The UPSC conducts the Combined Defence Services Exam twice a year as CDS I and CDS II. It is usually conducted in the months of February and September. Lakhs of candidates aspire to join various Defence training academies in the country by appearing for the National level Defence Entrance exam.
The aspirants can check CDS Exam for details such as recent notification, exam dates, eligibility, number of vacancies, etc. The entire registration process is managed online and the admit card for the exam can be downloaded from the official website to appear in the exam.
This article will give some tips to prepare for CDS Exam 2022 and the aspiring candidates can make use of these tips to crack the exam.
Tips to Prepare for CDS Exam
Every aspirant wishes to become a part of professional uniformed services. A few tips are mentioned below which can help the candidates in some way to prepare for the exam better.
- Understand the Syllabus – Every competitive exam has different requirements and the syllabus also varies accordingly. The syllabus of the CDS Exam is extensive, and the candidates have to choose which subject or topic has to be prioritized during preparation. Yet, all the topics have to be prepared by the candidates.
- Make a Timetable – Know when the next exam is scheduled, and estimate the time of preparation required and time left. Based on that, make a realistic schedule or plan which can be followed diligently. In addition to making a timetable, the candidate should adamantly adhere to the schedule. If the plan or schedule is followed regularly, the candidate can reward himself with some leisure time, once a week, for recreation.
- Go Through the Previous Year Papers – The aspiring candidates should go through the previous year’s papers along with their answer keys before starting the preparation. This step will streamline the preparation as the candidate can realize which are the topics that should be given importance and which are not.
- Recognize the Competition Level – Don’t be under the misconception that it’s easy to crack the CDS Exam since it has familiar subjects like English, Mathematics, and General Knowledge. The competition level is very high, and the aspirants have to be prepared to face that.
- Give Mock Tests – After preparation, try to take as many mock tests as possible. If available, try to take all-India mock tests, as that will gauge your performance at the pan India level. Since the exam has mathematics questions, solving mocks will help the aspirants to solve different problems in each mock test, and also help in upskilling time management.
- Practice Accuracy and Speed – This exam has negative marking and the aspiring candidates should focus not only on improving their speed but at the same time, concentrate on accuracy. If there is less accuracy, most of the marks will be lost in negative marks and the candidate may not be able to clear the cut-off marks.
- Be Patient and Positive – Be positive about the preparation and feel confident in yourself. This will help in avoiding unnecessary stress during the preparation. Moreover, be patient if you don’t see giant strides in progress in the preparation curve. If you don’t fully understand some concepts in one go, try again and again until you successfully master them. Don’t fall prey to negative thoughts such as you will not be able to clear the exam, for whatever reason. Even if such thoughts cross your mind, regain positivity with the help of inner motivation.
NDA Exam is conducted for the recruitment of personnel to the Indian Army, Navy, and Air Force Wing of the National Defence Academy and Indian Naval Academy Course (INAC). Like the CDS Exam, NDA Exam is also an exam conducted by the UPSC twice a year, and the aspirants can go through NDA Syllabus to know about the syllabus in detail.