How to Crack CSEET in First Attempt?

“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” – Robert Collier

Clearing CS Executive Entrance Test (CSEET) is one of the first steps for a candidate who dreams to become a Company Secretary. Accordingly, an appropriate strategy backed by a positive mindset, can yield positive results and enable one to begin his/her career journey successfully.

The CSEET, as the name suggests, is an entrance test for the Company Secretary Programme. It consists of four papers, all of which include objective-type questions. ICSI conducts CSEET examination four times a year – January, May, July, and November; which shall be an online MCQ-based exam with all four tests taking place on the same day.

Understanding the paper pattern as well as the passing criteria are of great significance before appearing for any examination. Each of the four papers in CSEET is of 50 Marks with 35 MCQs (i.e. 20 MCQs of 1 mark each & 15 MCQs of 2 marks each); with no negative marking for incorrect answers. The passing criteria established for CSEET is minimum of 40% marks in each of the four papers individually, and 50% marks in aggregate of all papers put together.

A successful beginning always plays its role in boosting a candidate’s confidence. Correspondingly, below are some of the strategies that may help a candidate crack CSEET in his/her first attempt:

1. Prepare a Time Table:

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” The preparation can be planned and structured by forming a weekly time-table. Scheduling topics/ chapters along with appropriate time allotment and then adhering to its completion in a time-bound manner is a good way to ensure achieving small milestones towards the destination.

2. Conceptual Clarity:

CSEET Exams are MCQ-based; hence cramming won’t be of any help. Instead, focus should be on having the conceptual clarity towards the basics and the very essence of the topics.

3. Self-management:

Self-management is underrated, but essential. Consider reading a newspaper to remain aware of current events besides scheduling time for physical exercise as part of the preparation. 

4. Mock Test:

MCQs-based test shall require a significant amount of practice, for which mock-tests available at various platforms come to the rescue. Further, it should also be noted that since there are no negative marks for incorrect answers, an attempt to answer all the questions should be made.

5. Self-made Notes:

As all the four papers are to be appeared on a single day, good material for revision is essential for which notes can be made by the student subject-wise which may include:

• • • • Keywords
      • Short forms
      • Tricks to solve MCQs faster
      • Technical words meaning
      • Charts

6. Amendments:

CSEET exams are conducted every quarter; which involve frequent amendments. Accordingly, referring to the monthly CSEET Communique/e-bulletin which contains all the relevant amendments & current affairs along with MCQs for practice could prove to be of great help. Students can check out the CSEET e-bulletin at https://www.icsi.edu/students/cseet-e-bulletin. 

7. Last Revision:

Days just before exams are crucial. Students must avoid referring to any new material/books and stick to the books from which he/she has studied for revision. Further, knowing exactly what and from where to revise while juggling between four subjects is a pre-requisite to success in examination.

8. Time Management:

A candidate gets 120 minutes to complete 140 MCQs in CSEET. Thus, in order to sustain the speed, he/she must not spend much time on doubtful questions. Also, as there is no negative marking for incorrect answers, it is advised to not skip any question.

Subject-wise Planning:

1. Business Communication:

• • Prioritise Business Correspondence topics as they are more frequently asked and also act as a base for the next level exams. Use some of the techniques to study and remember the business terminologies.
  • Learn new words, idioms, and other phrases on a daily basis and use them in everyday conversation.
  • Practice and focus more on basics of Grammar.
  • Highlight all the keywords and revise them before exams.
  • Solve last year question papers.

2. Legal Aptitude and Logical Reasoning:

• • Legal Aptitude is the most relevant subject of the course. This has to be given priority despite being a lengthy subject. It must be noted that all the chapters are equally important not only for CSEET, but also to build a strong foundation for the candidate’s CS journey. It is advised to not skip any topic from Legal Aptitude.
  • Make notes for technical words referred in ICSI material.
  • One must indulge in regular practice of Logical Reasoning for 1-1.5 hours a day. However, if the candidate finds himself/ herself good at this subject, he/she can decide to give lesser time and focus more on other topics.
  • As it is an MCQ-based exam, one must practice thoroughly to increase the speed. Further, learning shortcuts/ techniques to solve the questions quickly can be of great help.
  • One can leave the difficult & time-consuming questions for the end. Try to spend not more than 2 minutes to solve a particular question.

3. Economics and Business Environment:

• • Some of the chapters like Demand & Supply and National Income are the topics that almost everybody must have studied in their 10+2 education. These are easy and scoring chapters and can be planned accordingly.
  • Further, chapters like Union Budget, Indian Financial Market and Key Government Institutions should be done thoroughly, as collectively these chapters have a higher marks weightage than the rest of the syllabus.
  • One can make separate notes for numerical data, which will be helpful for last-minute revision.

4. Current Affairs, Presentation and Communication Skills:

• • Although Current Affairs has only four chapters, one should not limit his/her studies to that. Keeping oneself updated with all the recent happenings besides the updates provided by ICSI in its e-bulletin is of great significance.
  • Interacting with friends/ colleagues to discuss the current happenings also proves to be helpful.
  • Reading newspaper or articles on a daily basis, following meaningful posts on social media platforms, etc. can come to rescue.

Note: For Paper 4, Part II Viva-voce had been introduced for 15 minutes constituting 30 marks. However, in the case of online exam – remote proctored mode, the viva-voce has been replaced with regular MCQs.

Thus, besides the necessary discipline and consistency, a properly devised approach shall ensure success in the beginning stage i.e. CSEET which shall also channelize the way a student approaches future course of examinations. Besides, it is pertinent that a student enjoys the process of learning as the saying goes –

“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.” ― Pelé