UPSC 2014: Handy tips to ace NDA/NA exam

The first hurdle that one needs to overcome on the road to serving the nation, as a part of its armed forces, is the NDA & NA Exam conducted by UPSC twice every year.
Here are a few helpful tips for UPSC aspirants which will help them make their way towards their NDA/NA goal!
Paper Pattern:
The written exam consists of two papers:
Paper I- Mathematics: 300
Paper II- General Ability Test: 600
The General Ability Test consists of:
Part A- English: 200
Part B- General Knowledge: 400
Tips:

• Get your hand on the best preparation books available for NDA & NA exam and start studying.
• Be up-to-date with current affairs. Read the newspaper, go through online current affairs tests, buy an authentic yearbook, basically go through every source which will keep you in the loop of current happenings.
• Go through previous years' question papers. This will give you a general idea of the kind of questions that you will have to face.
• Make room for solving mathematical problems in your daily schedule. Practice as may questions as you can.
• Revisit your Class 10 Social Science and Science text books.
• Brush up on your English, as the section is worth about 200 marks! Read, read and read. Read as many books as you can as it will help you improve vocabulary. Also, try and work on your grammar.
• The general knowledge section generally has more questions allocated to the science subjects. Therefore, candidates from the non-science stream should concentrate on getting their science gloves on and work harder on subjects such as Physics and Chemistry.