The UPSC National Defense Academy and Naval Academy Examination (I) 2022 is scheduled to be conducted on April 10, 2022. The NDA exam is conducted in three phases beginning with an objective written exam, followed by the SSB test of intelligence and personality, and then medical examinations. The written exam has a weightage of 900 marks for a total of 5 hours. The exam is divided into two papers: Paper I – Mathematics, and Paper II – General Ability Test (GAT).
Now that candidates are left with precisely a month of preparation time, the following is a compilation of tips and directions picked from toppers’ suggestions to consolidate the process by ensuring a near-perfect revision strategy and addressing the loopholes.
Paper I – Mathematics
Mathematic paper (paper I) has a weightage of 300 marks and is conducted for a duration of 2.5 hours.
- Accuracy and speed is of utmost significance in Paper 1. It is advised that students to first be thorough with concepts of the subject from XI and XII CBSE syllabus. To ensure the same, candidates can either go through the self-prepared notes or buy the classroom notes compiled and provided by several coaching classes.
- NCERT class XI and XII texts cover vast majority of the topics, and as such, is a good guide for students to practise the exercises provided at chapter-ends.
- To cover topics such as complex numbers, logarithms, binary numbers, heights and differences, students may need to prepare from other sources. The Pathfinder NDA/NA by Arihant book is a popular choice among toppers for these sections.
- Students should prioritize topics which require less effort but give higher output such as sets, functions , matrices which are relatively easier and can help score.
- This, however, do not mean to avoid other major topics with higher weightage like trigonometry, set, statistics, probability and vector. Revising with notes, and watching Youtube videos of academic channels will also aide in the process further.
Paper II – General Aptitude
The general aptitude test (GAT) is conducted for 600 marks. This paper may be divided into 2 parts, general science, and English for 400 and 200 marks respectively.
General Sciences
- As general guideline the students can follow NCERT text books from class VI to X.
- Special focus on different chapters of modern history from NCERT texts can help.
- Chapters from Class VIII and IX NCERT text in the case of geography and the Indian atlas is important .
- Keep upto date on army exercise, the NDA motto and the general defense affairs.
- IX, X , XII NCERT text books should be the focus for science subjects.
English
This section is what most students consider an area that is easy to score. However, it is important to give adequate time in order to score the minimum marks required.
- Focus on grammar to strengthen the scope of this section.
- Give special focus on chapters like Prepositions, Tenses, Subject verb Agreement.
- Reading newspapers, magazines to improve your command over the language and gain vocabulary.
Solving previous year questions should be part of every exam preparation. The Pathfinder previous year question bank is a popular book that students can follow. The admit cards for the exam will be released on the UPSC official website three weeks before the examination. The exam will be held across 75 centers in various states of the country.
