The Assam Public Service Commission (APSC) Combined Competitive Examination (CCE) is one of the most prestigious government job exams in Assam. It opens the door to some of the most respected administrative positions like Assam Civil Service (ACS), Assam Land and Revenue Service (ALRS), and many more. Every year, thousands of aspirants—many of them from Assamese medium schools and colleges—appear for the exam.
A common question arises among them: “Can I crack the APSC exam without coaching?” The answer is a big YES. Many toppers have proved that it’s not coaching, but self-study, discipline, and the right strategy that matters most. If you are serious, motivated, and willing to put in consistent effort, you can clear this exam even from an Assamese medium background.
This article gives you a step-by-step roadmap, along with detailed guidance and practical tips, to help you prepare for APSC without coaching.
Step 1: Understand the APSC Exam Pattern
Before starting preparation, you must know the exam structure:
- Prelims – Objective type (GS Paper I & CSAT Paper II)
- Mains – Descriptive papers (Essay, 3 GS Papers, Optional Subject, English, Language Paper)
- Interview – Personality test
Prelims acts as a screening test, but mains and interview decide your rank. That’s why you should prepare with mains in mind right from the beginning.
🔎 Guide Tip: Start your preparation by downloading the official syllabus from the APSC website or you can download it form our Assam Career Syllabus. Break it into small parts and set weekly goals. Many Assamese medium students make the mistake of preparing only for prelims; instead, prepare with mains in mind from day one, because prelims is just qualifying, but mains decides your rank.
Step 2: Break the Language Barrier
For Assamese medium candidates, language often feels like a big challenge. But here’s the good news: APSC mains can be written in Assamese (except the English paper). Prelims is also bilingual.
So, English is not a barrier. What matters is concept clarity and presentation.
🔎 Guide Tip: Practice writing short answers in Assamese every day, even if it’s just 150 words. For prelims, make a glossary of common English terms (like GDP, Inflation, Constitution) and their Assamese meanings. This bilingual approach will remove hesitation during the exam.
Step 3: Subject-Wise Preparation Strategy
Every subject in APSC demands a different style of preparation. Let’s break it down:
Tips: Don’t try to master all subjects at once. Take one subject (like Polity) and complete the basics before moving to another. Keep Assam-specific topics separate in a dedicated notebook. For example, after finishing Indian Economy basics, read Assam Economy side by side.
🔹 History & Culture
- Cover Ancient, Medieval, and Modern History using NCERTs.
- For Modern India, focus on the freedom struggle.
- Don’t forget Assam’s history: Ahom dynasty, Satriya culture, Assam Movement, and role in the national movement.
📌Make a timeline chart for Assam history events. Stick it on your wall for daily revision. Use stories and folk tales to make cultural topics easy to remember—these also enrich your mains answers.Make a timeline chart for Assam history events. Stick it on your wall for daily revision. Use stories and folk tales to make cultural topics easy to remember—these also enrich your mains answers.
🔹 Geography
- Start with NCERTs (Class 6–12) for the basics.
- Use Certificate Physical Geography by Goh Cheng Leong for physical geography.
- For Assam, focus on floods, Brahmaputra valley, tea cultivation, soil types, and climate.
📌 Always use maps in your notes. Practice sketching Assam and India maps roughly within 1–2 minutes. If a mains question asks about floods in Assam, adding a small map showing flood-prone districts can fetch extra marks.
🔹 Polity
- Indian Polity by M. Laxmikanth is the standard book.
- Focus on Constitution, Parliament, Judiciary, Fundamental Rights.
- For Assam, study Sixth Schedule, Bodoland Territorial Council, and the Assam Accord.
📌 Don’t mug up articles blindly. Instead, understand their application in daily life. Example: Connect Fundamental Rights with NRC issues in Assam. Such linkages show maturity in your answers. Assam Accord is must its not to crack the APSC Examination but its a backbone for entire Assamese community.
🔹 Economy
- Basics: NCERT Class 11–12 Economy.
- Assam-specific topics: agriculture, tea industry, oil refineries, floods, rural development.
- Read Assam Budget and Economic Survey for updated data.
📌 Focus on data. Quote Assam’s literacy rate, GDP share of agriculture, or unemployment figures in answers. Keep these data updated from Assam Budget and Economic Survey. It creates a strong impression in mains answers.
🔹 Science & Technology
- Revise Class 9–10 NCERT basics.
- Focus on current topics like ISRO missions, vaccine development, and AI.
- Relate science to Assam—for example, satellite-based flood prediction.
For prelims, focus more on current topics (like ISRO missions, vaccine technology). For mains, prepare short essays on how science impacts Assam—for example, flood forecasting using satellite technology.
🔹 Environment & Ecology
- Use Shankar IAS Environment for theory.
- Link to Assam’s biodiversity—Kaziranga, Manas, Dibru-Saikhowa.
- Current issues: deforestation, floods, climate change.
Focus on Assam’s biodiversity hotspots. For mains, link global issues like climate change with Assam’s local problems (like yearly floods). This shows examiner that you can connect global and local contexts.
🔹 Current Affairs
- Read The Assam Tribune daily for national and international news.
- Read an Assamese newspaper (Asomiya Pratidin or Janambhumi) for state news.
- Revise with monthly compilations (Vision IAS, Drishti IAS, or Assamese magazines like Prantik).
Maintain a current affairs diary. Divide it into Assam, National, and International sections. Write just 4–5 points daily, not long essays. At the end of the month, revise and condense them into short notes..
Step 4: Collect the Right Study Resources
Don’t fall into the trap of collecting too many books. Keep it simple:
- NCERTs (6–12) – for strong basics
- Standard Books – Laxmikanth (Polity), Spectrum (History), Goh Cheng Leong (Geography), Shankar IAS (Environment)
- Assam Year Book – for state-specific preparation
- Previous Year Papers – to understand the pattern
- Newspapers – Assam Tribune + one Assamese daily
📌 Quality is more important than quantity. Too many books will confuse you. Stick to NCERTs + 1 standard book per subject. For Assamese medium, use Assamese-translated guides or handwritten notes from peers if English feels tough. Quality beats quantity in APSC.
Step 5: Note-Making & Answer Writing
Notes are your biggest weapon. Prelims needs quick facts; mains needs detailed answers.
- For Prelims: short bullet-point notes.
- For Mains: analytical notes with causes, effects, and solutions.
- Practice writing answers daily in Assamese. Use bullet points, headings, and underline key terms.
📌 Write notes in your own words, not copy-paste from books. Practice answer writing from day one. Even one answer daily will build speed and confidence. Use headings, bullet points, and underline keywords in mains answers to make them examiner-friendly.
Example: For Assam floods – Prelims note: “Causes: deforestation, siltation, heavy rainfall.”
Mains note: “Impact on agriculture, economy, displacement of people, govt schemes for flood management.”
Step 6: Daily Study Routine
Discipline is your substitute for coaching.
Sample 8-Hour Routine:
- 2 hrs – NCERT/Standard Books
- 2 hrs – Assam-specific subjects
- 1 hr – Current Affairs
- 1 hr – CSAT practice
- 1 hr – Answer writing (Mains)
- 1 hr – Revision
📌 Fix your study slots according to energy levels. Morning is best for heavy subjects like Polity or Economy, afternoon for optional subject, and evening for current affairs. Always keep 30 minutes before sleep for quick revision.
Step 7: Mock Tests & Practice
Mocks show your weak points and improve time management.
- Attempt at least 30–40 mock tests for prelims.
- Write 2–3 mains answers daily.
- Solve last 5 years’ APSC papers.
📌 Don’t wait until syllabus completion to attempt mocks. Start early with topic-wise tests. This builds confidence. After each mock, spend 2 hours analyzing mistakes. That’s where learning happens.
Step 8: Interview Preparation
The interview isn’t about perfect knowledge—it’s about personality.
- Be aware of Assam’s key issues: NRC, floods, tea industry, insurgency, unemployment.
- Practice answering “Tell me about yourself” or “What is Assam’s biggest challenge?” in Assamese and English.
- Record yourself and check posture, tone, and clarity.
📌 Honesty and confidence matter more than giving polished, rehearsed answers. Record yourself answering common questions like “Tell me about yourself” or “What is the biggest issue in Assam today?”. Watch your tone, posture, and clarity. Being honest is more important than giving perfect answers.
Step 9: Final 6-Month Strategy
The last 6 months before the exam are crucial.
- First 2 months: finish NCERTs + standard books
- Next 2 months: focus on optional subject + Assam Year Book
- Last 2 months: full revision, mock tests, and current affairs
📌 In the last 15 days, don’t touch new books. Only revise your notes and mocks. The goal is to recall instantly in the exam hall. Prelims is all about speed, mains is all about structured content.
Step 10: Mindset & Motivation
Finally, mindset is half the battle. Coaching is optional; discipline is compulsory.
Many Assamese medium candidates think English-medium or coaching students have an advantage. That’s not true. In fact, Assamese medium students often perform better in Assam-specific topics.
📌 Never compare your journey with others. Coaching students may have notes, but you have self-study discipline, which is stronger. Remember, —many toppers cleared APSC writing mains entirely in Assamese. If you have reached here then you have done .50% of your syllabus right here, APSC Without Coaching is not myth its reality.
✅ Conclusion
Cracking the APSC exam without coaching is absolutely possible. For Assamese medium students, the winning formula is:
- Build your basics with NCERTs and standard books.
- Focus strongly on Assam-specific subjects.
- Prepare bilingual notes (Assamese + English keywords).
- Practice answer writing in Assamese.
- Stay disciplined with daily study and mock tests.
- Approach the interview with confidence and honesty.
Assam Career will bring more information about APSC without coaching for the Assamese medium aspirants. We wish you all the very best for your next APSC 2026 exam.
