My friend has recently cleared Afcat 2 2020 in less than 20 days of preparation. Owing to the ongoing pandemic, his final semester exams were scheduled and after that, he had only 20 days to prepare for this exam. Prior to this, he had also cleared Afcat 1 2020 as it is not one of those competitive exams for which you need to slog hours.
Preparation Tips:
To clear AFCAT, here are a few of the things that are highly recommended for preparations.
Examination Pattern:
The examination pattern is discussed below.
Quantitative Aptitude:
Reasoning:
Static GK and Current Affairs:
English & Communication Skills:
Therefore, go through previous year’s papers and practice questions from any objective books of English.
There are multiple books available in the market for CTET preparations every year. Although, to get a wholesome idea on preparing for Paper 1 of CTET, students must refer to a combination of books to be updated on the most relevant information.
Some of the best books to refer to are by Arihant Publications. Apart from that if you have appeared for B.ed, it is best to take notes from your B.ed curriculum, which will be very helpful for CTET preparations.
Highly recommended Publishers |
Wiley and Arihant |
CTET Paper 1 Difficulty Level |
Easy to Moderate |
Qualifying Percentage |
60% |
These are some of the best books available in the market to refer to while preparing for CTET Paper1 pedagogy.
Apart from these reference books, students are advised to practice previous year’s question papers and sample papers in order to get accustomed to the type of questions and layout.
The interview process at XLRI covers a wide range of topics and is designed to give the interviewers a comprehensive understanding of the candidate. During the interview, you may be asked questions about yourself, your past education, any work experience you may have, your family, hobbies, current affairs, and your views on various global issues.
It is important to prepare for the classic interview questions, but it is equally important not to memorize them verbatim. Instead, be prepared for any variations of the questions that may be asked. Some commonly asked questions include:
It is essential to be familiar with every point on your CV. It is perfectly acceptable to say "I don't know" to a technical question during an interview, but it is not ideal to not be able to answer a question about yourself or your CV.
During the interview, the panelists may ask you to speak about yourself and provide arguments for and against any current government scheme. They may also ask you to design an E-R diagram for an IT system for managing the admissions process of XLRI, and can also inquire about your hobbies and passion. It is crucial to be prepared for a wide range of questions and be able to express oneself effectively.
To prepare for the written test and the personal interview for MTech in Climate Science and Technology at IIT Bhubaneswar you should clear your basics in the subject as questions asked in the test are from the undergraduate syllabus and it also follows the syllabus for GATE.
As soon as you get your call letter from IIT Bhubaneswar, book your hostel accommodation. You should reach the destination prior to the day of the written test and get settled properly. After reaching there, you should study for that subject only for which you have been called for. As it is an IIT, the question can range from the basics to deep into the subject so focus on your core subjects properly.
The results of the written test will be declared within the next 1 hour of the written exam and if you pass the written test you will be shortlisted for the personal interview. The interview may be scheduled on the same day or the day after.
The interview is mainly technical and will test your basics concepts and knowledge. You should try to give accurate and to the point answers and if you are a dropout then you should have a valid reason for that. The interview mainly takes around 15 minutes and a minimum of 3 interviewers will be present.
If you get selected, the authorities will let you know via email.
To talk about the academic side, brush your knowledge that concerns marketing concepts, banking jargon and current affairs. Also, if the interviewer comes up with certain personal questions, make sure you answer them honestly.
I'd like to share my sister’s experience here with you. Her IBPS SO Marketing exam was conducted in Andhra Pradesh Apex College, Hyderabad. She reached the location on time. Make sure you do that too. Document verification takes place after that and after half an hour or so, her turn for the interview came. There will be other candidates along with you and they'd be allotted different serial numbers. You've to be a little patient in case your serial number comes up a little late.
The interview lasted for ten minutes. The panel consisted of 5 members, 4 male and 1, female.
The questions they asked included the following:
And with this, thanks was greeted and with a smile, she was told to leave. She was clueless about the results considering her experience, a miracle can only save her.
AFCAT examination pattern is as follows.
Particulars | AFCAT Pattern | EKT Exam Pattern |
Mode of Exam | Online, computer-based test | Online, computer-based test |
Total no. of questions | 100 | 50 |
Duration | 2 hours | 45 mins |
Maximum Marks | 300 | 150 |
Sections | General English - 25 Questions General Awareness - 25 Questions Numerical Ability - 18 Questions Reasoning & Military Aptitude Questions - 32 Questions | Fundamental Engineering - 14 Questions Specialization Engineering - 25 Questions Allied Engineering - 11 Questions |
Marking Scheme | +3 for correct ans -1 mark for incorrect ans | +3 for correct ans -1 marks for incorrect ans |
AFCAT Preparation Tips -
AFCAT is held twice a year, in February and August.
IES or Indian Engineering Services is a national-level exam for all B.Tech graduates. The exam is conducted by UPSC (Union Public Services Commission) every year. It is open to all engineering graduates irrespective of their branches.
The exam is conducted in three phases: Prelims, Mains and personal interview.
Syllabus |
Paper 1 |
Total marks |
Paper 2 |
Total marks |
Prelims |
General studies and engineering aptitude |
200 |
Engineering discipline |
300 |
Mains |
Engineering discipline- 1 |
300 |
Engineering discipline 2 |
300 |
As mentioned in the table, current affairs are a part of paper-1 in prelims. There is no definite syllabus for current affairs; anything can come under the sun. The pattern is not fixed in current affairs. Therefore, it is safe to study both currents as well as static.
Sources:
Current Affairs Magazine:
Since general knowledge is required only for prelims, it's better to follow current affairs magazines rather than following daily newspapers.
English Bazaar: There are a lot of online sites where students can get sufficient current affairs materials for preparation. Exambazaar is one such website. It provides current affairs in a structured and organized manner. Segregated into different categories, such as-
The new contains just gist and related topics. It is quite easy to understand and remember. Englishbazzer also has monthly and weekly capsules of current affairs.
So, subscribe to the daily current affairs resource which is convenient for you and get them mailed. In this way, you can read them every day and also revise.
The initial way for any candidate to crack IBPS SO exam (IT Officer) even in one month's time is sufficient practice in Online mock tests and have strong basics in English, Quant and reasoning. You don't need to read a number of books, but need to focus on your strength and clear as many online tests as possible.
You’ll get maximum questions from DBMS & Data Communication topic, so focus on this area more and try to score maximum marks in this particular section. Even a good score in English will help you grab a good overall score. There are 4 different parts (GS, English, Reasoning, Maths/DI) and you need to score good in all these sections as the cut off score for every section is different.
The professional section of IBPS SO paper includes Data Base Management System,Data Communication & Networking, Computer Organization & Structure, Data Structure & Compiler Design, Operating systems, Software Engineering, Internet Awareness.
For getting a better idea in which sections you need to focus more, you can refer to question papers of the last 5 years and practice more by solving all the questions which will definitely help you understand the pattern and identify your strong area
The preparation for the Haryana Police SI exam involves knowing the kind of questions that are asked and focusing on preparation and making strategies. Here is the exam pattern for the written test for the aspirants to get a fair idea.
Exam Pattern for Written Test
Strategy for written test
Here are strategies candidates can put to use to prepare for various sections.
General Studies
Agriculture
Animal Husbandry
Information related to farm animals and their maintenance, nutritional importance for animals, livestock farming, and diseases in animals would be helpful to answer questions from this section.
Reasoning
Current Affairs
Numerical Ability
General Science -
Focussing on the test and preparing for it with dedication will definitely fetch you good marks. Divide each section and prepare them individually, to get a better understanding of each section. Give your 100% in the exam, you will definitely pass with flying colors.
The GS paper in ESE is very important and can be crucial for determining your rank. Here is the list of topics from the syllabus and preparation strategy.
Engineering Mathematics and Numerical Analysis - Made Easy Mathematics book. This contains a lot of solved problems for practice.
Engineering Aptitude - Made Easy Aptitude book to learn some new tricks and shortcuts for faster solving. This is a fairly easy and high scoring topic.
Material Science -
General Principles of Design, Drawing, and Importance of Safety - You can follow any standard textbook from Made Easy/ACE or IES Master or class notes. Visualizing things plays a very important role to achieve success in this topic. You only need theory to learn definitions, technical terms, and formulas.
Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Basics of Energy & Environment- Saurabh Sir and AP Singh Sir’s (Made Easy Faculty) note is enough to prepare for these two topics.
Basics of Project Management, Standards, and Quality practices in production, construction, maintenance, and services- Any standard textbook from Made Easy/ACE or IES Master or class notes will serve the purpose. Students from the Electronics branch score well on these topics.
Current Affairs - You do not need to focus a lot on current affairs. Be aware of the things happening around you. Instead of reading the entire newspaper install news apps like Inshorts or Jagran Josh
Ethics and values in the Engineering profession – You can follow the Lexicon Ethics Book but this subject is logical and there is no need for any book as such. Just be logical and think for yourself what’s ethical and what’s not.
Lastly, constant revision throughout the year is essential. You should go through the entire syllabus at least once a month. For GS preparation group study can be also helpful.