How CAPF Paper II essay, comprehension and precis are marked, with band descriptors and a self-scoring checklist for the test series
You cannot mark your own script the way an examiner does, but you can mark it the way an examiner thinks. CAPF Paper II is descriptive, so there is no key. The marker reads quickly and forms an impression along a few signals, then places the answer in a band. This page turns that impression into a checklist you can apply to your own practice paper 01 and practice paper 02 scripts.
Paper II is 200 marks: Part A (Essay) 80, Part B (Comprehension, precis and other communication skills) 120. The exact internal split of Part B varies by year, so treat the marks below as a calibration tool, not an official allocation.
Honesty rule: mark the script you actually wrote, not the one you meant to write. The point of self-scoring is to find your weakest signal, not to feel good. Verify the latest official pattern and any mark split with the UPSC notification.
Every descriptive answer is judged on some mix of these. The weighting shifts between the essay (where stand and balance dominate) and the precis (where fidelity and compression dominate), but the signals are the same.
| Signal | The question the marker is asking |
|---|---|
| Content and accuracy | Are the facts, dates, Articles and instruments correct, and relevant to what was asked? |
| Structure and organisation | Can I see a clear plan: opening, ordered body, and a close? |
| Reasoning and balance | Is there a defensible stand, with the other side given its due? |
| Language and expression | Is the English (or Hindi) clean, plain, correct and readable? |
The essay rewards a clear stand argued with correct facts and a fair counter-view, written in plain prose. Use these band descriptors.
| Band | Marks (of 80) | What the script looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Excellent | 64 to 80 | Stand stated early and held; ordered body, one idea per paragraph, each with a correct fact or instrument; a genuine counter-view answered; clean language; within 500 to 800 words. |
| Good | 48 to 63 | Clear stand and structure; mostly accurate facts; counter-view present but thin; minor language slips. |
| Average | 32 to 47 | A stand emerges late or weakly; some structure; a few facts, one or two shaky; little or no counter-view; some padding or repetition. |
| Below par | 16 to 31 | No clear stand or a one-sided rant; weak or missing paragraphing; vague or wrong facts; clichés and slogans. |
| Poor | 0 to 15 | Off the prompt, very short, or incoherent; serious factual errors; little structure or argument. |
How to award a number: start everyone at the top of "Good" (about 56). Move up toward Excellent for a real counter-view plus checkable facts; move down toward Average for a late stand, thin balance, or padding. Cross-check against the criteria table in Index.
Common deductions to apply to yourself, honestly:
Comprehension is the most objective of the three, because the answer is anchored in the passage. Mark each question on three points.
| Point | What it rewards | Typical loss |
|---|---|---|
| Correctness | The answer captures what the passage actually says or implies | Misreading; answering a different question |
| Own words | The idea is recast, not lifted | Copying whole sentences verbatim |
| Completeness and type-fit | The answer matches the question type (a "why" gets a reason, an "inference" goes beyond the literal) | A factual restatement offered where an inference was asked |
Per-question scoring, scaled to the marks shown on each question in the practice papers:
Two cross-cutting deductions: copying lowers any answer by one step even if the content is right (the skill being tested is expression in your own English), and an "inference" question answered with a literal restatement cannot score full marks however accurate the restatement is. See comprehension technique on classifying question types.
A precis is marked on fidelity, compression and form. Use this breakdown out of 10 (scale to whatever the paper allots).
| Criterion | Marks | What full marks require |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage of essentials | 4 | Every main idea and the logical links are present; no essential dropped |
| Compression to length | 2 | Within about one-third of the original (a small margin is allowed); not padded, not gutted |
| Own words and no distortion | 2 | Recast, not copied; the author's meaning preserved, nothing added or twisted |
| Form: one paragraph, neutral, third person, title, word count | 2 | Connected prose, reported neutrally, titled, with an honest word count |
Automatic deductions:
Run this over your script before you assign a number. Tick honestly; an untrue tick only fools you.
Keep a running table across sittings so you can see the trend.
| Paper | Essay /80 | Comprehension | Precis | Weakest signal | Date sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practice Paper 01 | |||||
| Practice Paper 02 |
Carry your weakest signal forward into answer writing improvement and drill the matching technique before the next sitting.