How to Crack UPSC Mains Exam- Proven Tips, Strategies & Preparation Guide

1. HOWTO CRACK UPSC MAINS EXAM? UPSC MAINS EXAM TIPSAND STRATEGY Important tips for the UPSC Mains exam. Choose the right study material · Start from the basics. Study the subjects in depth. Being India’s most Difficult Exam, UPSC CSE is the most popular choice among the Indian youth. The number of candidates appearing in the UPSC CSE exam is increasing Year by Year. UPSC conducts this Exam every year and this exam is conducted in three phases by UPSC namely UPSC Prelims Exam as stage one exam where there are two exams conducted on the same day which are General Studies paper-I which includes art and culture, history of India, India’s freedom struggle, Indian Constitution, Indian Economy etc. and General Studies Paper-II i.e. Comprehension, math’s, reasoning and analytical skills etc. CSAT exam which includes Those who qualify the Stage one exam appear in the Stage II exam, which is the UPSC CSE mains exam. As it is a different preliminary because it is subjective, not objective (with multiple choices). Here, one has to write full-length answers within Word as well as within a time limit. As mentioned by UPSC, answers beyond the word limit will not be evaluated, so it is important that one writes answers within the word limit.

2. TIPSAND STRATEGYTO CRACK UPSC MAINS EXAM Preparation for UPSC mains is an important step towards your Goal to become an IAS officer. With the right Preparation Strategy for the UPSC mains Exam, one can also qualify for this stage of the examination. Below is a strategy for preparing for UPSC mains exam. This will help you in the UPSC CSE mains examination. Remember, the CSAT is qualifying in nature, so focus on important sections to qualify for the exam. Stay informed about the latest Syllabus for CSAT and prepare strategically!

3. KNOWABOUT UPSC CSE EXAM In UPSC Mains Exam Preparation Strategy, one must know about the UPSC CSE mains Examination first. UPSC CSE mains Examination consists of 2 compulsory papers, 4 GS papers, 1 essay paper, and two optional papers. The marks distribution is mentioned in the figure given below. Remember that compulsory papers are only qualifying in nature, and hence, only 33% marks are required. Marks of qualifying papers are not included in the final merit.

4. UPSC CSE MAINS EXAM SYLLABUS The syllabus is the first step toward the examination. before starting UPSC Mains Exam Preparation syllabus helps in identifying the important topics and what to study for the examination. In the UPSC CSE mains Exam General Studies section plays a major role in getting good marks in the mains examination. In UPSC Mains Exam Preparation, one must keep in mind all the points mentioned in the syllabus by UPSC. For your convenience UPSC Mains Syllabus is mentioned below for the General Studies Exam. Try to make your notes based on the syllabus of the exam and use keywords from the syllabus as headings of your notes. This will boost your UPSC Mains Exam Preparation and will make your revision easy. By doing

5. this, you can easily identify the topics and separate them according to the subjects. This will ultimately help you in your UPSC Mains Answer Writing and make your UPSC Mains Exam Preparation more effective.

8. PREVIOUS YEAR QUESTIONS PAPERS PYQS It plays a major role in UPSC Mains Exam Preparation as well as in Prelims preparation. PYQs help one in identifying the most asked sections of the syllabus.

9. From the above picture one can analyse from PYQs that UPSC is frequently asking questions from the TRADE and INDUSTRIES section in GS-I exam of Geography section. Similarly there are so many topics which one can easily identify while going through the PYQs and make a list of them for upsc mains paper Preparation and score well in the mains Examination. IDENTIFYING IMPORTANTTOPICS ● Looking at the UPSC syllabus one can get easily confused about many topics, so identifying important topics is an important task in UPSC Mains Exam Preparation. ● This can be done with the help of PYQs as well as current events of national and International importance. ● Looking at the Trend of the questions asked by UPSC it seems like it is mixing current to static parts, so by staying in touch with the current affairs, one can easily identify the topics of utmost

10. importance which have higher chances to be asked by UPSC in the Examination. COMBINING CURRENTAND STATIC ● Current affairs play a major role throughout the UPSC Mains Exam Preparation. ● One can get updates related to this by newspapers and major websites providing authentic information. ● In UPSC Mains Exam Preparation it is important that you must learn how to interlink current to static parts. ● To make it clearer let’s take up an example related to this. In the times of crisis in Sri Lanka India provided Sri Lanka with aid and Humanitarian assistance so that in the same year UPSC has asked in GS-II International relations section the following question. ● So it is important to practice interlinking of current with static during UPSC Mains Exam Preparation. OVERLAPPINGTOPICSOFPRELIMSANDMAINS ● There are so many topics which are in common with Prelims in the Mains examination. So during UPSC CSE Mains Exam Preparation it is important to keep in mind that the topic must be studied in the way that helps in both prelims as well as mains exam.

11. ● It also plays as a plus point during UPSC Mains Exam Preparation because most topics you have prepared for your prelims exam and helps in your 3 months’ time period between Prelims and Mains for Revision. STARTWRITING ANSWERS ● By the time you have completed the NCERTs and reading basic books you must start writing answers. ● First you can try writing answers to the questions framed by you at initial stages and thereafter start practicing PYQs for the Mains examination. ● PYQs are easily available on UPSC’s website, one can download it from there. HOWTO WRITEAN ANSWER- UNDERSTANDTHEDEMANDFORTHEQUESTION ● Identify the keywords. ● Write a required introduction for your answer. ● Frame your answer ● Try to give your answer in precise and demanded form. ● Keep in mind the word limit for your answer. ● Support your answer with facts and data. ● Give a conclusion to your answer and suggest progressive ideas in conclusion. WORKON OPTIONAL ● Optional subject is the liberty provided by UPSC to score in the subject of your choice, so it is very important to opt optional subject during UPSC Mains Exam Preparation.

12. ● In UPSC Mains Exam Preparation, preparing for optional subjects is important because marks obtained in the optional will improve your rank in the final Examination merit list. ● Here is a list of Optional Subjects provided by UPSC for UPSC Mains Exam. Do practice writing answers related to your Optional subject during UPSC Mains Exam Preparation, because by writing answers, you can analyse your strengths and weaknesses. ● ESSAYWRITING ● When you get used to answering, start writing essays and make your UPSC Mains Exam Preparation Strategy more efficient. ● Essay can help you in improving your final score in the selection list. Good essay marks are important for improvement in your rank in UPSC CSE examination. ● Try to identify social issues from the newspapers and write essays on it. ● For more you can make a list of topics asked by UPSC in the essay examination and try to write essays on them. HOWTO WRITEAN ESSAY?- ● At the initial stage take a rough paper and brainstorm for the points you must include in the essay and then make a structure or an order to write the essay and start writing on it. At the initial stage it may take up to 10-15 min but try to improve and bring it to 2-3 minutes.

13. THINGSTOBEINCLUDED:- ● Quotes; quote some famous personalities, reformers and institutions related to your topic. ● Facts: put some facts, data from authentic sources. ● Arguments supported by some references. ● Add value points DON’TFORGETABOUTTHE COMPULSORYEXAM ● This part of the Examination consists of two language papers namely English and second language among: Assamese, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Bengali, Bodo, Malayalam, Sanskrit,Manipuri, Dogri, Konkani, Maithili, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu ● Similar to CSAT, it is qualifying in nature. One has to score only 33% marks in this Exam. ● During UPSC Mains Exam Preparation, keep in mind that one must practice this part also, because if you fail in this, you will fail in the whole mains examination. ● Allocate a particular slot for this section in your UPSC Mains Exam Preparation Strategy plan so that you can easily pass this section during the mains examination. SWOT AND GUIDANCE ● During UPSC Mains Exam Preparation, it is important to analyze your strengths and weaknesses so that you can work on your negative points as well as your positive points. ● Identifying weaknesses will help you improve and work on it and get a better score in the mains examination.

14. ● Take guidance from a mentor, who may be your elder brother or sister, or your senior teacher, etc. ● And last but not least, keep yourself motivated. Always keep in mind why you are here; it will motivate you and make your UPSC Mains Exam Preparation Strategy more effective and efficient. One of the most critical UPSC mains strategies by toppers is to seamlessly link current affairs with the static syllabus. It is important that you follow the right strategy for UPSC Mains Exam Preparation because it is an important part of the UPSC CSE examination. From the UPSC CSE mains examination, the rank of candidate is decided and this ranking ultimately helps in getting the services of one’s preferential choice. Hence, opting for the right strategy for UPSC Mains Exam preparation is very important.