update: August-07-2013: this is an old article written for 2012’s exam. New article for 2013’s Exam has been published separately on following link:
Please click ME. Again repeating: article given below is outdated (then why don’t I delete it?) Because ACIO-2012 toppers/buddies use this page’s commenting system as their hangout-place. If I delete this article the comments will also be deleted. That’s why I’m not deleting this outdated article.
- Readymade guidebooks for ACIO exam
- How to approach the Objective paper of ACIO exam?
- Difference between GK and GS
- The books
- Topicwise Preparation for ACIO Exam
- General Knowledge
- Aptitude and English
- English Grammar and Vocabulary
- Aptitude
- Essay
- Structure of the Exam
Many a times, sincere candidates fail in Government job exams because
- Relying on readymade guidebooks by âjholachhap publicationâ.
- They underestimate the level of competition and hence their preparation is not upto the mark. [although personally they may be believing that theyâve studied hard.]
Know that whether it is IAS exam or Bank clerkâs exam, competition is always tough and life is always cruel [thanks to our population]. Hence, The only way to make life easier, is studying harder and harder.
Readymade guidebooks for ACIO exam
As I keep saying: DONOT USE any readymade book such as âACIO/APFC/CPF guidebook by XYZ bogus publisher. â
Reasons:
- They merely copy paste few chapters from here and there, donot provide you comprehensive information / theory on any topic.
- Secondly, many candidates simultaneously prepare for SSC, LIC, CPF, IBPS and similar exams, so theyâre really good both in GK as well as aptitude. You prepare from some âjholaachhapâ book then you loose in the competition.
How to approach the Objective paper of ACIO exam?
Iâm grateful to the good friend CSL180 for providing the inputs on previous papers of ACIO exam.
From the previous trend, it seems ACIO is more about GK than GS.
Difference between GK and GS
General Knowledge | General Studies |
Kaun banega crorepati kinda things. Mere knowledge of facts. âWho, Where and Whenâ type of questions. | encompassing much more than GK, deals with important things of life- science, Constitution, History â why this and why that â so you need not only the knowledge of facts but understanding of events. |
Who invented Telescope? | How does Telescope work? |
- In, CPF (assistant commandant) or UPSC (IAS/IPS etc.)- the questions are less related to GK and more related to GS.
- Usually the Class I and II officersâ recruitment exams have more GS than GK but for god knows why, ACIO paper almost entirely made up of GK questions only.
- For example âNABARD was setup under which five year plan?â,
- âOPEC was established in which year?â
- May be because ACIO exam isnât conducted by UPSC and the Old professors who setup the ACIO papers, havenât grown out of the 90s era yet.
- Anyhow, the moral of the story is, you shouldnât prepare for ACIO exam, the same way you prepare for UPSC, CPF or APFC. This one requires similar books but different approach.
The books
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I DONOT recommend Manorama Yearbook for GK, because
Therefore instead of Manorama, I recommend another book |
Topicwise Preparation for ACIO Exam
The NCERT can be freely (and legally) downloaded using this link Click ME.
The NCERTs contain GK information scattered throughout their chapters, Besides they’ve colorful photos and text, so they’re interesting to read.
General Knowledge
What is asked in previous papers? | Recommended Book | |
History | Xyz temple was built by which king? Xyz war was fought by which two sides? |
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Geography | Nothing from Physical Geography (Theory, atmosphere etc) Only âxyz place is famous for what?â âxyz thing is located at where?â That type of GK questions from Geography- both India and World. |
|
Science | Who invented this and that? |
|
Polity | Only GK For example âwhich article of Constitution contains provision for Constitutional amendments? |
|
Culture | Location of Temples and fairs. |
|
Stupid Current Affairs |
(ya, UPSC stopped asking such stupid things in Civil service exam but ACIO paper setter uncle-ji hasnât learned the lesson yet, may the almighty give them some wisdom.) |
|
Economy | Trivial questions like when was RBI established and when was NABARD established etc. I would expect similar GK from Current affairs based Economy. |
Current affairs material already suggested above. + Manohar Pandey |
Aptitude and English
The trivial GK is limitless, but brainâs memory has limits, so how do you improve your score?
Obviously, youâve to score huge in English Grammar and Aptitude.
There are aspirants in this âcompetition businessâ for 2-3 years, trying for Bank, LIC, CPF, SSC and similar jobs, and theyâve impeccable command over English grammar/Reading comprehension and aptitude.
So if you make any excuse ki âmeraa English thik nahi haiâ or âmeraa maths kamjor haiâ, then youâre digging your own grave. Toppers donot fall from sky, they’re among you, but they’re just studying harder and not wasting time in giving such excuses or doing cut off speculation. So, If your maths/english is not good, then study hard and improve it. Know that every master was once an amateur.
English Grammar and Vocabulary
Sentence correction, Sentence arrangement, Reading comprehension, synonym, antonym, fill in the blanks etc.etc.etc.
Study approach and booklist is same, as given in earlier APFC exam article: Click ME.
Aptitude
Since youâve applied for ACIO exam, I assume that your end goal is Government job of some kind.
So even if you fail in ACIO, youâd continue pursuing similar competitive exams such as IBPS, SSC, LIC, CPF etc.Therefore, I would suggest the aptitude books that can be used for all such exams.
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For ACIO exam, prepare upto level 1 exercises only from each each chapter. Ideally you should do all the sums from all the chapters, Including the Non-Verbal portion i.e. figure based questions.
And most importantly, no one can master aptitude by reading the solved sums alone. Youâve calculate them by your hand. |
Sidenote:
- If youâre running out of time, you may use IBPS Manual by Disha Publication
instead of the book #1 and Book #2 given above. But thatâs like firefighting and such shortcuts are luck dependent, hence should not be used in normal case.
Essay
The ACIO 2012âs notification specifically mentions that
ACIO-II/Exe contains two papers namely
Paper I (Objective type) and
Paper II (Descriptive type on English language only).
The total duration for both the Papers is 1 hour and 40 minutes.
- It means you’ll have to write Essay in English (Paper II).
So how to approach this essay?
First read this article on how to write an essay: Click ME - Second, go through this book âA book of Essays by Spectrum Publication
This book has around 100 essays on various themes and topics, so you get enough fodder material for writing essays on conventional topics.
Apart from that daily newspaper reading: Either The Hindu or Indian Express.
How to read newspapers? Already explained in earlier article: Click ME.
ib acio exam date expected to be 22 feb 2015
I wish to know how rigorous and strict is the medical test. What all is included in it ?
Helow all..I m appearing for the ib acio exam to be held on 22nd Feb..I want to know how to prepare and which sections to focus upon..nd is it true that 80% out of 100 will be totally on gk..nd rest 20% on the topic of maths reasoning and English..plz do guide me how to preaprw..I don’t have time yo go through ncert books.so do help me..hoping for early response..thank u
Guys, i am going to appear on 2015.
whether this exam have -ve marks????
Can anyone tell me what is cut off of this year exam
WHEN WILL THE ACIO 2015 EXAM RESULT BE PUBLISHED ANY IDEA
When will the result of ACIO 2014 will be published?
How can download attestation form and special security questionnaire?
Pls help.
My Id starhash007@gmail.com
Approximately when will the ACIO 2014 results be published?.
Dear Mrunal sir,
sir maine ib sa/ex ka exam dia aur ab interview ki call aayi h. but sir mai ye janana chahta hu ki kya kevl documents hi lekr jana h ya unke sath apna resume bhi le jana h? mai bhut jyada confuse ho rha hu sir. agr resume bhi le jana h to sir gov. jobs ke liye resume kaise prepare kia jaye? please sir madad kijiye.
Any one has interview on 24 in hyd?????
My interview in mumbai 25 aug 2015
Pls tell me about interview on
kolekar.prideindia@gmail.com
hello everyone
yar written test clear ho gya mera ACIO IB.
interview k liye koi tips dedo.
plz share if any1 have any HELPFUL info. for me.
tnx in advance
Hi, everyone i read all the previous year mess….i too have my interview on of august and want to clear interview plz help me with how should i prepare for it and the best way of answering interview questions plz rply asap
Hi ALL,
Since ACIO interview had started from 17th Aug, I believe many would have attended the interview. Can people who had given the interview please share your experience so that it may be helpful for others who are going to attend the interview in the forthcoming days.
Thanks in advance.
hello can anyone tell me what is weightage of interview ?? and when we expect MHA will declare the final list for ACIO-II interview held in august 2015
Does anyone has any info regarding verification and medical of ib acio 2014. I had cleared interview but its been more than a month no info have been given. kya kisi ka verification hua for acio 2014?
Hi i applied for acio ii 2017 can anyone help me how to prepare for this exam
Hi can u tell me how to crack this exam and how u prepared
Sir, for IB ACIO II NCERT and LUCENT GK enough or i have to read extra? Please help me out.
Sir, for IB ACIO II NCERT and LUCENT GK enough or i have to read extra? What should need to read
Please guide me how to prepare for ib ACIO 2017