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UPSC CDS Exam Analysis includes the difficulty of the CDS 1 & 2 exam, good attempts, and previous years’ trends. Check out the detailed UPSC CDS Exam Analysis 2024 here.
PWOnlyIAS
August 14, 2024
UPSC CDS Exam Analysis: The UPSC Combined Defence Services (CDS) Exam is one of the prestigious examinations for candidates aspiring to join the Indian Armed Forces. Understanding the exam’s difficulty level, subject-wise performance, and cutoff trends is crucial for aspirants preparing for this competitive exam. Therefore, our PWOnlyIAS experts have provided a detailed UPSC CDS Exam Analysis for candidates to understand the exam difficulty level.
The difficulty level of the CDS exam varies from moderate to tough, depending on the subject and the specific set of questions in a given year. The English and General Knowledge sections are generally considered moderate. On the other hand, the Elementary Mathematics section can range from moderate to difficult. A subject-wise analysis of the CDS exam provides insights into how candidates should approach each section.
UPSC CDS 1 exam was conducted on April 21, 2024. The detailed analysis for CDS 1 has been released. However, the exam analysis for CDS 2 will be released once the exam is conducted on September 01, 2024.
The overall difficulty level of the UPSC CDS 1 2024 exam was assessed to be moderate. Below is a deeper analysis of the difficulty levels for each section:
| Paper | Difficulty Level |
| English | Easy to Moderate |
| General Knowledge | Moderate to Difficult |
| Mathematics | Moderate |
The UPSC CDS 1 2024 exam required candidates to balance accuracy with the number of questions attempted within the given time frame. Below is the analysis of the good attempts for each section:
| Subjects | Good Attempts Range |
| English Language | 80-90 |
| General Knowledge | 70-80 |
| Mathematics | 65-75 |
The English section of the UPSC CDS 1 2024 exam included various topics, each with its own difficulty level. Here is the breakdown of the topics covered and the number of questions:
| Topic | No. of Questions |
| Word classes | 10 |
| Passages | 10 |
| Synonyms | 5 |
| Correlating sentences | 5 |
| Usage of paired words | 10 |
| Preposition & determiner fillers | 10 |
| Spotting errors | 10 |
| Matching lists | 5 |
| Adaptation of borrowed words | 5 |
| Use of phrasal verbs | 5 |
| Commonly used words | 5 |
| Ordering of words | 10 |
| Ordering of sentence | 10 |
| Antonyms | 5 |
| Fill in the blanks | 10 |
| Idioms & phrases | 5 |
The General Knowledge section encompassed a wide range of topics. Here’s a summary of the topics covered and the number of questions for each:
| Subject | No. of Questions |
| Current Affairs | 18 |
| Ancient History | 4 |
| Medieval History | 11 |
| Modern History | 5 |
| Geography | 20 |
| Polity | 14 |
| Economics | 15 |
| Static GK | 5 |
| Physics | 7 |
| Chemistry | 10 |
| Biology | 10 |
The Mathematics section of the UPSC CDS 1 2024 exam tested candidates on a range of mathematical concepts. Below is a summary of the topics covered and the number of questions for each:
| Topics | Number of Questions |
| Geometry | 18 |
| Number System | 13 |
| Mensuration 2D | 22 |
| Mensuration 3D | 3 |
| Algebra | 11 |
| Profit and Loss | 2 |
| Percentage | 1 |
| HCF & LCM | 3 |
| Mixture & Allegation | 1 |
| Ratio and Proportion | 3 |
| Time and Work | 4 |
| Height and Distance | 1 |
| Trigonometry | 6 |
| Simple Interest | 1 |
| Compound Interest | 2 |
| Speed and Distance | 5 |
| Statistics | 4 |
As the CDS 2 exam is yet to take place, candidates should expect a similar pattern and level of difficulty as seen in CDS 1. A thorough analysis will be provided post-exam, detailing the difficulty level, good attempts, and based on CDS exam past year analysis. Candidates are encouraged to continue their preparation with a focus on understanding key concepts, regular practice, and staying updated with current affairs.
| UPSC CDS 2 Exam Analysis 2024 | ||
| Paper | Difficulty Level | Good Attempts |
| English | To be updated | To be updated |
| General Knowledge | To be updated | To be updated |
| Mathematics | To be updated | To be updated |
The CDS exam cutoff trends provide a benchmark for candidates to assess their performance and set realistic goals. The cutoff varies for different academies such as the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Indian Naval Academy (INA), Air Force Academy (AFA), and Officers’ Training Academy (OTA). Generally, the cutoff for AFA is higher compared to IMA, INA, and OTA due to the competitive nature of the exam and the limited number of seats.
The cutoff trends and CDS Exam performance analysis can help in predicting the expected cutoff for upcoming exams.
If you are preparing for UPSC, enroll in the PW’s best Online UPSC courses today!
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