As India’s highly respected recruitment body, the Union Public Service Commission has several responsibilities. From conducting examinations to finalising the exam pattern and publishing the results to carrying out the subsequent recruitments.

The number of candidates appearing for UPSC competitive exams is large in number. Thus, it is important for every candidate to prepare each and every area of the paper thoroughly and diligently.

UPSC has announced several vacancies in the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force wings of the National Defences Academy (NDA) and Naval Academy (NA). Candidates will have to appear for examinations and physical/medical tests to be recruited into any of the wings.

To fill up the 415 vacancies, the UPSC NDA & NA (2) exam will be conducted. It will be a written examination, wherein candidates will have to appear for two papers –

• The first paper will be on Mathematics. Here candidates will be given a time period of two hours and thirty minutes to attempt 120 questions. The paper will carry 300 marks.
• The second paper is called the General Ability Test or GAT. This includes questions from English and General Knowledge. Candidates will also be given a time limit of 2 hours and 30 minutes for this paper which will be for 600 marks.

UPSC NDA and NA (2) 2019

The English portion of the General Ability Test will comprise of 200 marks. It can be a very scoring portion for candidates if they are thoroughly prepared with all the important topics. Candidates must make a note of the important parts and practice English every day to score better marks.

The questions based on the English subject will test an overall understanding of the candidates. It is based on a candidate’s understanding of the usage of words, grammar, vocabulary and such other aspects.

Here are some the important topics that the candidate should be preparing for the English General Ability Test –

• Vocabulary – Synonyms and Antonyms (16 questions)
• Grammar usage – spotting errors in a sentence (10-12 questions)
• Sentence Arrangements – Jumbled sentences (14 questions)
• Comprehension – 2 sets of reading comprehension (8-10 questions)

Candidates preparing for this exam can also make a note of some important points for both Paper 1 and Paper 2 –

1. Both the papers will constitute of objective questions only.
2. The papers will be bilingual. Candidates will have the choice to attempt the paper either in English or Hindi.
3. Usage of calculators or a logarithmic table will not be permitted to the candidates for the maths exam.
4. There will be negative marking for both the papers. 0.33 marks will be deducted for every wrong answer.
5. The qualifying marks for both the papers will be fixed by the commission owing to its discretionary powers.

Candidates must continue their preparation keeping these points in mind. A bonus tip about the English preparation is that reading regularly will help candidates improve on their grammar and vocabulary.