RAS Mains Paper IV: General Hindi, English & Essay
Paper IV of RPSC RAS Mains has 3 units — General Hindi (90 marks), General English (70 marks), and Essay (40 marks). This paper tests language proficiency and writing ability.
Paper IV — At a Glance
General Hindi
Divided into 3 sub-sections (A, B, C) with fixed question types — no 5/10 mark split; each sub-section has specific mark allocations.
Part A — Language Proficiency
Prefixes/suffixes, homonyms, word correction, sentence correction, idioms, proverbs, administrative terminology (EN→HI)
Part B — Comprehension & Translation
Summarization (~150 words to ~50), expansion (~100 words from aphorism), EN→HI translation (~50 words)
Part C — Official Writing
Official letters, semi-official, orders, reminders, reports, notifications, tenders, circulars, press releases, memos
General English
Divided into 3 sub-sections (A, B, C) testing grammar, comprehension, and official writing.
Part A — Grammar & Vocabulary
Prepositions, parts of speech, phrasal verbs, idioms, one-word substitutes, confused/misused words
Part B — Comprehension & Translation
Unseen passage comprehension (~300 words), 5 questions, precis (~100 words), 5 Hindi→English translation sentences
Part C — Official Writing & Composition
Theme elaboration (1 of 3, ~150 words), official letter/memo/report (~150 words)
Essay
One essay to be written from a given choice of topics. Word limit and exact format as per RPSC instructions.
Six Theme Areas
Six themes: (1) Language/Literature/Heritage, (2) Society/Governance, (3) Science/Tech/Environment, (4) Economy/Agriculture/Industry, (5) Current Affairs/Disasters/Development, (6) Tourism/Culture/Rajasthan issues
Tips for Paper IV Preparation
For Hindi, practice summarization (संक्षेपण) and letter writing (पत्र-लेखन) daily — they carry substantial marks.
English comprehension — read the passage carefully before attempting answers; précis carries 10 marks.
Essay (40 marks) — choose a topic you know well; structure it with intro, body (3-4 paragraphs), and conclusion.