Published on 23 June 2024 by CareerDec
It has been known to every school-going child that UPSC is the toughest examination in India. But it is a half-truth because UPSC is not any examination in itself. UPSC stands for Union Public Service Commission which conducts various examinations. Its civil services examination is the most famous exam which holds the toughest examination pattern in India.
Before going into the matter of success in this exam, we have to understand its examination pattern first. It comprises three stages namely the preliminary exam, the mains exam, and then the personality test in the form of an interview. Preliminary examination is a multiple choice questions-based exam which consists of two papers namely General Studies and CSAT (Civil Services Aptitude Test).
Here it is to be noted that Paper-2 (CSAT) is only qualifying in nature and candidates are selected for further stages based on the scores of Paper-1. Then the selected candidates are entered into the arena of the Mains examination which is a subjective/ descriptive exam consisting of nine papers.
Only two language-based papers are qualifying in nature while the rest papers cover all the subjects ranging from Indian society to security concerns, Indian heritage to International relations, Economic trends to Ethical values, Geographical features to Governance issues, Ecology to Technology, Constitution to Current Affairs and others.
Along with this, two papers (included in all 9 papers) are held for the chosen optional subject. One can choose any subject as an optional subject based on his interest and the extent of the syllabus. After the selection in the mains examination, one has to go through the personality test which seems nothing but it is everything.
This sounds mammoth task to achieve complete knowledge about these subjects but in reality, it is not. We will provide you the guidance on how should one have a strategy to crack the UPSC- civil services examination on the first attempt. It is a universal truth that such examinations are unpredictable. Hence one should always remember that all aspirants are on the same page.
Selected aspirants are different from others not due to their extraordinary efforts or their innate traits. They have become unique due to their right strategy, proper planning, impeccable sources, and consistent focus. There are some following points that you should remember before getting into the preparation of UPSC so that you may empower your vision into reality:
UPSC is not a cup of tea so you should decide the time and adjust your life accordingly for its preparation. If you have an alluring dream of becoming a civil servant then you should start your preparation before or along with your graduation.
It is not surprising that many selected aspirants are from engineering, science or commerce backgrounds. But the advantage to graduates of humanities is more due to the familiarity with these subjects. The concerned subjects help you not only in the preliminary exam but also in the mains exam in many ways. If your dedication is persisted then your answer writing skill might be better as compared to others.
UPSC is that public service commission which checks not only about your bookish knowledge but also the understanding of day-to-day life. Once you enter into preparatory mode then you should also assess the current developments. In this direction newspapers, news portals and others help a lot.
Many people have myths about UPSC that it does not have a syllabus and it can ask anything. Hence some aspirants start to follow blindly and prepare everything which is not useful for an exam perspective. Many aspirants read political or local news with curiosity and waste their time. The civil services examination follows its syllabus only which is available on its official website, it doesn’t ask irrelevant questions. If you have valour to fight on this battlefield then its syllabus will act like your weapon. Hence you should have to read and memorize the syllabus first.
There is a prevailing myth among aspirants that they should read a plethora of books. It is completely wrong as well as impractical also. The duration of the UPSC- civil services examination is not lengthy so it doesn’t allow you to open different books for the same subjects. You should religiously follow trustworthy sources like NCERT books, PIB portals etc. The quantum of books does not matter but the quality. Hence number of times revisions of limited books is advisable.
UPSC-civil service examination makes you a civil servant who is generalist in nature and not a specialist. Hence you should focus on all subjects equally. If you are preparing for this examination then you should read all subjects mentioned in the syllabus. You should devote your schedule equally to all subjects. If any particular subject is weak for you then you should put extra effort into it to make you par. However, optional subjects should be handled with deep understanding and knowledge.
While preparing for this examination, you have to go through many topics of different subjects. It is always advisable to draft your notes on pages so that you can easily revise things. Supposing you have done the entire syllabus and you don’t have keynotes in last time. In this case, your memory will interfere with present memory in the brain and your efforts will be in vain. Hence you should always keep habits of making notes.
This phrase turns many aspirants among lakhs of aspirants into successful ones. Aspirants clearing this examination on their first attempt are not from other planets and they have the same potential that others have. However, their consistent practice for improving writing skills and personality development makes them successful. You should focus on all three stages equally because every step contributes much to getting you selected. You should start your answer writing practice before the preliminary examination because only 120-150 days are given after the preliminary exam for the mains exam. The score of the preliminary exam is not counted in final merit but that of the mains exam is counted. Hence you should practice harder to be unique among the crowd.
In a nutshell, its preparation makes you feel tedious but you always have to remember your alluring dreams. Only your self-motivation can make you that iron which goes through melting in many stages of the blast furnace. All the best for your future endeavours.
