In this guide
The General Hindi paper in BPSC Mains is worth 100 marks and is qualifying: you must score at least 30 per cent, but the marks are not added to your merit. Because the standard is roughly that of secondary school, many candidates spend no time on it. Most pass. Some do not, and for them strong GS papers and a good Essay count for nothing, because a candidate who fails a qualifying paper is not ranked at all.
Thirty marks out of a hundred sounds generous. The risk is not the difficulty; it is neglect. A paper you have never timed, in a script you rarely write, after three days of GS papers, can go wrong in ways you did not expect.
Who is at risk?
- Candidates who studied in English medium and rarely write in Hindi.
- Candidates from outside the Hindi belt.
- Candidates who write fluently but carelessly, with frequent spelling (वर्तनी) and grammar (व्याकरण) errors.
- Candidates who never time themselves and run out of time on the essay.
If you write your GS papers in Hindi every day, a few weeks of grammar revision is usually enough. If you write in English, treat this paper as a real subject for a month and a half.
What the paper tests
| Section | What it tests | Marks (as reported) |
|---|---|---|
| निबंध (Essay) | Organised writing on a general topic | 30 |
| व्याकरण (Grammar) | Sandhi, samas, synonyms, antonyms, one-word substitution, idioms and proverbs, correction of words | 30 |
| वाक्य-विन्यास (Sentence structure) | Correct sentence formation and usage | 25 |
| संक्षेपण (Précis) | Condensing a passage to about one-third | 15 |
The syllabus pegs the standard to the secondary level of the Bihar School Examination Board.
Look at what the split means. Essay and précis together are 45 marks of continuous writing. Grammar and sentence work are 55 marks of short, precise answers. You can clear the paper on grammar alone only if you are nearly perfect there, so do not skip the writing sections.
Section-wise approach
निबंध (Essay)
- Choose a topic you can structure: भूमिका (introduction), विषय-विस्तार (body in four to six paragraphs), उपसंहार (conclusion).
- Use simple, correct Hindi. A plain sentence you are sure of beats an ornate one you are not.
- Include examples from Bihar and India.
Suppose the topic is "बिहार में बाढ़: समस्या और समाधान". A safe plan is: भूमिका (उत्तर बिहार की नदियाँ और हर वर्ष की बाढ़), कारण (नेपाल में भारी वर्षा, गाद, नदियों का मार्ग बदलना, तटबंध टूटना), प्रभाव (फसल, घर, पलायन, स्वास्थ्य), समाधान (पूर्व चेतावनी, तटबंधों की देखरेख, जल-निकासी, नेपाल से सहयोग), and उपसंहार. Five headings, one idea per paragraph, and you are done well inside the time.
व्याकरण (Grammar)
Revise from school-level grammar: संधि and समास; पर्यायवाची and विलोम; अनेक शब्दों के लिए एक शब्द; मुहावरे and लोकोक्तियाँ; शुद्ध-अशुद्ध; and लिंग, वचन, कारक.
Worked examples of the kind of item you should answer in seconds:
| Item | Answer | Why |
|---|---|---|
| विद्यालय (संधि-विच्छेद) | विद्या + आलय | दीर्घ संधि: आ + आ = आ |
| सूर्योदय (संधि-विच्छेद) | सूर्य + उदय | गुण संधि: अ + उ = ओ |
| जगन्नाथ (संधि-विच्छेद) | जगत् + नाथ | व्यंजन संधि |
| मनोहर (संधि-विच्छेद) | मनः + हर | विसर्ग संधि |
| नीलकमल (समास) | नीला है जो कमल | कर्मधारय |
| चौराहा (समास) | चार राहों का समूह | द्विगु |
| पीतांबर (समास) | पीला है अंबर जिसका, अर्थात् श्रीकृष्ण | बहुव्रीहि, क्योंकि अर्थ किसी तीसरे की ओर संकेत करता है |
| जिसका कोई शत्रु न जन्मा हो | अजातशत्रु | अनेक शब्दों के लिए एक शब्द |
वाक्य-विन्यास (Sentence structure)
Most errors fall into a few types:
| Error type | Wrong | Right |
|---|---|---|
| Gender agreement | मेरा गाड़ी | मेरी गाड़ी |
| Redundancy | सज्जन आदमी | सज्जन |
| Wrong postposition | मैंने उसको बोला | मैंने उससे कहा |
| Pronoun form | मेरे को जाना है | मुझे जाना है |
| Verb agreement with ने | बालक ने पुस्तक पढ़ा | बालक ने पुस्तक पढ़ी |
| Redundancy (पुनरुक्ति) | कृपया करके बैठिए | कृपया बैठिए |
The ने rule catches many English-medium candidates. With ने in the past tense of a transitive verb, the verb agrees with the object, not the subject. पुस्तक is feminine, so पढ़ी; गाना is masculine, so "सीता ने गाना गाया", not "गाई".
संक्षेपण (Précis)
- Read the passage twice and find the central idea.
- Remove examples, repetitions and quotations.
- Write in your own words, in about one-third of the length. A 300-word passage becomes about 100 words.
- Give a title (शीर्षक) if asked, short and drawn from the central idea.
Spelling (वर्तनी): the silent mark-killer
| Wrong | Right |
|---|---|
| उज्वल | उज्ज्वल |
| आर्शीवाद | आशीर्वाद |
| परिक्षा | परीक्षा |
| सन्यासी | संन्यासी |
| अत्याधिक | अत्यधिक |
| कवियत्री | कवयित्री |
| श्रीमति | श्रीमती |
| इतिहासिक | ऐतिहासिक |
| प्रदर्शिनी | प्रदर्शनी |
| अनाधिकार | अनधिकार |
Keep a list of words you misspell and revise it weekly. Spelling errors cost marks in grammar items directly and lower the impression of your essay and précis.
Sources
- Bihar Board or NCERT Hindi textbooks and grammar books for Classes 9–10.
- One standard Hindi grammar book for competitive examinations. One is enough.
- A Hindi newspaper editorial daily, for vocabulary and style.
- Previous BPSC General Hindi papers. These tell you the format better than any book.
Practice set
- संधि-विच्छेद करें: इत्यादि।
- समास बताइए: माता-पिता।
- शुद्ध कीजिए: उसने मुझे एक गोपनीय रहस्य बताया।
- मुहावरे का अर्थ: नौ दो ग्यारह होना।
- वर्तनी शुद्ध कीजिए: उपरोक्त।
Answers:
- इति + आदि (यण संधि: इ + आ = या).
- द्वंद्व समास (माता और पिता; both parts are equally important).
- उसने मुझे एक रहस्य बताया। रहस्य is already गोपनीय, so the word is redundant.
- भाग जाना या चंपत हो जाना।
- उपर्युक्त. It is उपरि + उक्त, joined by यण संधि (इ + उ = यु).
A six-week plan
| Week | Focus |
|---|---|
| 1 | Grammar revision: sandhi, samas, gender, number |
| 2 | Idioms, proverbs, one-word substitution, synonyms and antonyms |
| 3 | Sentence correction; build your spelling list |
| 4 | Précis: three passages, timed |
| 5 | Essay: two timed essays |
| 6 | Two full papers under time |
What to do next
- Download the latest syllabus and two previous General Hindi papers.
- Take one full paper, timed, and mark it honestly.
- Start a spelling list and a list of ne-agreement errors from your own writing.
- Read our guide to Hindi essay writing for the 30-mark essay.
- If you are still choosing a medium for GS, see writing BPSC in Hindi or English.
A note on dates and numbers. Exam patterns, vacancies and schedules change from year to year. Always confirm the current details in the latest notification on the Bihar Public Service Commission website .
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