6 Killer Tips To Prepare For CDS 1 2023 Exam At Home

CDS is conducted by the UPSC twice a year, lakhs of candidates appear in the examination but only a few odd candidates are able to clear it, and surprisingly by self-preparation...

SSBCrackExams
January 10, 2023
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CDS is conducted by the UPSC twice a year, lakhs of candidates appear in the examination but only a few odd candidates are able to clear it, and surprisingly by self-preparation at home. Yes, candidates, many aspirants are there who prepare themselves and crack it. In this article, we will be sharing some tips and techniques to crack CDS without any coaching or by guidance preparing at home.

The notification for the Combined Defence Services Examination (I) 2023 has been released on 21st December 2022 according to the Union Public Service Commission calendar. The exam is a national-level examination for the recruitment of candidates into the Indian Military Academy, the Officers’ Training Academy, the Indian Naval Academy, and the Indian Air Force Academy.

CDS 1 2023 Important Dates:

CDS 1 2023 Important Dates: UPSC will publish the CDS 1 2023 notification and important dates. Let’s have a look at the tentative schedule for CDS 1 2023 exam.

CDS 1 2023 EVENTS	DATES
CDS 1 2023 Application Start Date	21 December 2022
CDS 1 2023 Application Last Date	12 January 2023 (Updated)
CDS 1 2023 Exam Date	16 April 2023 (SUNDAY)
CDS 1 2023 Admit Card Download Date	3 weeks before exam
CDS 1 2023 Result Date (Expected)	May – June 2023

Marking scheme of CDS

First, you must understand the marking scheme of CDS.

English – 120 questions, 100 marks. .83 mark per correct answer. A negative marking is .27 mark per the wrong answer.
GK -Same as English.
Maths – 100 questions, 100 marks. 1 mark per correct answer. A negative marking is .33 mark per the wrong answer.

CDS is slightly different from CAPF, ACE, or Civil Services exam. To crack CDS, you should be able to score at least 20 marks in all subjects, which is the sectional cut-off, and to be on the safe side, 115 marks in all three papers combined, that is, English, General Knowledge/Studies/Awareness and Maths. If you’re aiming for the Air Force, you should aim for around 145/300 marks. But for Army and Navy, aiming for 115/300 should be sufficient, although the more you can score, the better for you.

If you’re a female candidate or a male candidate only applying for OTA due to various reasons (age, degree) you should score at least 95/200 marks. The cut-off may vary every year but usually, it stays below 95. Be advised that OTA doesn’t have Maths paper, that’s why only English and GK papers are evaluated, that means the total marks are 200 for the OTA, instead of 300. We will not be discussing the syllabus here, you can refer to our CDS syllabus article for that. Let us look at the ways to crack.

The preparation of the CDS exam can be done by enrolling oneself in any online or offline coaching or from home also. Self-preparation plays a major role in cracking the CDS exam. Candidates who are preparing for the CDS 2 2022 exams can enroll in our CDS Exam Online Course. The course is fully loaded with the best preparation material for your upcoming CDS Exam.

Strategy I – Jack of All Master of None

Here you have to cover all three papers comprehensively (two for OTA candidates) and be prepared to score the above-mentioned marks by reading the main topics of all the subjects. Here you have to study all subjects and you should have basic knowledge of all of them. On the other hand, if a particular paper is your strong point, then this strategy would be a waste of precious time that could be allocated elsewhere and spent productively otherwise.

This is a tried and tested strategy and the safest recourse not just for CDS, but for any exam.

Strategy II – Overcompensation and Bare Survival

This strategy has the best cost-benefit ratio in terms of time and effort invested in studying, although it can be very risky depending upon the difficulty of the paper, so it’s suggested when you have absolute command over at least one paper of CDS and you have steadfast confidence about your performance in that paper, no matter the difficulty level of the paper. Here, you augment your already strong bastion in that particular paper, which takes minimal effort and time while studying just about enough to get a score above the sectional cut-off in your other papers. So your extremely high marks in one subject compensate for the relatively poor marks in the other subjects, where you’re barely surviving.

Now, do you see why this strategy is so risky? A bad ascertainment of those papers means failure to score even sectional cut-off which essentially means that you’ve failed the exam. But like It is said before, this is extremely time-saving and demands way less effort than Strategy, so you can use this strategy to splendid effect even if you don’t have enough time on your hands, say, if you already have a hectic job, or extremely demanding college work.

Study Material

A candidate can refer to any of the SSBCrackExams Best CDS Exam Online Course which covers the complete syllabus with detailed lectures, sample practice Q&A, Previous years solved Q&A by the best tutors in India, and also referer to some good book that comes into the market because all books have good content difference is only in the way we study it. You can use NCERT of 6- 12 class and if you feel you need to study in more detail you can go for individual details for each subject:

English – Previous years papers of CDS, CAPF ACE and SSC-CGL.
GK – Lucent’s or Arihant’s General Knowledge and Study Capsules for Polity and Geography, otherwise we would recommend NCERT (Classes 9–12) + Indian Polity by M Laxmikanth + The Hindu for Current Affairs and Editorials.
Maths – Quantitative Aptitude by R S Aggarwal and M Tyra for high speed shortcuts.

Download: CDS Exam Previous Year Question Papers 2010 – 2023 [UPDATED]

You can follow a strategy that you think will work for you according to your interests and capabilities, moreover, hard work clubbed with smart work can overcome all difficulties, you just need to be consistent in whatever you are doing, you may find it difficult in the starting but once you start studying sincerely you will start gaining confidence because of your increasing knowledge. Some tips are mentioned below for studying at home with the best of your potential;

Always make your own notes by reading and writing on a notebook whatever you have understood out of the topic, by doing this you will be able to remember it for long.
Before reading something new, revise the previous topic you have study. It’s just like you do not remember the Microsoft excel shortcut by just reading at once but when you read it again and again in order to use, you automatically remember that forever.
Study during your own comfortable zone and time. It is not about the number of hours you study it is about the concentration and qualitative study you do. It is suggested to study during the morning hours but if you feel you cannot concentrate much during these hours due to morning exercises schedule or sleeping late at night, you can study during any hour of the day but make sure you are giving your 100% during that time of the day.
Do not waste your time here and there, it is good to play, watch series or enjoy your hobbies along with the studies but doing it for longer times every day can result into time wastage. Use them as a break activity, study hard with full concentration and when you feel now you have done a topic now you need a break, use your hobbies to refresh your mind and start studying again well.
Keep solving MCQ’s in your phone whenever you are free or you are traveling etc. Just download application available in the stores and keep practicing the topic you are currently studying or have recently completed.

Want To Prepare For The CDS Exam and SSB Interview?

These were some of the crucial points required to crack the CDS at home. Sincerity and concentration are very important to crack this. You have to be on your path and keep preparing without any distraction then only you will be able to crack it. I hope this article helped you understand all the important points to study at home and crack the exam.