UPSC CAPF (AC) 2024 Preparation Tips: Know Complete Strategy & Guide

Updated on Apr 21, 2022 14:10 IST

By Rupali Pruthi, Assistant Manager - Editorial

UPSC CAPF 2022 exam preparation should be started with the release of notification if not started earlier. The preparation required more than one year of focused effort. The candidates need to prepare all the topics given in the CAPF syllabus in their entirety. The candidates should prepare a study plan for the CAPF preparation to cover all the aspects of preparation such as the revision, static GK, current affairs, revision and practice. The candidates must earmark a good amount of time for practice with the previous year's question papers in a time-bound manner. CAPF preparation must accompany the previous paper analysis and compare it with the official answer key and cutoffs.

UPSC CAPF 2022 exam was conducted on August 7 across the nation. It is expected that the UPSC will ask about the current affairs of the last one year from the date of exam. The UPSC conducts the CAPF exam to recruit the candidates for the position of Assistant Commandant in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF). The UPSC CAPF preparation starts with the understanding of the exam pattern, and syllabus and analysing the previous year's question papers. The proper analysis of syllabus and previous year question papers provides insight into the expectations of the candidate.

The UPSC CAPF exam pattern is given below.

Written Exam
Physical/Medical Standard Test
Interview

The UPSC CAPF exam pattern is very simple because there is only one written exam. The marks secured in the written exam are considered for the final merit list. The candidates need to qualify in the Physical/Medical Standard test to get selected for the interview phase.

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The candidates should understand the UPSC CAPF syllabus in its entirety before starting the preparation. The syllabus should be analysed in the light of the question paper so that the real depth of the topics can be ascertained. The previous year question papers give a clear idea about the demand of the exam and the candidates should prepare accordingly.

The CAPF written exam has two question papers. One is the objective type and the other one is subjective essay type paper. The syllabus of both papers is given below.

UPSC CAPF (written) Paper I – General Mental Ability and General Science. It covers the following topics.

General Mental Ability
General Science
Current Events of National and International importance
Indian Polity and Economy
History
Indian and World Geography

This paper will be the objective type in nature and the candidates need to mark their answers in the OMR sheet provided at the examination hall.

UPSC CAPF (written) Paper-II–General Studies, Essay and Comprehension

This paper will test the writing and language skills of the candidates.

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The UPSC CAPF syllabus is very similar to the IAS syllabus but differs in the horizontal and vertical expansion.

See here: How to write UPSC CAPF essay?

Table of content

How to prepare for UPSC CAPF Exam?
UPSC CAPF interview

How to prepare for UPSC CAPF Exam?

The candidates should start the CAPF preparation with the current events of national and international importance. The current affairs give a clear idea about what is happening in the country important for the exam. The candidates should see the previous year question papers and study the current affairs and other topics based on the questions asked in the previous year exam.

The candidates should prepare the current affairs of the last twelve months so they can answer the questions asked in the CAPF exam.

The candidates should prepare the constitution of India thoroughly because the Indian Polity questions asked in the previous year questions papers are hard to solve. The Indian polity questions are directly linked with the current news and the ongoing political debate in the country.

Indian Geography is another important area for preparation. The candidates find it very difficult to understand the Geography topics because it involves the application of the principles of Physics. Moreover, the Geography syllabus is very vast to cover. The preparation of Geography will help in the Essay writing.

The Economy topics can be covered along with the current affairs. UPSC asks the current topics of the economy in the exam. Basic Understanding of the Indian economy is a must for any UPSC exam because the knowledge of India’s economic structure will help the candidate understand the importance and relevance of the economic event.

The UPSC CAPF History syllabus is limited to Modern Indian History and freedom struggle. The candidates should focus on events that occurred after the Nineteen Hundred. The events associated with Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru are very important. The other important topic is the yearly session of Congress Party and the resolutions passed in it.

How to prepare notes for UPSC CAPF exams?

The candidates should prepare notes for the UPSC CAPF exam because of two reasons. First, the notes will help in the quick revision of the General Studies Syllabus in the paucity of time. Second, it will help in the Essay writing as well.

The candidates should prepare the notes covering the whole syllabus. Everything mentioned in the syllabus is important and the UPSC can ask anything from any topic so nothing can be left as unimportant. The candidates should use the short forms of the big words while writing the notes so that the time elapsed in the preparation of the note can be minimised. For example, the candidates can use ‘wrt’ for ‘with respect to’ or ‘C’ for ‘circumstances’ and the likes.

After preparing the basic notes, the candidates should try to link the topics and connect the applications of the topics with the current affairs.

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Essay Writing Practice

Essay writing practice is critical for the success in the UPSC CAPF exam. The candidates are expected to write four essays in the paper two. Each essay will be of twenty marks. So the candidates must practice writing the essay during their preparation.

The candidates should start writing the essay after one month of their initial preparation so that they have something to write. The candidates must start writing the essay on the fundamental problems of the Indian society such as women empowerment Child Labour, Pollution, migrations, rural-urban divide in India, internal security threats, Food Security in India, Water security in India and the likes. These candidates should write the introductions on various topics so they can write easily in the exam.

Time management, logical flow of essay and conclusion are the other important points for the essay. The candidates should practice the essay writing within the time limit so they can adhere to the time limit in the exam and can attempt all the questions.

For the English part, the candidate should read any English newspaper regularly. The candidates must read the editorial part every day, it will help in the essay writing and précis writing both. The candidates should refer to any standard grammar book to prepare for the language part.

After the written exam, the medical/physical standard test will be conducted. The candidates must start running from day one of the preparation because it is mandatory to qualify in the medical examination. The running will increase the stamina and the rest of the things will fall in line.

See here: Last week preparation strategy

UPSC CAPF interview

The first thing expected from the candidates is respect and calmness. Sometimes, the board members try to instigate the candidates to test their patience. As the position is the commanding officer, patience is the key quality to check in the interview.

There is no prescribed syllabus for UPSC interview. The questions in the interview are more inclined towards the current affairs and the Detailed Application Form (DAF) of the candidate. The DAF has all the information regarding the academic and professional qualifications of the candidate.