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Thousands of aspirants appear for the UPSC CSE Examination, one of India’s most famous exams for recruiting civil servants. It is difficult to determine a possible candidate’s expertise, personality, and intellectual capacity.
Some aspirants believe that it is impossible to qualify for the UPSC examination without attending the coaching or classroom programs. There are numerous examples available where candidates have qualified for the UPSC CSE examination without taking any classroom course or coaching with the help of self-study and using the material available on the internet. It’s necessary to put forth the effort, but understanding where to put it forward makes all the difference in your preparation journey. This article focuses on how to prepare for the UPSC exam. This conversation is critical at a time when every aspirant has access to several resources.
The Best Way of Self Study for the UPSC Examination
Most of the aspirants might feel worried as the examination date approaches. So, in this section, we will briefly discuss “the last 51 days strategy for the UPSC Examination”. The first step is to break down the days into two sections, i.e. 41 days and ten days. Now further divide the 41 days into two parts, i.e. Static Part and Dynamic Part. Now, you must spend 4 hours in the Static part of your syllabus and 2-to 3 hours in the dynamic components, i.e. current affairs. Now, I spent the last two hours attempting the mock test daily as per the examination pattern. It is advised not to skip the analysis of the mock test. After analysing your mock test, you must make notes of the doubts, essential questions and concepts and revise them thoroughly during the last ten days of the examination.
In the last ten days, you have to revise the important notes and doubts multiple times, and It will boost your confidence and enhance your knowledge of the topics you have studied in the past 41 days. It is also advised not to try to learn new concepts during this time. Some points to remember are:-
Do not engage too much in social media during the last days of the preparation
You might perform meditation to refresh your mind and maintain the focus level
Increase the time duration of the self-study
Steps and Tips
Make the timetable and follow it.
Making a schedule or plan for the UPSC Exam is one of the most suitable ways to start your preparation. It will assist you in efficiently utilising and managing time. You must follow the routine and divide the days into segments such as half time for the statistics part, half time for answer writing, current affairs revision and interview. It is also advised to check whether the schedule is appropriate and comfortable. It is also recommended to not put yourself under any pressure during the preparation as it might deteriorate your health.
Understand the UPSC CSE syllabus and exam pattern
The UPSC Civil Service examination is divided into three preliminary phases, Mains and the final interview or personality round. Both stages have a separate curriculum. However, it would help if you started preparing for prelims and mains during your college time. Scrutinise the syllabus and rank the topics as per your strengths and limitations. Make sure you have all of the required study materials and give each subject enough time.
Start preparing Current Affairs.
Current affairs are one of the most critical factors for your UPSC CSE examination. It plays a significant role in UPSC pre-exams and interviews. You might use authentic sources such as newspapers, gazettes and magazines to keep yourself updated. Apart from this, you can download a mobile application for quick revisions of the notes. It will save you a lot of time, and you can revise your current affairs at any moment, like travelling or moving for a long distance.
Join the mock test series for the UPSC CSE Examination
The mock test series plays a significant role in a better understanding of the concepts and your level of preparation. The two most crucial benefits of the mock test series are:-
Evaluation: This is where a well-thought-out test series comes in handy. It encourages you to be consistent by offering regular time-bound subject targets, but it also helps you analyse your strong and weak areas.
Strengths and Weakness Analysis: You receive a clear picture of which parts of the curriculum you need to pay more attention to. Because Papers I and II consist of the negative marking scheme, your caution and foresight in selecting the appropriate questions and amount of questions is crucial. You can also ace this with the help of a Test Series simulation.
Choosing the right optional subject
Many aspirants are still confused about choosing the right optional subject. Candidates keep asking what topics they can take as optional subjects to improve their grades. The selection of issues is the first step in that direction as it can enhance the possibility of the choice, and the marks are crucial factors in determining the rank. Public Administration, Geography, Sociology, Political Science, Philosophy and History are among the most common majors among candidates. These disciplines are chosen by more than 70% of Civil Service aspirants. These disciplines overlap with general studies, making them more manageable for students—the most popular option among students in Public Administration.
The Preliminary Exam’s Importance
This suggests that studying for the preliminary examination is just as crucial as looking for the UPSC Mains examination. As the 2 Prelim papers overlap with the primary GS papers, both must be prepared simultaneously. Regardless of the facts, a minimum of 90 days must be set up only for preparing for the preliminary exam. This is because passing the Civil Services Prelims is a must for taking the Civil Services Mains.
Conclusion
In conclusion, any aspirant can pass the UPSC IAS examination through solid willpower and dedication. Following and sticking to a strict routine will substantially aid the candidate’s preparation. Finding the “optimal” coaching centre can be challenging as numerous options are available. One of the most common myths regarding the civil service examination is that self-study or self-preparation would not help you pass the IAS Exam. Many aspirants have qualified for the UPSC Civil Services examination without the help of coaching institutes simply by devoting their time and making a self-timetable for studying at home. Every year, tens of thousands of people apply for the UPSC CSE. Prelims, Mains, and Personality Test, are the three stages of this test. Although many candidates seek advice from coaching institutes, it is not required. As a result, if you follow the advice above, you’ll be able to qualify for the exam with a good rank.
