CA FOUNDATION JANUARY 2025 PYQs

Solving previous year question papers under timed conditions simulates the actual exam environment, helping you:

• Improve time management skills.
• Build exam-day stamina and focus.
• Identify and work on areas where you tend to spend more time.
• Enhance speed and accuracy in answering questions.

Regular timed practice can lead to better performance in the actual exam.

Many students are curious about this. The truth is—ICAI rarely repeats questions word-for-word, but the concepts and styles often reappear. For example, in Law or Accounts, the same kind of problem (like Journal Entries or Contract Law cases) may come again, just framed differently. That means practicing PYQs won’t guarantee the same question but will make you fully prepared for similar twists.

This is a common confusion. Ideally, start with PYQs once you finish your syllabus, because they give you real insights into what ICAI actually asks. After that, move to Mock Test Papers (MTPs) and Revision Test Papers (RTPs). Think of PYQs as the “history” of the exam and MTP/RTP as the “prediction” for the next one—together, they form the perfect combo.

Don’t panic—it’s actually a good sign! If you’re getting low scores in the beginning, it simply highlights your weak areas. The purpose of PYQs isn’t just scoring but learning where you go wrong under exam-like pressure. The trick is to reattempt the same paper after revising—most students see their marks jump significantly on the second attempt.

Absolutely yes! PYQs reveal ICAI’s “taste” in questioning. For instance, some chapters like Accounting Standards, Partnership Accounts, and Indian Contract Act appear regularly, showing ICAI loves to test them. When you notice such trends, you’ll automatically prepare smarter, not harder.

Many students just “look at answers” and feel satisfied. But the best way is to simulate the exam—sit with a timer, no books, and try to finish within 3 hours. Why? Because most failures in CA Foundation don’t happen due to lack of knowledge, but due to poor speed and presentation. PYQs give you a safe space to fix that before the actual exam.

While no one can predict ICAI with 100% accuracy, PYQs act like a mirror. If a topic has been appearing consistently for the last 4–5 attempts, there’s a strong chance ICAI will touch it again. Many rankers admit that their strategy was to mark these recurring topics and revise them multiple times—that’s how they ensured they didn’t miss “easy” scoring areas.

Yes—because the concepts remain the same. Even if ICAI updates the syllabus, the core logic and problem-solving approach don’t change. For example, the style of Accounts questions, or logical reasoning in Quant, stays consistent. PYQs teach you the language of ICAI questions, which is priceless regardless of syllabus changes.