A preparation plan should begin from the exam as the commission describes it, not from a list of books. For the APPSC Group 1 Screening Test, Notification No. 07/2026 gives the shape (Annexure-II, pages 26–29), and that shape tells you how to spend your time.
Start from the pattern
- Paper I: General Studies — 120 questions, 120 marks, 120 minutes, in four parts (A, B, C and D) of 30 marks each.
- Paper II: General Aptitude — 120 questions, 120 marks, 120 minutes, in Part A (60 marks) and Part B (two sections of 30 marks).
- Negative marking — one-third of the question's marks for each wrong answer, in both papers.
Read the syllabus of each part in the notification itself before you plan; it lists what each part covers.
Principle 1: cover every part evenly
Four equal parts mean a quarter of Paper I sits in each. A candidate who is excellent in one part and weak in three is capped long before the part they are good at can help. Plan your weeks so that no part goes untouched for long, and resist the pull to keep studying the subject you already enjoy.
A simple way to enforce this is a rotating week: give each part of Paper I its own days, and keep one day for revision across all four.
Principle 2: practise aptitude like a skill
Paper II is aptitude: you do not finish it by reading. Two habits matter:
- Short, frequent practice. Twenty minutes a day on timed questions beats three hours once a week. Speed comes from repetition.
- Review every mistake. Keep a list of the question types that cost you time or marks, and come back to those types first.
Principle 3: accuracy over attempts
With a one-third penalty, a wrong answer does not just fail to score — it takes away. The arithmetic (worked through in negative marking explained) says:
- a blind guess between four options is worth nothing on average;
- ruling out one option makes an answer worth attempting;
- a genuine choice between two is worth a third of the question.
So the practice that pays is elimination with reasons: working out why options are wrong, not only which one is right.
A twelve-week shape
This is a structure to adapt, not a timetable to copy:
| Weeks | Paper I | Paper II | Practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–4 | First reading of all four parts, rotating | Daily timed sets, one section at a time | One chapter quiz after each topic |
| 5–8 | Second reading, with notes of your own | Mixed timed sets | Weekly full-length Paper I or II, alternating |
| 9–11 | Revision from your notes only | Weak question types first | Two full-length papers a week, reviewed |
| 12 | Light revision | Light practice | One full mock of both papers, same day, same timings |
The last week matters more than it looks: sitting both papers in one day, at the real times, is the only way to learn how your concentration holds across four hours.
Where PrepShark fits
- Notes, chapter by chapter, for the general studies subjects: Indian Polity, Indian History, Science and Technology.
- Practice questions with explanations for each chapter — for example the Fundamental Rights MCQs — which is where elimination is learned.
- Current affairs, day by day and month by month, including Andhra Pradesh's monthly compilations.
- Maps for geography, in the Atlas of India.
The full pattern, including the Main examination and the interview, is in the APPSC Group 1 exam pattern, and PrepShark's APPSC Group 1 page links the chapters for each part of the exam.
Before you start
Check the notification for your cycle. The pattern, the parts of each paper and the marking rules are all in its annexure, and they are the only version that counts on exam day.