How to Prepare for CDS (II) Exam?

UPSC (Union service public commission) conducts the CDS Exam (Combined Defence Services) to recruit the officers in the Indian Army. This exam is conducted twice in a year. So those seeking a career in Indian Army should scroll down to know the details.

Here we will discuss

• CDS Exam I and II – Brief Introduction
• CDS Exam (II) Preparation Tips
• Subject-wise preparation
• Figure out the Recent Cut-Off
• Mock Tests
• Bottom Line

CDS Exam I and II – Brief Introduction

Usually CDS I exam is conducted in the month of February and the CDS II exam is conducted in September. Here in this post, we will talk about the best tips to prepare for the CDS exam.

Why CDS Exam is conducted?

• CDS Exam is conducted to offer admission to the candidates in Indian Military Academy (IMA), Indian Naval Academy (INA), Air Force Academy (AFA) and Officers Training Academy (OTA). 
• CDS exam offers a prestigious job to the candidates that’s the reason why numbers of applicants are usually high in this exam.

Once a candidate qualifies the written exam of CDS then he has to appear for SSB interview. The written exam of CDS is not rocket science, you can easily quality it by following below mentioned smart tips to prepare for CDS Exam.

Below we have compiled CDS (II) exam preparation tips for those aspirants who are planning to appear in CDS II.

CDS (II) Preparation Tips

If joining Indian Armed force is your dream then UPSC arranges two exams for you; the NDA exam and the CDS exam.  Here we will tell you the success mantra for the CDS exam.

• The CDS exam is conducted for the graduate candidates.
• This exam includes three papers; General knowledge, English and Mathematics. Each paper contains 100 maximum marks and the duration of the exam is 2 hours.
• For admission in IMA, INA, and AFA the written test contains all the three Papers. But for admission in OTA, the aspirants need to appear only in two papers.  

Now, let’s focus on how we can prepare for the CDS II exam. CDS II exam is usually conducted in the month of September. Let’s get started with the success tips:

Knowledge of Syllabus

• The very first action you need to take is to know the syllabus deeply.
• The general knowledge part includes the current events. History and Geography related questions are also asked in this section.
• In elementary Mathematics; questions from Arithmetic, Algebra, and Trigonometry are included.
• In English, questions related to sentence improvement, comprehensions etc. are asked.
• When you know about the syllabus of the exam then it becomes easy for you to plan your preparation in the right way.   

Know your strong and weak areas   

Now when you have got the knowledge about the syllabus of the exam, you need to look at what are your weak and strong areas for CDS exam.

• For many candidates English is difficult, for some Maths is rocket science and for some GK is difficult to remember. So find your weak area to improve it.
• Give some extra time to your weak subjects. In CDS exam you are not supposed to be master in any topic but you should have sufficient knowledge about all three subjects.
• The best tips to prepare CDS exam is to prepare for all three subjects that are asked in the CDS exam; don’t run after any one of the subjects. If you are good at any one subject, give more time to the other two. But do not neglect the one you are good at.

Subject-wise preparation

Here are the tips to prepare the CDS exam subject-wise. Read them carefully and adopt them to improve your preparation for the CDS II exam.

1. How to prepare General knowledge for CDS exam

• The syllabus of GK is never-ending so staying updated on current affairs is only key to get success in this subject.
• Daily 2 hours of study will be sufficient to prepare GK for CDS II exam.
• You can take help from previous year’s question papers to understand what sorts of questions are asked in GK. NCERT books for history and geography would be a great help to aspirants.

2. How to prepare English for CDS exam

Tips to prepare for CDS 2019 English exam includes improving your grammar, vocabulary, and ability to read passages. If you can ace in these three sections of the English language then you can score good marks in English section of CDS exam.  Pick up a grammar book, read daily newspaper and get started with the learning process.

3. How to prepare Maths for CDS exam

• The mathematics section of CDS exam is saviour so if you prepare well in this subject then you will surely get success in CDS exam. And the reason is because if it is based on logic, if you know the right logic there is no chance for error.
• Practice is one of the best thing that makes an important part of CDS (II) exam preparation tips for the Mathematics section.
• Oher tips to prepare for CDS 2019 Mathematics exam are; to read the question carefully before attempting it and focus on the easy questions first before moving to the difficult questions.
• Spending more time on a particular question in the exam is a mere stupidity so don’t do it.

Figure out the Recent Cut-Off

Get an idea of recent cut-off. This will help you to plan your preparation in a better way and you will also get an idea on how to score more marks. But keep one thing in mind that cut off may increase as well so plan your target score much higher than the cut off marks.

Mock Tests

• Mock tests are like a revision of your syllabus for the CDS exam. You get to learn many things when you try mock tests, for example, these tests force you to increase your reading and writing speed and tell you about the very minor mistakes that you can do in the exam. So do appear in mock test and once you become confident about your preparation for the CDS exam try to solve 2 mock tests in the day to check where you stand.
• They are a great way to track and test your prepartion.
• They make you prepare for the final exam.

The Bottom Line

Preparation is the only key that will take you to success, so focus on practice. CDS is a prestigious exam that offers you a golden future so make a goal and start with stress-free preparation. Remember that hard work always pays off, so stay focused and follow the tips!

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