Update : ANSWERKEY for CPF 2012
It is given on this link: http://mrunal.org/2012/11/answerkey-history-polity-questions-of-upsc-cpfcapf-2012-analysis-and-cut-offs.html
old article
- Study material for CPF exam
- What’s the Problem with such books?
- What is CPF exam?
- Paper 1 of CPF Exam (GS+Aptitude)
- Paper II (Essay and Comprehension)
- How to prepare the Essay?
- Hindi Medium Aspirants of CPF Exam
Study material for CPF exam
As such, there is no single “comprehensive” book for the CPF exam. All I see is some Jholachhaap publishers’ copypasting chapters from other books meant for Bank PO + add some GK material + give last 3 years’ question papers = market it as SSC/CPF/GPSC guidebook.
What’s the Problem with such books?
- Such readymade books contain “all-in-one” GS+Aptitude material. So a newcomer thinks he got the jackpot.
- But In such books, the history, science portion, they directly give you 25-30 MCQs without explaining any theory.
- Similarly in aptitude portion, they merely list 3-4 formulas, show you 3-4 solved sums with 20 MCQs.
- Many sincere but naive candidates believe that if they prepare such books, they’re going to crack the SSC/CPF/IBPS/ State PSC exam. Sorry it doesn’t work like that. Please donot underestimate the level of competition.
What is CPF exam?
It is conducted by UPSC, for recruiting officers (Assistant Commandants) in Central Police forces viz. CRPF, CISF, SSB, BSF and ITBP.
The written exam is taken every year, generally in Novermber.
It contains two papers
| Paper 1 | Objective | General Ability and Intelligence |
| Paper 2 | Descriptive |
|
How to Approach Paper 1 of CPF Exam?
- It contains 125 Multi-choice questions worth 2 marks each= Total 250 marks.
- With provision of negative marking for incorrect answers.
What is asked in the paper 1?
After analyzing the previous years’ papers of CPF exam, I’ve to say that “Paper 1” for CPF Assistant Commandant’s exam is almost as wide and tough as General studies paper in IAS exam (CSAT).
I split paper-I of CPF exam, into following parts, see this chart
What is asked in the General Studies?
- History
- Ancient (Harappa)
- Medival (Mughals etc)
- Modern (Post-1857)
- Science
- General Science (the age old principles of Physics, chemistry, biology)
- Science and Technology (that “latest discoveries and happenings)
- Emphasis on Defence related items (missles, Jets)
- Geography
- Current Affairs
- Persons in news (PIN)
- International affairs
- Environment
- Indian Polity
- Economy
- Decision Making question
- For exam in 2011, they asked “if naxalites take tribals as human shieds, then what should the officer do?”
Like I said earlier, the CPF Assistant Commandant’s GS paper and the questions are almost identical to IAS exam. So preparation should be on the similar lines.
Essential Books
- General Studies Manual by Tata Macgrawhill (TMH) Publication
- IBPS Manual by Disha Expert
- A Book of Essays by Spectrum Publication
- GK 2013” by Arihant Publication (Rs.25 only)
: For ready revision of some essential facts.
Optional Books
You can use them if you’ve time.
- Compulsory English for Civil and Judicial Exams by A.P.Bhardwaj (TMH Publication)
- Indian Polity by M.Laxmikanth
Why GS Manual?
- You can purchase either a new one, or a used one. It doesn’t matter, because you need it for History, general science and geography, which remains one and same every year. Instead of TMH, you can also use Unique / Spectrum etc. all of them almost the same.
- But Donot get scarred by the thickness of GS Manual, because it contains lot of unnecessary names, and numbers and hundreds of mock question. Therefore it appears very thick. Otherwise the content you’ve to put in your brain, is worth may be 300-400 pages. You mainly need the GS Manual to practice the mock questions, given at the end of each chapter. (Blank answersheets for MCQ-tests, can be downloaded by clicking me)
To download NCERTs for Free, use this link
http://www.jobsnresults.com/download-ncert-books-for-class-7-free-cbse-books-class-7th/%20
| Topic | Reference |
| History |
|
| Geography |
|
| General Science |
|
| Indian Polity |
|
| Environment |
|
| Current Affairs |
|
| Economy |
|
Priority
Current-affairs is limitless. If you invest more time or energy in it beyond a level, it won’t do you any good. Therefore, your priority must be the “static” (theory) portion
- History
- Geogrpahy
- General Science
- Environment
- Indian Polity
- Economy
Suggestions
- Use Foxit PDF reader (Free) to read those PDF files. Reason, because Foxit PDF reader has Highlighter and commenting tool, it comes very handy for subsequent revisions.
- For the arts and Commerce graduates: Donot get scarred by “General Science” you don’t have to mug up any chemical names or structures. Just principles behind the every day phenomeona.
- To master above topics, you have to keep revising multiple times and do the mock tests given at the end of GS Manual. You can get more (free) mock tests on gktoday.in as well as in Pratiyogita Darpan or similar magazines.
What is asked in the aptitude?
- Quantitative aptitude (Maths)
- Venn Diagrams
- Logical Reasoning (LR) also known as Verbal reasoning
How to prepare for Aptitude?
Looking at the last 3 years’ paper, the aptitude portion takes about 20-30% of the paper 1. They give one Venn-diagram case and ask 5 questions based on that. So aptitude is not the major item here and Hence, you don’t have to prepare it as thoroughly as a Bank PO candidate.
Therefore I Donot recommend R.S. Agarwal’s books, because that’ll be an overkill! Instead, I suggest
- Clear the basic concepts from Mrunal’s Articles on Aptitude http://mrunal.org/aptitude
- Buy a brand new (or used) IBPS (Bank PO) exam manual. There are many publications in the market, Disha, Arihant, GK.
- Contentwise, almost all of them are identical. They cover (Maths + verbal + non-verbal + some grammar). Solve all the exercise questions.
- If you can’t decide which one to pick, I would suggest Disha.
- PS. IF you’re really weak in maths, you can go through the NCERT books for Mathametics from class 7 to 10. (For free).
Also read the article on “The Art of Aptitude” Click ME.
Paper II (Essay and Comprehension)
Part-A – Essay questions which are to be answered in long narrative form either in Hindi or English totaling 80 Marks. The indicative topics are modern Indian history especially of the freedom struggle, geography, polity and economy, knowledge of security and human rights issues, and analytical ability.
Part-B – Comprehension, précis writing, other communications/language skills – to be attempted in English only (Marks 120) – The topics are Comprehension passages, précis writing, developing counter arguments, simple grammar and other aspects of language testing.
It is worth 2 hours and 200 marks. The question paper contains
- Long Essay (four essays are given; you’ve to write only one of them in 800 words.)
- Short Essay ( two topics are given, you’ve to pick one and write 250 words)
- Reading comprehension (a paragraph is given and you’ve to read and write answers based on that paragraph)
- Précis (a long paragraph is given, you’ve to write short version of it.)
- English grammar. (Fill in the blanks etc)
Just go through the old papers, and solve them (yes you should actually write the answers in blank papers at home, for practice).
No separate preparation is necessary. But still if you’re very uncomfortable with English, you can refeer to AP Bhardwaj’s book.
How to prepare the Essay?
- Paper 2 is worth 200 marks and inside it, the Essay is worth 80 marks (that’s 40%). Therefore, You must prepare for Essay exhaustively, to ensure success in the CPF exam.
- Get this book titled “A Book of Essays by Spectrum Publication by Spectrum Publication”
- It contains hundreds of essays, on almost every topic from human cloning to terrorism. Read them, you get plenty of fodder material that you can use while writing your own essay in the exam.
- But this is not enough. You must also do following
- Read this article on how to write essay (click me)
- See the types of essays asked in previous IAS exams. (click me)
- Think about each and every one of the subject, what would you write if they asked the same essay to you? Note down the 5-6 keypoints or arguments that come in your mind.
- Then keep Reading the columns in newspapers on daily basis, and update your skeletal essay, based on any new fodder material / example points that you come across.
- On the exam day, whatever they ask, it’s going to be related to those topics one way or another so you just have to assemble your thoughts and present a decent essay.
Hindi Medium Aspirants of CPF Exam
- Hindi version of General Studies Manuals use very “Shuddha (Pure) Hindi” for example instead of “Audit” they use the word “Lekha parikshan”. Similarl problems in Economy and Polity portion.
- Thus It becomes very cumbersome to read such book and you’ve to tick only MCQs for the CPF exam.
- So I would suggest you buy English version of GS Manual instead of Hindi version. Same reason, I suggest you download the English version of NCERTs instead of Hindi version.
- In paper 2, you can only write the first essay in Hindi, and rest of the questions have to be answered in English. So, If you’re going to write the Essay in Hindi, then buy Hindi version of that Spectrum Essay book.
what is basic criteria for this exam???????????
You are very helpfull.
hai i want to know how much time do one on an average need toprepare for assistant comandant exams
most comprehensive suggestion ever been visited. thanks sir……
You cleared almost every doubt except the things like cut off list and interview.
Thanks :)
thank you very much, Mrunal ji ! your sincere effort and help is invaluable for aspirants like me who do not have sufficient time to be guided by coaching centers due to job or some sort of problems…I hope you would keep your effort up to guide thousands of students like this….may God bless you !!! hats off to you for your effort……
dear mrunal and my fellow mates. thanks a lot for enlightening us on cpf. however, i would like to correct a little. according to the 2012 notification of cpf, it has been clearly stated that in paper 2 there will be 2 parts, viz- a-viz,part a- essay questions which are to be answered in long narrative form eiher in hindi or english totalling 80 marks. the indicative topics are modern indian history, esp of the freedom struggle, geography, polity and economy, knowledge of security and human rights issues, and analytical ability.
part b- comprehension, essay, precis grammar, etc….marks= 120
GOOD LUCK GENTS
will upsc strictly follow his syllabus for exam pattern? ie essay should be from this area only ?will it true?
hi. mrunal. will you please guide me for ASSISTANT CENTRAL INTELUGENCE OFFICER GRADE-II/EXECUTIVE.it is on 23rd september.2012. conducted by ministry of home affairs.
thanks.
Hi…Mrunal…Thanks for your guidance.
I want to appear in this exam(11 Nov 2012),Is this time is sufficient to prepare for AC exam..I’m average student..
yes it is enough time to prepare and crack this exam.
But start studying from tomorrow morning.
pls upload previous year question papers(paper-1) of AC with solution(if possible) or provide link..
Thank you…
Thanks for the quick tips. It is of great help.
Hi…Mrunal…Thanks for your guidance.
i applied this(CPF) application yesterday. but i have one doubt,
i don’t know exactly about this post(AC). can you please tell about this post(AC)..
AC=Assistant Commandant.
His rank and status is similar to a Captain in the Army.
Job profile: Border security, deployment in riot / naxal affected areas, rescue operations during natural disaster etc.
what was the cut off mark for general category,2011 exam ..CPF???
According your books and plan can i qualify CPF exam,plzzzz tell me. i want to know from where i can start exam preparation.
Hi Friends, just want to tell one thing about CPF exam’s cut off(written exam): Guys plz make sure that you will get 65-70% marks in each paper. As most of the UPSC Civil services aspirants give this exam, their knowledge base is much higher. i haven’t seen anyone preparing to get recruited in CPF.(its backup plan of many students)
55% of total marks(1st+2nd+interview) and u will be under 10 rank.
hello bro ,could you suggest some essay for cpf on which i can specially focus and if they will come in exam my command will print the ESSAY…
hard to predict essays when UPSC frames the paper. However there are some topics on which you should have fodder material ready:
corruption, judiciary, lokpal, environment, globalization, inflation, freedom of speech, syria, social networking sites etc.
really god job
really great job sir, a week back i aplyed for diz job nd d whole week i just searched for an institute for d preperation. finally by going through your work i thnk nw i dnt need any sought of institute help. thank u very much sir.
sir,How marks we got for qualifying in general categoric.
sir can you please tell me the source for preparing for interview….some question which are almost the same every year..
Hello Sir u helped me a lot 4 getting an overall preparatn idea 4 d xm. Can u plz tell me if female candidates r safe 4 this job? I m really interested to appear for ac xm bt behind im getting some demoralizing thoughts being a female candidate.
nijer antorik sokti ke jagao, ai sob bhoy mon theke dur kore preparation nao …. best of luck
Can u pls suggest more preferable study material?
@ partha.. thank u
dear sir i m a hindi medium student and doing a job in CISF as a constable. So i have little time for study . Please help me sir, how shall i prepare for cpf ac exam.
use GK 2013 book during job recess and other books at home.
Follow the five rules for working professionals:
http://mrunal.org/2012/04/strategy-five-rules-how-to-prepare-for.html
sir,
mujhe hindi prepation tairi krni hai
mrunal sir ,
Thank u so much for guidance,i have fci exam on same day .sir if i start preparing for exam today itself can i make mark
SIR
PLZZZ TELL ME HOW COVER THE BOOK OF TMH GENERAL STUDIES MANUAL BECAUSE IS TOO HEAVY,PLZZZ TELL ME THE METHOD AS WELL AS INDIA YEAR BOOK PLZZZZZZZ,
THANK YOU
In TMH you don’t have to prepare all the minute details like breeds of goats and sheeps and 100 names of small kings.
Read the analysis of previous prelim papers and use TMH accordingly.
How to study India Yearbook- given in this article
http://mrunal.org/2012/07/strategy-iyb.html
Thank u so much for guidance,i have fci exam on same day .sir if i start preparing for exam today itself can i make mark
sir;
i would like to know from you that why do u prefer tmh books?
like for indian polity ;
why not b.s.grewal/
as most of the civil service aspirant say tmh books are refrence books.even the premier coaching institutes do not suggest it;
please give ur view
thanking you
I suggest the books for their lucid explanations and exam-oriented content. That’s why Indian Polity M.Laxmikanth over S.C.Kashyap or DD Basu.
At the same time, I don’t have affinity for a particular publication house (TMH). For example- the Sarvesh Kumar’s book Quantam CAT is from Arihant Publication and Verbal Ability of RS Agarwal (S.Chand Publication), yet highly recommended by me for certain exams.
And Premier coaching institutes and I, don’t agree on many issues :)
GENERL STUDIES PAPER 1 MEIN KITNE MONTHS KA COVER KARTE HAI,KYONKI IAS KE PAPERS MEIN KUCH YEARS SE 16 MONTHS TAK KA COVER KARNE LAGE HAI SO CPF KE LIYE KITNE MONTHS KA GK PREPARE KARNA JAROORI HAI FROM MONTHLY MAGZINE LIKE PD,CHRONICLE
THANK YOU
ist nov to 20 oct…..is enough specially ir .science security issuses….
Hi Mrunal Sir
APFC is over and next target is CPF, sir what kind of change in strategy is needed? On what area more concentration will be needed? Science section?
Essay writing.
CPF is conducted every year and their papers are almost similar to preliminary paper (General Studies) of IAS exam.
So, The difficulty level will be quite higher than this APFC paper.
You should do good revision of Science and Tech, geography, environment, polity, economy, +current affairs related to them.
Thank you sir… better to look ahead rather than being in conversations in the exam that have passed :)
Dear Sir, It is very useful information. Thanks.
Sir, I am prepairing for AC and Punjab PCS .
please guide me that from where should I cover environment portion as it is marked as specific in Punjab pcs.furthermore also guide for science and tech me being a commerce graduate no so much aware about this. Sir please it is an honorable request that please see the new punjab PCS slbus. an provide ur enlightened guidance in this field also
Thank U.
For Science, start with NCERT Class 7 to 10 textbooks (available free online), check the link on left hand side navigation panel.
Environment: Download the free NOS study material uploaded here:http://mrunal.org/enb
+along with NCERT Social Science (7-10)+ Geography (11,12)
Rest polity, History, Geography, the standard reference book-list more or less the same like CSAT.
http://mrunal.org/2012/01/strategy-100-days-to-go-before-csat.html
more i can say only after looking at the previous papers.
sir i am preparing for assistant commandant exam and plz tell the cutoff marks for papaer 1 and 2 individually for general category canditates……….. and the final cut off… plz suggest some of the important concepts for the essay writng in paper 2
i want to know the base of this exam and syllabus of this CAPF exam.
GOOD INFORMATION MR. MRUNAL
I want to say thank you sir for your very helpful guidance.
Hi MRUNAL,
Can u kindly upload the OFFICIAL or atleast AUTHENTIC ANSWER KEYS for the AC CPF exams conducted in 2010 & 2011???
It would be very helpful….i can’t find authentic keys anywhere……………………..
how to start for cpf 2012 i have old edition ncert of 9 10 11 12 geography and 10 class history and tmh for indian polity besides sci and tech i am reading also urs and ncert.reading since january current affairs.any thing more needed to be done .
Laxmikanth = mug up, then do mock questions given at the end of his book.
also do current affairs from http://www.competitionmaster.com
+Thorough revision of
NCERT Social science Class 7-10
NCERT Science 7-10
NCERT Geography Class 11-12
NCERT History Class 11-12
You can download them for free, via http://www.jobsnresults.com/download-ncert-books-for-class-7-free-cbse-books-class-7th/%20
He has given direct zip files.
+essay writing practice.
other tips are already given in the article.
sir u r great …………..
thanks for information which u give us
mrunal please provide the ans key of previous papers,,,
it wuld be of great help
Hi MRUNAL,
Can u kindly upload the OFFICIAL or atleast AUTHENTIC ANSWER KEYS for the AC CPF exams conducted in 2010 & 2011???
It would be very helpful….i can’t find authentic keys anywhere……………………..
SIR CURRENT AFFAIRS KITNE MONTHS KA UPDATE HONA JAROORI HAI IS CPF EXAM KE LIYE NOV11-OCT12 YA JAN12 – OCT12
For CPF exam,
Indian Polity book by M Laxmikanth…Is it enough for the preparation for this exam??
Plz suggest good books for science for cpf exam apart from the NCERT books……
tallent is very ,very creatible any time and peread thats them and book or helfulls for some advised insimlyfrofesons
boss what is the minimum cut of this twice paper
I m confused about what to study in geography, Is that i have to study world geo+physical geo???
Kindly help.
you need world as well as indian geogrophy.
mrunal, thanks for the valuable input. i appeared for the ac interview last month and keeping my fingers crossed at the moment, waiting for the final merit list. can you throw some light on the cut offs, interview scores, and total final marks of some selected candidates for the previous years?
thangcha how many month covered gk by you.and congrats for upto interview
can u guide me for preparing exam
sir, i wants join the ips but i have one is doubt that is what is physical eligibility for ips if height is less than 165 cm (obc category)the candidate will select for ips.
Check the rules given in this PDF file
http://mrunal.org/2012/07/med-gazette-upsc.html
thanks sir yours support is valuable for me.
Dear sir,
Thanks for the information, but can you be more specific. For Assistant commandant exams, which is more important. The GS manual or NCERT books.?
NCERT is the starting point.
GS Manual is for filling whatever is not-covered in NCERT. (e.g. many topics in History, science-tech etc.)
+ GS manual’s main use is practicing the mock questions after each topic.
sir current kis month se start hoker kis month tak ata he agr exam nov me ho ?
Hello! I have given my ACIO-II exam this year. I did not check my Result. Can anyone please upload the answer key for the same please. Upto my knowledge I am sure of 55+ in Objective and a decent 35+ in the esaay(corruption). Please do let me know my chances too..