Lengthy and fact-based: Group – I Preliminary exam draws mixed reactions

Students with a mathematics background had a cake walk in this section. However, compared to the last two Group – I preliminary tests, aspirants found this test to be easier but lengthy.

Hyderabad: Aspirants who took the Group – I preliminary test on Sunday found the question paper to be lengthy and fact-based. While some students reported the questions to be well-balanced, covering subjects such as Telangana modern history, current affairs, general science, environmental issues, state and central government schemes, several candidates reportedly struggled to crack the mathematics questions.

Out of 150 questions, there were significant number of questions on analytical ability, logical reasoning, and data representation, which were a bit tough to crack.

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Students with a mathematics background had a cake walk in this section. However, compared to the last two Group – I preliminary tests, aspirants found this test to be easier but lengthy.

This time, question paper setters focused on the Telangana literature. There were no questions on Telangana’s movement, culture, festivals, jatara, and folklore. Only a few questions were asked on Telangana’s modern history, aspirants said. Several aspirants complained about the length of the questions stating that the time allocated was insufficient to attempt all the questions thoroughly.

“Last time, the question paper for Group – I was given on the lines of the Civil Services preliminary test. This time, prelims questions are of the same Group – I standard and majority questions are logical in nature. Given the lengthy question paper, I could not attempt all questions as I wasted time cracking mathematics questions,” said Raj Kumar, a Group – I aspirant.

According to Groups coaching expert and Shikara Academy director Deepika Reddy, around 25 questions were on logical reasoning, analytical ability and data interpretation and students from the mathematics background have good advantage.

“There were questions on the Telangana socio-economic outlook 2023. This means, irrespective of the government in power, students have to prepare all official documents. Given the lengthy question paper and fact-based questions, the cut-off for the general candidates could be between 75 and 80 marks,” she said.

Civil Services expert and Brain Train Director Gopala Krishna said the Group – I prelims questions balance the difficulty level from simple to complex. “All areas have been covered. This paper demands long term preparation and only those students will be rewarded,” he added.