CDS 2 Exam Analysis 2020 for English & GK by Students: Check Section-Wise and Overall Difficulty
Combined Defence Services Exam 2025 ( CDS )
Registration - 10 Dec '25 - 30 Dec '25
UPSC has conducted CDS 2 exam 2020 for English and General Knowledge. The overall difficulty of English was Easy while GK was tough. Read here for CDS 2 exam analysis 2020 for English & GK by students.
Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has conducted CDS 2 2020 exam for English and General Knowledge. The papers were conducted for all the courses: Air Force Academy (AFA), Indian Naval Academy (INA), Officers’ Training Academy (OTA) and Indian Military Academy (IMA). The English paper was conducted from 9 am to 11 am. The General Knowledge paper was conducted from 12 pm to 2 pm. According to the students, the overall difficulty of both the papers was moderate.
The English and General Knowledge papers of CDS 2 carried 120 questions. The total marks allotted to both the papers were 120. Each paper was conducted for two hours. For incorrect answers, 1/3 marks allotted to the question will be deducted as a penalty.
Shiksha visited one of the CDS 2 exam centres in South Delhi where around 1,440 candidates had appeared for the exam to gather their feedback regarding the difficulty levels of both the papers. Read below for CDS 2 exam analysis 2020 for English & GK by students.
CDS 2 Exam Analysis 2020 for English & GK
The English Language carried questions from ordering of sentences, antonyms, cloze test, parts of speech, idioms and phrases, spelling error, synonyms, sentence rearrangement, spotting error and reading comprehension. The General Knowledge carried questions from topics such as geography, history, economy, polity, physics, chemistry, biology, current affairs, static/misc. Check below CDS 2 exam analysis 2020 by students.
Pankaj said, "The English and GK sections were average. English were quite easy. Questions were asked from Synonyms, Antonyms, Reading Comprehension, Parts of Speech."
Prateek who had filled the application form for Indian Military Academy (IMA) said, "English was very easy while General Knowledge was hard. Questions in Current Affairs were from Constitution, Science. Proper safety measures were taken due to COVID-19 pandemic."
Sachin said, "The English paper was easy in terms of difficulty level. The General Knowledge paper was hard. In English, questions were asked from parts of speech, narration, voice, etc. Reading Comprehension questions were easy. Reading Comprehension topic was based on pollution."
Suraj Sharma said, "The English paper was easy. The GK paper was tough. GK questions were asked from Current Affairs, Economics, Politics, Science, etc. In English questions were asked from Error Detection, Reading Comprehension, Antonyms, Synonyms, etc. Reading Comprehension questions were based on Feminism."
Vivek said, who applied for IMA said, "English was quite easy. General Knowledge paper was tough compared to last year. Current Affairs questions were easy, polity part was moderate, history was tough, economics was tough, etc. One current affairs question was - chemical use in blast, who won 2019 tennis world cup. The first topic in Reading Comprehension was women in society. The second topic was based on pollution."
Chirag said, "The English paper was easy. The General Knowledge section was moderate. The History section in GK was tough. The Science part in GK was moderate. GK questions were asked from Physics, Biology, Chemistry, Polity, Current Affairs, Modern History, Ancient History, medieval, Geography. CDS cut off is expected to be high."
Watch CDS 2 Exam Analysis 2020 for GK and English by Students
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered a month ago
Some of the books, help candidates in their CDS preparation are given below:
- High School English Grammar & Composition Edition by Wren and Martin
- Objective General English by SP Bakshi
- Word Power Made Easy by Norman Lewis
- English Grammar & Composition by S.C Gupta
J
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a month ago
The authority released a total of 453 vacancies for the CDS 2 exam 2025 for admission to the Indian Air Force, Indian Military Academy, Indian Naval Academy, and Officers’ Training Academy for courses.
M
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a month ago
It is advised to the candidates to reach the CDS exam centre one hour before the given time. They should carry hall ticket along with them otherwise they will not be able to give the exam.
C
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a month ago
Yes, the English section of the CDS exam is scorable if it is prepared properly. Usually the difficulty level of the exam is moderate.
S
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a month ago
Candidates can check the cut off marks for the CDS exam by visiting the official website at upsc.gov.in. The UPSC will release the cutoff according to the academy or course.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
The methods to check the CDS cut off marks is provided below:
- Visit at upsc.gov.in.
- Click on the :Examination" tab.
- Go to the "Cut Off Marks" dropdown menu.
- Click on the download link and save it for future reference.
I
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a month ago
Yes. In the CDS exam there is a negative marking. One-third mark will be deducted for an incorrect answer. No mark will be deducted for unanswered questions.
S
Contributor-Level 6
Answered a month ago
The CDS exam is conducted offline or pen and paper mode. Objective questions will be asked in the examination. Candidates need to mark their choices of answers in the sheet that was provided during the exam. CDS 1 2026 notification will be released on December 10.
J
Contributor-Level 6
Answered 2 months ago
Yes, the CDS 2 application last date to apply was extended to June 20 from June 17, 2025. A one-time extension was provided by the commission. The application correction window was opened from July 7 to July 9, 2025.
S
Contributor-Level 6