How Should One Prepare for the UPSC Preliminary Exam?

Always believe in healthy competition: giving one's best is preferable to attempting to defeat the competition. Preliminaries are imminent. Most aspirants are preparing for this Exam by perusing books and newspapers, making notes, attending classes, taking practice exams, and, most importantly, psychologically preparing themselves.

Previous years' question papers are always the first location to look, whether one is a novice or a third-time exam taker. This section aims to familiarize yourself with the question format - what the UPSC wants the candidate to know and what information is pertinent to this Exam. This perspective will aid aspirants when they are preparing any reading material. More importantly, it will assist them in overcoming doubts about what the UPSC may or may not ask from any given topic.

After a candidate is well-versed in the question patterns of previous years, he or she can begin studying or reviewing the NCERT texts. If time does not permit a thorough perusal of these books, the aspirant may take notes from the solutions to Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) based on the NCERT books.

The third focus area a candidate must visit is the daily newspaper. Reading a newspaper daily is essential; it helps with current events and general knowledge, understanding the nuances of any given topic, and, most importantly, creating and maintaining the reading habit.

Whether to continue preparing for the Optional once March has begun arises frequently. There are two perspectives on this. First, passing the Prelims should be the primary objective for novices or first-time test takers. Clearing the Prelims significantly boosts a new candidate's civil service voyage. Therefore, if preparing for the Optional interferes with preparation for the Preliminaries, novices should immediately cease preparing for the Optional. Those who have already passed the Prelims and wish to excel in the Mains examination should continue to prepare for the Optional, devoting at least 10 to 20 per cent of their total preparation time (or writing at least one answer per day) to it. For such candidates, April and May should be sufficient for Prelims preparation.

Following a Mock Test Series is a further recommendation. This helps in three ways:

• First, it instils punctuality or a routine in those who need it;
• Second, if the mock tests are taken in the classroom, it helps simulate what the actual Exam could be like;
• And third, well-developed mock tests papers cover topics that are very similar to what may be asked on the day of the Prelims; therefore, attempting them could increase the likelihood of getting answers correct.

One is to limit screen time - phones, televisions, and computers - to the minimum necessary for exam preparation. The next step is to learn how to focus on one task at a time; for this Exam, doing one item with complete concentration is preferable.

Finally, learned to enjoy the process of preparing for the UPSC. This is the essential point. It is well known that if someone appreciates doing something, the rate of success increases exponentially. Hence, the probability of success is very high for any aspirant who enjoys the process of preparing for the UPSC Civil Service.

Last 30 Days of Preparation for the Civil Services (Preliminary) Exam

Dear Aspirants,

The Civil Services Preliminary Exam is the initial phase of the Civil Services Examination, but it is not necessarily the easiest. There is a significant difference between the Preliminary and Main Exam curricula and question types, and consequently, the preparation strategy must be carefully considered. Nevertheless, I want to share the knowledge and experience I have gained over the past two to three years in the hopes that it will be helpful to other ambitious students.

To begin with, I emphasize that there is no fixed, deterministic path to success on this subjective, uncertain Exam. My subjective experience follows, which may work for some people but not others.

With the CSAT (a significant stabilizing factor, at least for someone with a basic understanding of tenth-grade mathematics) becoming a qualifying exam, GS assumes a position of preeminence. This means that the time spent preparing for the Prelims must be sufficient for multiple revisions and retention of GS topics, as one must rely on more than the CSAT to succeed. For the 2015 Prelims, I spent 2.5 months (June, July, and half of August) studying only for Prelims, without devoting any time to Optional or Mains GS. In contrast, for the 2014 Prelims, I spent only 1.5 months and primarily relied on CSAT. The strategy paid off, and I quickly passed the Preliminaries with 140 marks in GS, as opposed to 102 in 2014. This year's cutoffs may be even higher, so Prelims should not be taken casually.

Prioritizing

Questions on conventional subjects such as History, Politics, Economics, and Geography are straightforward for them, and NCERTs with a fundamental conceptual comprehension should suffice. Finally, read Laxmikanth's book Polity from cover to cover. The book is reasonably exhaustive and, from an examination standpoint, extremely well-written and organized.

As these topics have the slightest uncertainty, straightforward queries, and well-defined scope, it is essential to cover them. In most cases, a single volume is sufficient for each of these. It is also instructive to bear in mind the tremendous competition you face. More than four million students take the Exam. Many of them study as if their lives depended on it, and many will take the Exam for the fifth or sixth time. It would not be easy to distinguish yourself from the tens of thousands of other applicants if you do not adequately address these safe topics.

After you have covered these safe topics, you should only delve deeply into topics such as Science and Technology, Environment, and Culture, which are vast, have an undefined scope, and contain an infinitude of study material. These are the subjects where you can distinguish yourself and outperform others. In this sense, they also become the deciding factor, particularly Culture and Environment, which have become the UPSC's favourite topics in recent years. After completing the fundamentals of Polity, History, Economy, and Geography, you should devote most of your time to these somewhat ad hoc topics. Read along the lines of the types of Environment and Culture questions posed in previous years' exams.

Pinch of Salt -- Use Mock Examinations

The questions on these practice examinations must be more explicit, precise, challenging, and concise. While it helps you practice time management under exam-like conditions, the results do not indicate performance.

The most reliable source of practice is the previous year's examinations. Even in this case, some queries would be based on the current events of that year. However, the questions from the static portions should give you a decent idea of the types of questions on the Exam and help you identify your weak areas. The more recent ones can be used as practice examinations, while the older ones can be completed subject by subject as you prepare for a specific topic.

CSAT

Even though the CSAT is now a required exam, a little preparation would unquestionably help with pacing and time management.

Final Week Prior to the Test

In the final week, remain calm and not worry about unaddressed topics. Concentrating on fact-heavy and memorization-intensive topics, such as chemistry, is beneficial. Sites designated by UNESCO, Ramsar, national parks, rivers, etc. In the final days, you may need help to make a significant difference in conceptual topics such as Economics and can therefore rely on your prior knowledge.

Books and Resources Topic-by-Topic

Below is a topic-by-topic listing of the books and resources. Limit yourself to one or two sources per topic to facilitate revision and study efficiency.

• Ancient history: RS Sharma's previous Ancient History NCERT
• Medieval History: Romila Thapar, 7th or 8th-grade NCERT and selected sections (only the culture section) of Satish Chandra, 11th-grade NCERT.
• History (Modern history): Bipan Chandra Class 12 NCERT plus Spectrum
• Art & Culture: In addition to the above history NCERTs, Fine Arts NCERT, CCRT website (for topics such as Dance and Drama not covered in books), NIOS notes on Science (such as Ancient and Medieval era science), and Wikipedia entries for UNESCO sites.
• POLITY (Static and Current): Laxmikanth, Indian Constitution in Action: NCERT and Newspapers (Hindu/Indian Exp).
• Economy (Static and Current): Day to Day Economics by Satish Deodhar, Indian Economic Development NCERT, XII Macroeconomics NCERT, Newspaper.
• Science and Technology (Static and Current): Class 9 and 10 NCERT, Biotech topics in +2 Bio NCERT, the newspaper, the Rajya Sabha television program "Science Monitor," and a random Google search of current topics not adequately covered by dailies.
• Environment: Science NCERTs have chapters on Environment; some articles and videos about international treaties were excellent; Wikipedia for national parks, Ramsar sites, and other such sites. Random Google search on allied topics pertinent to current issues (e.g. if Air pollution is in the news, read random stuff about it).
• Geography: GC Leong, the second part of XI NCERTs (Biomes). India's Geography (Physical plus India) XI NCERTs.
• For current affairs: Newspapers (Hindu/Indian Express) – use sources such as PIB (Features section), PRS, IDSA's 'Ask the Expert', Foreign Ministry's 'In Focus,' Rajya Sabha TV's 'Big Picture,' Science Monitor, State of the Economy, and India's World.