The Air Force Common Admission Test (AFCAT) is a national-level entrance examination conducted by the Indian Air Force to select candidates for various posts in the Air Force, such as Flying Officers, Officers in Ground Duty (Technical and Non-Technical), and Engineering Knowledge Test (EKT) for Technical Branch candidates. The exam is held twice a year, usually in February and August. The AFCAT exam consists of four sections: Verbal Ability, General Awareness, Reasoning and Numerical Ability, and Military Aptitude Test. The duration of the exam is two hours, and the total marks are 300.
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Importance of General Awareness Section
General Awareness is one of the most important sections of the AFCAT exam, as it tests the candidates’ knowledge of current affairs, history, geography, polity, economy, science, defence, sports, awards, etc. This section carries 25 questions, each carrying 3 marks. Therefore, scoring well in this section can boost the overall performance of the candidates.
No Fixed Syllabus or Pattern?
However, many candidates find this section challenging, as it requires them to be updated with a lot of information from various sources. Moreover, there is no fixed syllabus or pattern for this section, and the questions can be asked from any topic related to general awareness. Therefore, it is essential to have a smart and effective preparation strategy for this section.
Here are some tips and tricks to ace the General Awareness section of the AFCAT exam:
Read newspapers and magazines regularly
Reading newspapers and magazines is one of the best ways to improve your general awareness and stay updated with the current affairs. You should read at least one national newspaper and one magazine every day, and note down the important facts and figures related to national and international events, defence news, sports news, awards and honours, etc. You can also refer to online sources like websites and apps that provide daily current affairs quizzes and capsules.
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Revise the static GK topics
Apart from current affairs, you should also revise the static GK topics like history, geography, polity, economy, science, etc. You should focus on the topics that are relevant to the Air Force and defence sector, such as Indian Constitution, Indian Air Force history and structure, defence equipment and weapons, wars and operations involving India, etc. You can refer to NCERT books, Lucent’s General Knowledge book, or any other reliable source for these topics.
Solve previous year papers and mock tests
Solving previous year papers and mock tests is another important aspect of preparing for the General Awareness section of the AFCAT exam. By doing this, you can get an idea of the type and level of questions asked in this section, as well as identify your strengths and weaknesses. You can also improve your speed and accuracy by practicing regularly under time constraints. You can find previous year papers and mock tests online or offline from various sources.
Make notes and flashcards
Making notes and flashcards is a useful technique to memorize and revise the important facts and information related to general awareness. You can make notes of the important points from newspapers, magazines, books, etc., and revise them periodically. You can also make flashcards of important dates, events, personalities, terms, etc., and use them for quick revision before the exam.
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Stay confident and calm
Lastly, you should stay confident and calm while preparing for and attempting the General Awareness section of the AFCAT exam. You should not get stressed or nervous by the vastness or unpredictability of this section. Instead, you should trust your preparation and knowledge, and attempt the questions with a positive attitude. You should also avoid guesswork or negative marking by skipping the questions that you are not sure about.
How to Maximize the Benefits of Mock Tests
- You get an initial assessment of your preparedness even before you start your preparation.
- The analysis you work on after taking mocks provides you with a lot of information which can help you improve your performance
- You also get an All India Rank which you can monitor month-on-month.
- Highlight all those GA questions which you answered incorrectly and revise them so that you don’t repeat the same mistakes.
- List the GA questions which you couldn’t answer and go through their facts & figures once again.
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By following these tips and tricks, you can ace the General Awareness section of the AFCAT exam and increase your chances of getting selected for your dream post in the Air Force. All the best!
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