is dominated by challenging math questions, making it inaccessible to those from non-technical or humanities backgrounds. However, real-world exam patterns reveal that CSAT varies each year — at times, the comprehension section proves tougher than the quantitative one. Therefore, there's no consistent difficulty trend.
Additionally, even aspirants from top engineering institutions have struggled to clear the minimum threshold of one-third marks in CSAT. This proves that your academic background doesn’t guarantee success — it’s your approach that counts.
2. Avoid Targeting Specific Topics First
Many candidates make the mistake of looking for questions from their areas of strength first. However, the number of questions from each topic is limited, and relying solely on one section won't help you cross the cut-off. Searching for specific chapters among the 80 mixed questions wastes valuable time.
The most efficient strategy is to attempt the questions in the order they appear, rather than hunting for preferred topics. This saves time and maintains your momentum throughout the paper.
3. Skipping is Smarter Than Guessing
Think of it like this: just as a lion steps back before leaping on its prey, skipping a question isn't a sign of weakness. If you’re unsure or partially confident about a question, it’s wiser to skip it than risk a wrong answer and incur negative marking.
4. Don’t Fixate on a Set Number of Attempts
One of the most common queries before the CSAT exam is: How many questions should I attempt? The answer depends entirely on your accuracy. It's unnecessary to try all 80 questions. Some aspirants pre-decide a number they believe they must reach, which can lead to over-attempting and increased negative marking.
Instead, analyze the difficulty level of the paper as a whole — and of individual areas like reasoning, comprehension, and math — before deciding how many questions to attempt from each section.
5. Time Management Per Question
With 120 minutes for 80 questions, an average of 1.5 minutes per question seems logical. But not all questions require the same time. Reading comprehension may demand more reading time, while some math problems may involve lengthy calculations.
Therefore, rather than assigning fixed time per question, adapt dynamically. If a question is long but you’re confident about solving it, it’s worth the time investment.
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Understanding the CSAT Paper The Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT), officially known as General Studies Paper-II in the prelims, is a qualifying paper. Candidates must secure a minimum of 33% or 66.67 marks out of 200 to pass. The paper tests a wide range of skills, including:
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