UPSC Prelims Exam Syllabus 2012

Scheme of CS (Preliminary) Examination

The Preliminary Examination conducted by the UPSC consists of two papers of objective type (multiple-choice questions) carrying a maximum of 400 marks. The Question Papers (Test Booklets) are set in English & Hindi

Civil Services Aptitude Test

The new Recruitment Process of Civil Services Exam conducted by the UPSC (Union Public Service Commission) is called the CSAT or the Civil Services Aptitude Test. The CSAT is coming into effect from the Civil Services Examination, 2011. CSAT will not only enable us to choose civil servants with right aptitudes but also end the use of scaling system for varying subjects that has been a matter of concern for many. No changes are being introduced at this stage in the Civil Services (Main) Examination and Personality Test in the scheme of Civil Services Examination (CSE). From Civil Service Examination 2011, Preliminary Examination would consist of two papers- Paper I and Paper II. The syllabus and pattern of the Preliminary Examination would be as under :
(Paper 1) (200 marks) - Duration : Two hrs.

• Current events of national and international importance
• History of India and Indian national movement
• Indian and World Geography- physical, social, economic geography of India and the world
• Indian Polity and governance – constitution, political system, panchayati raj, public policy, Rights issues, etc.
• Economic and social development – sustainable development, poverty, inclusion, demographics, social sector initiatives etc.
• General issues on environmental ecology, bio-diversity and climate change-that donot require subject specialization
• General science.

(Paper II) (200 marks) – Duration : Two hrs

• Comprehension
• Interpersonal skills including communication skills
• Logical reasoning and analytical ability
• Decision making and problem solving
• General mental ability
• Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude etc. (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. –Class X level)
• English language comprehension skills (Class X level)
• Questions relating to English Language Comprehension skills of Class X level (last item in the Syllabus of Paper-II) will be tested through passages from English language only without providing Hindi translation thereof in the question paper.
• The questions will be of multiple choice, objective type.

How to Manage Ur Time????

Time management

Developing time management skills is a journey
that may begin with this Guide, but needs practice and other guidance along the way.
One goal is to help yourself become aware of how you use your time
as one resource in organizing, prioritizing, and succeeding in your studies
in the context of competing activities of friends, work, family, etc.
First: try our exercise in time management:
How do you spend your time each day?
Strategies on using time:
These applications of time management have proven to be effective as good study habits.
As we go through each strategy, jot down an idea of what each will look like for you:

• Blocks of study time and breaks
  As your school term begins and your course schedule is set, develop and plan for, blocks of study time in a typical week. Blocks ideally are around 50 minutes, but perhaps you become restless after only 30 minutes? Some difficult material may require more frequent breaks. Shorten your study blocks if necessary-but don't forget to return to the task at hand! What you do during your break should give you an opportunity to have a snack, relax, or otherwise refresh or re-energize yourself. For example, place blocks of time when you are most productive: are you a morning person or a night owl?
  • Jot down one best time block you can study. How long is it? What makes for a good break for you? Can you control the activity and return to your studies?
• Dedicated study spaces
  Determine a place free from distraction (no cell phone or text messaging!) where you can maximize your concentration and be free of the distractions that friends or hobbies can bring! You should also have a back-up space that you can escape to, like the library, departmental study center, even a coffee shop where you can be anonymous. A change of venue may also bring extra resources.
  • What is the best study space you can think of? What is another?
• Weekly reviews
  Weekly reviews and updates are also an important strategy. Each week, like a Sunday night, review your assignments, your notes, your calendar. Be mindful that as deadlines and exams approach, your weekly routine must adapt to them!
  • What is the best time in a week you can review?
• Prioritize your assignments
  When studying, get in the habit of beginning with the most difficult subject or task. You'll be fresh, and have more energy to take them on when you are at your best. For more difficult courses of study, try to be flexible: for example, build in reaction time when you can get feedback on assignments before they are due.
  • What subject has always caused you problems?
• Achieve "stage one"--get something done!
  The Chinese adage of the longest journey starting with a single step has a couple of meanings: First, you launch the project! Second, by starting, you may realize that there are some things you have not planned for in your process. Details of an assignment are not always evident until you begin the assignment. Another adage is that "perfection is the enemy of good", especially when it prevents you from starting! Given that you build in review, roughly draft your idea and get going! You will have time to edit and develop later.
  • What is a first step you can identify for an assignment to get yourself started?
• Postpone unnecessary activities until the work is done!
  Postpone tasks or routines that can be put off until your school work is finished!
  This can be the most difficult challenge of time management. As learners we always meet unexpected opportunities that look appealing, then result in poor performance on a test, on a paper, or in preparation for a task. Distracting activities will be more enjoyable later without the pressure of the test, assignment, etc. hanging over your head. Think in terms of pride of accomplishment. Instead of saying "no" learn to say "later".
  • What is one distraction that causes you to stop studying?
• Identify resources to help you
  Are there tutors? An expert friend? Have you tried a keyword search on the Internet to get better explanations? Are there specialists in the library that can point you to resources? What about professionals and professional organizations. Using outside resources can save you time and energy, and solve problems.
  • Write down three examples for that difficult subject above?
    Be as specific as possible.
• Use your free time wisely
  Think of times when you can study "bits" as when walking, riding the bus, etc. Perhaps you've got music to listen to for your course in music appreciation, or drills in language learning? If you are walking or biking to school, when best to listen? Perhaps you are in a line waiting? Perfect for routine tasks like flash cards, or if you can concentrate, to read or review a chapter. The bottom line is to put your time to good use.
  • What is one example of applying free time to your studies?
• Review notes and readings just before class
  This may prompt a question or two about something you don't quite understand, to ask about in class, or after. It also demonstrates to your teacher that you are interested and have prepared.
  • How would you make time to review?
    Is there free time you can use?
• Review lecture notes just after class
  Then review lecture material immediately after class.
  The first 24 hours are critical. Forgetting is greatest within 24 hours without review!
  • How would you do this?
    Is there free time you can use?
Select one of the ten applications above. and develop a new study habit! Try something you have a good chance of following through and accomplishing. Nothing succeeds like a first successful try! Try the University of Minnesota's Assignment Calculator Develop criteria for adjusting your schedule to meet both your academic and non-academic needs Effective aids:
• Create a simple "To Do" listThis simple program will help you identify a few items, the reason for doing them, a timeline for getting them done, and then printing this simple list and posting it for reminders.
• Daily/weekly planner
  Write down appointments, classes, and meetings on a chronological log book or chart.
  If you are more visual, sketch out your schedule
  First thing in the morning, check what's ahead for the day
  always go to sleep knowing you're prepared for tomorrow
• Long term planner
  Use a monthly chart so that you can plan ahead.
  Long term planners will also serve as a reminder to constructively plan time for yourself
• Ref:http://www.studygs.net/timman.htm

Are U ready to do higher studies in US way to TOEFL

TOEFL

The Test of English as a Foreign Language, or TOEFL (pronounced /ˈtoʊfəl/toh-fəl), evaluates the ability of an individual to use and understand English in an academic setting.

It sometimes is an admission requirement for non-native English speakers at many English-speaking colleges and universities. Additionally, institutions such as government agencies, licensing bodies, businesses, or scholarship programs may require this test. A TOEFL score is valid for two years and then will no longer be officially reported^[1] since a candidate's language proficiency could have significantly changed since the date of the test.^{[citation needed]} Colleges and universities usually consider only the most recent TOEFL score.

The TOEFL test is a registered trademark of Educational Testing Service (ETS) and is administered worldwide.

Policies governing the TOEFL program are formulated with advice from a 16-member board. Board members are affiliated with undergraduate and graduate schools, 2-year institutions and public or private agencies with an interest in international education. Other members are specialists in the field of English as a foreign or second language.

The TOEFL Committee of Examiners is composed of 12 specialists in linguistics, language testing, teaching or research. Its main responsibility is to advise on TOEFL test content. The committee helps ensure the test is a valid measure of English language proficiency reflecting current trends and methodologies.

History

In 1962, a national council made up of representatives of thirty government and private organizations was formed to address the problem on ensuring English language proficiency for non-native speakers wishing to study at American universities. This council recommended the development and administration of the TOEFL exam for the 1963-1964 time frame.^[2]

The test was originally developed at the Center for Applied Linguistics under the direction of Stanford University applied linguistics professor Dr. Charles A. Ferguson.^[3]

The TOEFL was first administered in 1964 by the Modern Language AssociationFord Foundation and Danforth Foundation.^[2] financed by grants from the

In 1965, The College Board and ETS jointly assumed responsibility for the continuation of the TOEFL testing program.^[2]

In 1973, a cooperative arrangement was made between ETS, The College Board, and the Graduate Record Examinations board of advisers to oversee and run the program. ETS was to administer the exam with the guidance of the TOEFL board.^[2]

Formats and contents

Internet-based Test

Since its introduction in late 2005, the Internet-based Test (iBT) has progressively replaced both the computer-based tests (CBT) and paper-based tests (PBT), although paper-based testing is still used in select areas. The iBT has been introduced in phases, with the United States, Canada, France, Germany, and Italy in 2005 and the rest of the world in 2006, with test centers added regularly. The CBT was discontinued in September 2006 and these scores are no longer valid.

Although initially, the demand for test seats was higher than availability, and candidates had to wait for months, it is now possible to take the test within one to four weeks in most countries.^[4] The four-hour test consists of four sections, each measuring one of the basic language skills (while some tasks require integrating multiple skills) and all tasks focus on language used in an academic, higher-education environment. Note-taking is allowed during the iBT. The test cannot be taken more than once a week.

1. Reading
   

   The Reading section consists of 3–5 passages, each approximately 700 words in length and questions about the passages. The passages are on academic topics; they are the kind of material that might be found in an undergraduate university textbook. Passages require understanding of rhetorical functions such as cause-effect, compare-contrast and argumentation. Students answer questions about main ideas, details, inferences, essential information, sentence insertion, vocabulary, rhetorical purpose and overall ideas. New types of questions in the iBT require filling out tables or completing summaries. Prior knowledge of the subject under discussion is not necessary to come to the correct answer.



2. Listening
   

   The Listening section consists of six passages 3–5 minutes in length and questions about the passages. These passages include two student conversations and four academic lectures or discussions. A conversation involves two speakers, a student and either a professor or a campus service provider. A lecture is a self-contained portion of an academic lecture, which may involve student participation and does not assume specialized background knowledge in the subject area. Each conversation and lecture stimulus is heard only once. Test-takers may take notes while they listen and they may refer to their notes when they answer the questions. Each conversation is associated with five questions and each lecture with six. The questions are meant to measure the ability to understand main ideas, important details, implications, relationships between ideas, organization of information, speaker purpose and speaker attitude.



3. Speaking
   

   The Speaking section consists of six tasks: two independent tasks and four integrated tasks. In the two independent tasks, test-takers answer opinion questions on familiar topics. They are evaluated on their ability to speak spontaneously and convey their ideas clearly and coherently. In two of the integrated tasks, test-takers read a short passage, listen to an academic course lecture or a conversation about campus life and answer a question by combining appropriate information from the text and the talk. In the two remaining integrated tasks, test-takers listen to an academic course lecture or a conversation about campus life and then respond to a question about what they heard. In the integrated tasks, test-takers are evaluated on their ability to appropriately synthesize and effectively convey information from the reading and listening material. Test-takers may take notes as they read and listen and may use their notes to help prepare their responses. Test-takers are given a short preparation time before they have to begin speaking. The responses are digitally recorded, sent to ETS’s Online Scoring Network (OSN) and evaluated by three to six raters.



4. Writing

   The Writing section measures a test taker's ability to write in an academic setting and consists of two tasks: one integrated task and one independent task. In the integrated task, test-takers read a passage on an academic topic and then listen to a speaker discuss the same topic. The test-taker will then write a summary about the important points in the listening passage and explain how these relate to the key points of the reading passage. In the independent task, test-takers must write an essay that states, explains, and supports their opinion on an issue, supporting their opinions or choices, rather than simply listing personal preferences or choices. Responses are sent to the ETS OSN and evaluated by four raters.

   Task	Description	Approx. time
   Reading	3–5 passages, each containing 12–14 questions	60–100 minutes
   Listening	6–9 passages, each containing 5–6 questions	60–90 minutes
   Break		10 minutes
   Speaking	6 tasks and 6 questions	20 minutes
   Writing	2 tasks and 2 questions	50 minutes

    

One of the sections of the test will include extra, uncounted material. Educational Testing Service includes extra material in order to pilot test questions for future test forms. When test-takers are given a longer section, they should give equal effort to all of the questions because they do not know which question will count and which will be considered extra. For example, if there are four reading passages instead of three, then three of those passages will count and one of the passages will not be counted. Any of the four passages could be the uncounted one.

Paper-based Test

In areas where the internet-based test is not available, a paper-based test (PBT) is given. Test takers must register in advance either online or by using the registration form provided in the Supplemental Paper TOEFL Bulletin. They should register in advance of the given deadlines to ensure a place because the test centers have limited seating and may fill up early. Tests are administered on fixed dates 6 times each year.

The test is 3 hours long and all test sections can be taken on the same day. Students can take the test as many times as they wish. However, colleges and universities usually consider only the most recent score.

1. Listening (30 – 40 minutes)
   

   The Listening section consists of 3 parts. The first one contains 30 questions about short conversations. The second part has 8 questions about longer conversations. The last part asks 12 questions about lectures or talks.



2. Structure and Written Expression (25 minutes)
   

   The Structure and Written Expression section has 15 exercises of completing sentences correctly and 25 exercises of identifying errors.



3. Reading Comprehension (55 minutes)
   

   The Reading Comprehension section has 50 questions about reading passages.



4. Writing (30 minutes)

   The Writing section is one essay with 250–300 words in average.

   Test scores 

   Internet-based Test



5. The iBT version of the TOEFL test is scored on a scale of 0 to 120 points.


6. Each of the four sections (Reading, Listening, Speaking, and Writing) receives a scaled score from 0 to 30. The scaled scores from the four sections are added together to determine the total score.


7. Each speaking question is initially given a score of 0 to 4, and each writing question is initially given a score of 0 to 5. These scores are converted to scaled scores of 0 to 30.

Paper-based Test

• The final PBT score ranges between 310 and 677 and is based on three subscores: Listening (31–68), Structure (31–68), and Reading (31–67). Unlike the CBT, the score of the Writing section (referred to as the Test of Written English, TWE) is not part of the final score; instead, it is reported separately on a scale of 0–6.
• The score test takers receive on the Listening, Structure and Reading parts of the TOEFL test is not the percentage of correct answers. The score is converted to take into account the fact that some tests are more difficult than others. The converted scores correct these differences. Therefore, the converted score is a more accurate reflection of the ability than the correct answer score is.

Accepted TOEFL Scores

Most colleges use TOEFL scores as only one factor in their admission process. Each college or program within a college often has a minimum TOEFL score required. The minimum TOEFL iBT scores range from 61 (Bowling Green State University) to 100 (MIT, Columbia, Harvard).^[5] A sampling of required TOEFL admissions scores shows that a total TOEFL iBT score of 74.2 for undergraduate admissions and 82.6 for graduate admissions may be required. It is recommended that students check with their prospective institutions directly to understand TOEFL admissions requirements.

ETS has released tables to convert between iBT, CBT and PBT scores.

TOEFL Junior

ETS also offers the TOEFL Junior, a general assessment of middle school-level English language proficiency, and a distinct product within the TOEFL family. The TOEFL Junior is available only to students of ages 11-14 and is not considered a predictor of a student's regular TOEFL score.

Registration

• The first step in the registration process is to obtain a copy of the TOEFL Information Bulletin. This bulletin can be obtained by downloading it or ordering it from the TOEFL website.
• From the bulletin, it is possible to determine when and where the iBT version of the TOEFL test will be given.
• Procedures for completing the registration form and submitting it are listed in the TOEFL Information Bulletin. These procedures must be followed exactly.

 Reference:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TOEFL

http://www.toeflgoanywhere.org/

Some tips for preparing your paper presentation

First, organize your talk:

1. Read the entire paper at least 3 times.
   You need to be able to explain the details in the paper (even the ugly tricky notation)
   You need to be able to provide a critical analysis of the paper
   Check out references in the related work section of the paper. (this will help you put the paper in context of a larger body of work and will help you critique the paper's results/contributions)
   Look at Paper Reading Advice for more details.
2. Find the important ideas A paper has many details but only one or two main ideas; structure your talk around these main ideas.
3. Create a Talk Outline
   Your talk should be organized in a top-down manner.
   You should have the following main sections in your talk:
   • Introduction, The Big Picture: what, why, how, and why we should care (motivation). Be sure to include:
     • a statement of the problem being solved (what)
     • motivation and putting the work in context (why and why should we care)
     • a high-level view of the author's solution (how)
   • Details of solution
   • Results demonstrating/proving their solution
   • Critic of Work (possibly compare to related work)
   • Conclusions & Future Directions for this work
   
   The talk should be organized as the important ideas first, the details second, conclusions last. Each section of your talk should be organized in a similar manor: high-level important points first, details second, summarize high-level points last. If the paper is well written, you can use the paper's organization as a guide.

Next, Design your slides

1. Slide Organization Your slides should be organized like an outline--a few main points, with sub points under each one.
   Your slides are a guide for your talk not a word-for-word copy of your talk. List specific points that you want to talk about as sub-topics of each main topic. If there are particular details that you want to discuss, outline them on the slide and keep written notes for you to refer to in your talk rather than writing all the details on the slide.
2. Summarize Main Points You should have a summary slide of the main ideas at the end.
   If applicable, Include a list of open questions from the paper
3. It is okay to waste space Add just enough prose prose to present the main points and highlight the main parts of each point. Use phrases rather than complete sentences and use large fonts. You can use acronyms and abbreviations sparingly, however you should say the complete name when you talk about about them. For example, if you abbreviate processes to procs on a slide, say "processes" when you talk about the point not "procs". Similarly, if your create an acronym for your super fast multi-cast implementation SFMC and refer to the old slow multi-cast implementation as OSMC, then say "our super fast multi-cast" and "the old slow multi-cast" rather than "SFMC" and "OSMC". The exception is for well-known acronyms such as PVM, MPI, API, JVM, etc.
4. A picture is worth a thousand words Use figures and graphs to explain implementation and results. It is very hard to describe a system implementation without having a picture of the components of the system. I once attended a talk about Intel's I64 architecture where the speaker tried to discuss the details of the layout of the chip and the interactions between the components without having any figures. It made for a very bad talk and a very hostile audience.
5. Number of Slides As a general rule, it should take 2-3 minutes to talk through the material on one slide, so for a 45 minute talk you should have about 20 slides. If there is too much material in a paper to present completely in 45 minutes, then pick one part (the most interesting/important part) that you will discuss in detail, and present the other parts at a higher level. You can create back-up slides for specific details that you don't plan to talk about, but may get questions about.

Next, preparing your presentation

1. Provide a talk road-map Tell audience where you are going with your talk.
   • Give audience a road-map of your talk at the beginning by using outline slides
     Immediately after the title slide, put up an outline slide and tell the audience the main organization of your talk. Another alternative is to first have a few slides motivating the paper's general topic, then put up an outline slide giving the audience a road-map of your talk.
   • It should be clear when you start a new high-level part of your talk
     Use good transitions from one slide to the next, and from one main topic to the next..."We just talked about the implementation of foo now we will look at how well foo performs for synthetic and real workloads.
     You may want to use the outline slide at other points in your talk to provide a visual transition between parts.
2. Repeat Your Point There is a rule that says you have to tell your audience something three times before the really hear it:
   1. Tell them what you are going to say.
   2. Say it.
   3. Summarize what you said.
   This is particularly important for figures and graphs. For example:
   
   1. This graph show how the A algorithm performs better than the B and C algorithms as the number of nodes increase
   2. The X axis is number of nodes, the Y axis is execution time in seconds The red curve shows the execution time of A as the number of nodes increases The blue curve shows ...
   3. Thus you can see that as the number of nodes increases above N, the A algorithm performs better. This is because of increased message traffic in algorithms B and C as shown on the next slide...
   4. Explain concepts in your own words It is certainly okay to lift key phrases from the paper to use in your talk. However, you should also try to summarize the main ideas of the paper in your own words.
   5. Talk to the Audience Don't read your slide off the screen, nor directly off the projector. It is okay to stop for a second and refer to your notes if you need to.
   6. Practice Give a practice run-through of your talk. Stand in a room for 1 hour and talk through all your slides (out loud). This should be a timed dress rehearsal (don't stop and fix slides as you go). Members of your reading group should provide a practice audience for you.
   7. Nervousness: How to fight back
      • A well organized, practiced talk will almost always go well. If you draw a blank, then looking at your slides will help you get back on track.
      • Taking a deep breath will clam you down. One trick is to try to remember to take a deep breath between each slide.
      • Slow down. Take a few seconds to think about a question that is being asked before you answer it. It is okay to pause for a few seconds between points and between slides; a second or two of silence between points is noticeable only to you, but if you are talking a mile a minute everyone will notice.
      • Bring notes. if you are afraid that you will forget a point or will forget your elegant transition between slides 11 and 12, write these down on a piece of paper and bring it with you. However, you don't want to have a verbatim copy of your talk, instead write down key phrases that you want to remember to say.
      • Give at least one practice talk to an audience.
      • Be prepared to answer questions. You don't have to know the answer to every question, however you should be prepared to answer questions and able to answer most questions about the paper. Before you give the talk, think about what questions you are likely to get, and how you would answer them. You may want to have back-up slides ready for answering certain questions.
      • It is okay to say "I don't know" or better yet "gee, I hadn't thought about that, but one possible approach would be to..." or to refer to your notes to answer questions.
   8. Talk to me...this is not optional
      You should meet with me the Tuesday before your talk with your talk outline in hand, and the Thursday or Friday before your talk with your talk slides.

Get Past Anna University, Chennai Question Papers & Symposium

http://www.technicalsymposium.com/