Civil Services (Prelims) 2015 - Paper II had 80 questions. Each of the 80 questions carried equal marks of 2.5. For each of the questions, 0.833 marks was deducted for any wrong answer marked. Out of a total of these 80 questions, there were 30 English questions (from 23 passages), 25 Reasoning and 25 Maths questions. These questions, however, were placed in a random order. In English part, all the questions were pertaining to the passages. In the earlier years, it has been seen that the number of comprehension passages used to be in the range of 10-12 but for this year 2015, the number of passages has been more than doubled. Also, the nature of the questions was such that the answer cannot be obtained by simply scanning through the passage. The nature of the questions were such that in order to attempt them, a diverse application of skills was required -speed reading skills, accurate comprehension, ability to draw inferences, understand the inherent assumptions, decode the tone of the author, understand the writing style etc. In general these questions were VERY DIFFICULT. So, for all those candidates who had not done basic practice would have found this area a real tough one to crack. However in the test area of "Maths" and "Reasoning", some of the questions were doable. Still, there were some qs from Maths & Reasoning which were more time consuming. Again, students, who had not done enough practice would have faced enormous difficulty there. While the overall difficulty of the paper has been on the higher side, one can still identify about 40 qs (out of a total of 80 qs) which are doable in nature. Even if one concentrates on these questions and attempt them, once can cross the cut-off marks of 33%.

The questions can be classified area-wise. The table below gives the broad overview of the questions which were there related to each of the test areas.

TEST AREA	NUMBER OF QUESTIONS	MAXIMUM POSSIBLE MARKS	DIFFICULTY LEVEL
Comprehension	30	75	DIFFICULT
Basic Numeracy	25	62.5	MODERATE -DIFFICULT
Analytical Ability & Logical Reasoning	25	62.5	MODERATE -DIFFICULT
General Mental Ability
TOTAL	80	200	DIFFICULT

The table below gives the number of questions (difficulty level wise) with respect to each test area.

Test Area	Number of Questions (Level of Difficulty wise)
	Easy	Medium	Difficult	Total
Comprehension	0	7	23	30
Basic Numeracy	10	3	12	25
Analytical Ability & Logical Reasoning	15	3	7	25
General Mental Ability
Total	25	13	42	80

Let us analyze the different types of questions from each of the test area, number of doable questions in each of the test area.

COMPREHENSION

No. of Questions: 30

The paper had 30 questions from a total of twenty three passages. The passages were drawn majorly from subject areas like Social, Economics, Environment, Polity. The questions demanded deeper understanding of the concept, extending beyond the passage. None of the questions could be answered without a thorough reading of the passages. Overall, the Comprehension passages were extremely difficult. The length of the passages (44 words per passage to 262 words per passage) were more or less on the similar lines as the previous year. In most of the questions, you have to identify the correct/incorrect statement(s)/assumption(s)/inference(s). A good score in this test area, alone, will be 27+ marks.

S No	Starting words of the Passage	Approx number of words in passage	Number of Qs	Level of difficulty
1	Climate Change is already making many people hungry......	86	1	Difficult
2	The Global Financial Stability Report finds that the share of portfolio...	94	1	Difficult
3	Open defecation is disastrous when practised in very densely...	119	1	Difficult
4	We generally talk about democracy but when it comes to any particular...	98	1	Moderate
5	The existence/establishment of formal financial institutions that offer...	93	2	Moderate -Difficult
6	Governments may have to take steps which would otherwise be an infringement on the Fundamental Rights of individual....	139	1	Difficult
7	India has suffered from persistent high inflation. Increase in administered prices...	82	1	Difficult
8	No Right is absolute, exclusive or inviolable....	45	1	Moderate
9	The conflict between man and state...	84	1	Moderate
10	Climate change is a complex policy issue with major implications in terms of finance..	170	4	Moderate -Difficult
11	The richer States have a responsibility to cut down carbon emissions...	102	1	Difficult
12	Set against a rural backdrop....	112	1	Difficult
13	The ultimate aim of the government is not to control...	82	1	Difficult
14	Our municipal corporations are understaffed...	102	1	Moderate
15	Flamingos in large flocks in the wild are social....	44	1	Difficult
16	Vast numbers of Indian citizens without bank accounts....	109	1	Difficult
17	Individuals, groups and leaders who promote human development....	134	2	Moderate -Difficult
18	Human history abounds in claims....	38	1	Difficult
19	By 2050, the Earth's Population...	94	1	Moderate
20	Many people in India feel....	50	1	Difficult
21	India accounts for nearly a fifth of the ...	105	1	Difficult
22	Foods travel more than the people who eat them...	76	1	Difficult
23	I must say that, beyond occasionally exposing me to laughter, my constitutional...	262	3	Moderate -Difficult
TOTAL (23 Passages)			30	DIFFICULT

BASIC NUMERACY

No. of Questions:25

The number of questions pertaining to Basic Numeracy was 25. The questions were from different topics (Numbers, Equations, Ratio, Time & Work, Time & Distance, Data Interpretation). A candidate, well prepared, can answer at least 12 questions, with at least 80% accuracy about 30 minutes.

S No	Topic/Area	Number of Qs	Nature of Qs	Number of doable Qs
1	Numbers	3	MODERATE -DIFFICULT	1
2	Equations, Ratio	8		4
3	Percentages, Profit, Loss	2		1
4	Averages, Mixtures, Alligations	1		1
5	Time & Work	1		1
6	Time & Distance	2		1
7	Data Interpretation	3		1
8	Geometry & Mensuration	1		1
9	Permutations & Combinations	4		1
Total		25	Moderate -Difficult	12

ANALYTICAL ABILITY & LOGICAL REASONING, GENERAL MENTAL ABILITY

No. of Questions:30

This test area comprises questions from topics like Number Series, Sequencing, Arrangement, Comparison, Non-Verbal Reasoning,Distribution, Venn diagrams, Clocks, etc There were at least 14 doable questions (out of 30). A good time allocation strategy will be 35 minutes for these questions.

S No	Topic/Area	Number of Qs	Nature of Qs	Number of doable Qs
1	Missing Number in the series (Figure based)	3	MODERATE	2
2	Directions	1		1
3	Distribution (Puzzles)	2		1
4	Venn diagrams	2		1
5	Comparison	5		3
6	Non Verbal Reasoning	1		1
7	Critical Reasoning (Inferences, Conclusions, Assumptions)	5		1
8	Clocks	1		1
9	Cubes	1		1
10	Deductions	2		1
11	Miscellaneous	2		1
Total		25	Moderate	14