How tough is it to Crack APSC? How vast is the APSC syllabus and how APSC syllabus is similar to the UPSC Syllabus? How is negative marking calculated in APSC? Read the article below to know all of these.
Preparing for civil services is never a one-day affair, in fact, it’s really a long process. Most of the successful aspirants have mentioned their early start for UPSC and APSC preparation and how it was beneficial for them to nail the exam. Well, it doesn’t mean you are late! You just have to keep in mind that, you have to begin with your preparation from now onwards, without any further delay.
Here is the pattern for APSC examinations.
Exam Pattern for APSC Prelims:
GS Paper 1: Questions- 100 Marks- 200, Time 2 hours
GS Paper 2: Questions- 100 Marks- 200, Time 2 hours
Exam Pattern for APSC Mains:
Essay Paper: 250 Marks, Time 3 hours
Paper 2-6: 250 Marks for each paper, Time 3 hours for each paper
Optional Paper I: 250 Marks, time 3 hours
Optional Paper II: 250 Marks, time 3 hours
Let’s talk about the APSC syllabus, its structure and how is it similar to the UPSC syllabus. The Assam state government has revised the syllabus for Assam Public Service Commission (APSC)‘s Combined Competitive Examinations (CCE) in 2019 on the lines of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examinations. This decision has taken by the then government led by Shri Sarbananda Sonowal in an effort to help students take both exams with the same preparation.
APSC CCE Prelims Syllabus
General Studies Paper- I
Marks: 200
Duration: 2 Hours
- Current events of national and international importance.
- History of India and Indian National Movement.
- Indian and World Geography-Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.
- Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights issues etc,
- Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.
- General issues on Environment ecology, Bio-Diversity and Climate Change- that do not require subject specialization.
- General Science.
Please Note 30-35% of questions in General Studies Paper I will be related to Assam.
General Studies Paper-II
Marks: 200
Duration: 2 hours
- Comprehension.
- Interpersonal skills including communication skills.
- Logical reasoning and analytical ability.
- Decision-making and problem-solving.
- General mental ability.
- Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data Interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc.) (Class X level)
APSC CCE Mains Syllabus
| Paper- I | Essay (can be written in the medium of the candidate’s choice) |
| Paper-II | General Studies – I (Indian Heritage & Culture, History & Geography) |
| Paper-III | General Studies – II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice & International Relations) |
| Paper-IV | General Studies – III (Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Security & Disaster Management) |
| Paper V | General Studies – IV (Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude) |
| Paper VI | General Studies V- History, Geography, Economy of Assam |
| Qualifying Paper- A | Indian Language (any one)- Assamese/Bodo/Bengali |
| Qualifying Paper-B | English |
| Paper VII-VIII | Optionals |
Let’s talk about the negative marking of APSC CCE Prelims.
Every correct answer will get you +1 marks, the same way you will be marked -0.25 for every wrong answer in APSC Prelims examinations.
There will be a total of 400 questions asked in the Prelims paper and each correct answer will be marked with 1 mark and technically four wrong answers will deduct 1 mark from your total.
To calculate your marks, you must add the number of correct answers and subtract the number from the number of wrong answers multiplied by 0.25. The total will be your approximate marks in the prelims.
[Approximate marks = Number of correct answers marked – 0.25 X number of incorrect answers marked].
Also, you should know that if you give two answers to one question it will again be treated as a wrong answer. Only one answer should be marked in the multiple-choice question pattern of the APSC prelims exam. Whereas if you leave an answer blank, there will be no negative marking for that.
Now, APSC Prelims strategy and books cannot be explained easily in a few lines. There have been many changes in the APSC pattern for a couple of years now. Generally, class VI to XII NCERT study materials are an ideal start for APSC preparation but you need some standard books as well for GS (General Studies) paper. Please check the details of the study materials given below:
List of NCERT books required for APSC preparation:
- History, Geography, Polity, Economics- Standard VI-XII
- Social and Political Life (Civics) – Standard VI-VIII
- Indian Society- Standard XI and XII
- Standard XI- An Introduction to Indian Art & Living craft traditions of India (chapter9&10)
- Science and Technology- Standard VI-X
- Chemistry- Standard XI (Unit 14), Standard XII (Unit 16)
- Biology- Standard XIUnit 4, 5 &14; Standard XII Unit 8,9,10 and Unit 13, 14, 15 &16
- Study all the books related to Assam’s History & Geography, Assam Politics (read e-magazines, newspapers),
Additional Standard books for GS paper
- Indian Polity by M Laxmikanth
- Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh
- India’s struggle for Independence by Bipin Chandra
Indian History & Culture
- India’s Struggle for Independence by Bipin Chandra
- A New Look at Modern Indian History by B L Grover & Alka Mehta
World History
- Mastering Modern World History by Norman Lowe
India & World Geography
- Certificate Physical & Human Geography by Goh Cheng Leong
- India: A Comprehensive Geography by D R Khullar
Indian Society
- Social Problems in India by Ram Ahuja, SC Dube
Indian Polity
- Indian Polity by M Laxmikanth
- Introduction to the Constitution of India by D Basu
- Our Constitution by Subash Kashyap
International Relations
- India’s Foreign Policy by V P Dutt
- Rethinking India’s Foreign Policy by Rajiv Sikri
Economic Development
- Indian Economy Since Independence by Uma Kapila
- Indian Economy Key Concepts by K. Shankarganesh
- Latest Economic Survey and Budget
Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude
- Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude by G Subba Rao
- The Lexicon for Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude by Niraj Kumar
- Ethics, Integrity & Values in Public Services by Ramesh K Arora.
Gen Subject Paper: Assam- 2021 syllabus
Lastly, structured guidance is indispensable in the cutthroat competition of APSC, if you want to succeed. You might know what to study and whatnot, but to achieve those desirable marks, includes a few inevitable techniques. It is advisable to find out the best coaching institute for APSC in your city and enroll on that coaching center for APSC for increasing your chance to get into the coveted services of India. For a long time, Borthakur IAS academy is been excelling to provide the finest coaching in Govt. competitive exams with exemplary success rates and is considered to be the best APSC Coaching institute. Having branches in Guwahati, Jorhat, Dibrugarh and Jaipur this academy can be the ideal option for APSC aspirants.