The Air Force Common Admission Test (AFCAT) is administered by the Indian Air Force for the selection of Class-1 Gazetted Officers in Flying and Ground Duties (Technical and Non-Technical). The exam is organised half-yearly, in February and August/September.
The AFCAT written exam consists of 100 questions for 300 marks. Every correct answer fetches your 3 marks, whereas the wrong answer reduces 1 mark. In this article, we have discussed the best tips and strategies to complete the AFCAT exam syllabus.
AFCAT Syllabus
The first thing for any AFCAT aspirant is to know the complete AFCAT Syllabus. Once you have known the subject wise syllabus, thereafter, you can plan your strategy to crack the exam. To benign with, there are four sections in the AFCAT paper
English – 25 Questions are asked. Related to noun, verb, antonyms, synonyms and idioms & phrase General Awareness – History, Geography, Sports, Environment, Basic Science, Civics, Defence, Culture, Current Affairs, Art, Politics, etc. Numerical Ability – percentage, ratio & proportion, average, decimal fraction, simplification, profit & loss, and simple interest Reasoning – military aptitude, verbal ability, spatial ability, etc. Non-EKT (Engineering Knowledge Test)
This paper consists of non-technical questions. The paper contains 100 Questions with a timing of 2 hours
Marking scheme: 3 marks for each question and 1 negative mark for the wrong answer
No of Questions:
- General English = 25 Questions
- General Awareness = 25 Questions
- Numerical Ability = 18 Questions
- Reasoning and Military Aptitude Test = 32 Questions
EKT Syllabus (Technical Paper)
This paper consists of technical questions. It is an optional paper, candidates can opt for this paper if they are eligible and from a technical background. This paper consists of 50 Questions, with a total of 45 minutes.
Marking scheme: 3 marks for each question and 1 mark negative for the wrong answer
No of Questions:
- Fundamentals Engineering = 14 Questions
- Specialisation Engineering = 25 Questions
- Allied Engineering = 11 Questions
Preparation Strategy for AFCAT Exam: Subject Wise
By following the strategy below you will be able to crack this exam with at least 190+ marks because the paper is very very easy. The section-wise preparation strategy is mentioned down below:
Numerical Ability This section only comprises arithmetic questions. Solve previous year papers (PYPs) of AFCAT and SSC (only relevant topics) as well. Focus on concepts and practice as much as you can. No need to learn short tricks as you have ample time in the exam hall.
Generally, questions are asked from:
- Profit and Loss +discount
- STD(speed, time, and distance)+Boat and Stream
- Time and work
- Average
- SI and CI
Verbal ability For this section, good vocabulary and sentence-forming skills are vital, which can be developed by reading newspapers, novels, etc. Solve the PYPs of AFCAT, if possible, practice SSC CGL(TIER1) PYPs because questions and patterns are almost the same and also learn aspects of vocabulary (such as Idiom and phrases) from PYPs of SSC.
Reasoning Practice "DOT QUESTIONS", these are very important at least 6-7 questions are asked from this topic.
Some important topics:
- Venn diagram
- Figure related questions
- Blood relation
General Awareness Just read Manohar Pandey's book by Arihant publication. Questions from this section are very dynamic and unexpected.
Bonus Tips & Strategy for AFCAT
Preparation for AFCAT and CDS is quite different. Please solve previous 8-10 year question papers thoroughly. This will play a key role in your selection. You can use this book or any other book but the sole purpose is that you have to solve PYPs. Do not wait for the last moment, as there are always some technical difficulties during the examination, therefore try to complete your paper within 120 minutes. Please make a strategy and follow it. Practice, practice, and practice. Resources:
You can study maths from Sarvesh K Verma. It's a comprehensive book and very easy to understand and solve. Cover only those topics mentioned in the syllabus. Make notes from Lucent for the General Awareness section. You can also read Tamil Nadu History books of classes 6 & 7 for history and art and culture. For geography, classes 11 & 12 NCERT books are better. Read Indian Express daily. You can also read the monthly compilation. But try reading newspapers. You can clear the exam in three months provided you put in 6–7 hours of effort daily. There is no substitute for hard work. Candidates must have a thorough understanding of the AFCAT syllabus and test pattern in order to prepare for the exam. BYJU'S Exam Prep assists with the complete preparation of AFCAT. Kindly, visit our website gradeup.co for more details. Get Monthly/Weekly Current Affairs, Daily GK Update, Online Courses, Latest Pattern Test Series and detailed Study Material from the top faculty at your fingertips.
