IAS Preparation 2021

 

How to Prepare for UPSC?

It’s not for nothing that the UPSC IAS exams are considered to be the toughest and the most prestigious of all in India. The exam is taken by almost a million aspirants from across the nation every year.

 

However, given that the vacancies are so less in numbers, only a handful from among the million are actually able to fulfill their bureaucratic dreams.

 

The IAS exams are challenging not only in terms of the vastness of the syllabus but also because of their highly unpredictable nature.

 

In this section of the article, I am going to inform you about how to prepare for UPSC in detail.

 

So, the first thing that you need to know about UPSC preparation is that it is not possible to succeed by just being a bookworm. Along with being a bookworm, you’d also need to be well-read, socially and politically aware, and also confident as a person. Along with all of that you’d also need to have an assertive yet pleasing personality.

 

That being said, let’s now start with the topic of how to prepare for UPSC:

In this section, I have listed some really effective tips pertaining to the topic of IAS preparation. Now, a lot of you might say that these tips are for beginners.

 

However, I am absolutely sure that these tips will be of immense help to you in drawing up the perfect 2021 UPSC preparation strategy. So, without further ado here are the IAS preparation tips:

 

1. Know the Exam

  • The first thing you should know about the topic of how to prepare for IAS is that you should be absolutely sure about whether you want to go through with the journey or not. Know that you should board the IAS preparation train, only if you are ready to make the journey with utmost sincerity and seriousness right till the end.
  • Before you start with your IAS preparation, you should prepare yourself physically as well as mentally. Also, you should set goals for your study plan, and devote time to your IAS preparation accordingly.
  • Go through the UPSC exam pattern extremely thoroughly so that you can internalize it to an extent where you know it like the back of your hands.
  • In case you are a working professional that has decided to take the UPSC exam, while also continuing to work your day job simultaneously, make sure to chart a UPSC preparation study plan that takes into account your day job hours and follow the same accordingly.

2. Prepare a Time Table

  • One thing that separates the wheat from the chaff in terms of those that will succeed in the UPSC exams and those who won’t, is a well-organized and properly thought-out daily study routine.
  • When talking about how to prepare for IAS efficiently, it is of utmost importance that you set for yourself a comfortable timetable that is easy to follow. That way you’d be able to stick to it with greater sincerity and ease.
  • Having an easy-to-follow timetable will help you stick to your deadlines better, and help you complete the syllabus faster.

3. Know the Syllabus by Heart

  • Whenever a UPSC mentor starts saying anything related to the topic of how to prepare for IAS, the first words that come out of their mouth are, “Know the UPSC syllabus by heart”. This is because the syllabus is the soul of the exam.
  • The syllabus of the UPSC CSE has been provided by the organization in detail on the UPSC’s official website. You can always check it out there, or you can read about it in my UPSC syllabus blog.
  • Knowing the UPSC syllabus thoroughly will help you prioritize the topics and subjects according to your strengths and weaknesses, and also choose the right reading materials to study from.

4. IAS Current Affairs

  • Throughout the years, one question that has been asked time and time again by millions of first-time UPSC aspirants is how to prepare for IAS current affairs, and the answer to that has always been the same, and still is today. Newspapers. Reading from daily newspapers has always been one of the most important aspects of the IAS exam preparation.
  • Clearing your IAS exams without having gone through the newspaper dailies of at least the past one year, is next to impossible.
  • This is because most questions that are asked in the IAS exams are directly or indirectly connected to the topics of current affairs.

5. Choose your Optional Wisely

  • The optional subject-based papers account for 500 marks in the final tally of the UPSC IAS exam.
  • Therefore, it is very important that you choose your optional subject after very careful consideration of the pros and cons pertaining to the selection of the same.
  • I have listed below, some of the factors that you should keep in mind while selecting your optional subject:
    • Availability of study material.
    • Availability of mentoring.
    • Your interest in the subject.
    • Prior understanding of the subject.
    • Overlap with subjects of GS papers.

6. Pick up your NCERTs

  • Remember how important NCERT used to be for us when we were kids. Well, guess what? It’s equally, if not more, important for your UPSC IAS preparation. Talking about NCERT books, it’s the books from classes 6 – 12 that are the most important from the exam point of view.
  • The NCERT books are an excellent source of all the basic concepts and theories needed to ace the GS papers.
  • All the information provided in the NCERT books is done so in a very easy-to-understand and coherent style of writing. Also, the reliability of the information provided in the books cannot be questioned because the source is the government itself.

    upscexam.jpg

  • There have been instances in the past where the UPSC has asked questions directly from NCERT textbooks.
  • Therefore, the NCERT books are undoubtedly the best starting point for your IAS preparation. You can read about the complete NCERT book list for the UPSC in one of my blogs.

7. Make Notes

  • Regularly Making notes of whatever you learn can work wonders in your IAS preparation.
  • Considering the vastness of the UPSC syllabus, making notes will help you keep track of all portions of the syllabus that you have already gone through. Also, these notes will serve as excellent revision material once you are finished with the syllabus.
  • Make sure to allocate separate notebooks or files for separate subjects. A lot of aspirants choose files as the better option out of the two. This is because it’s easier to add notes to the topic that is kept in the form of a file.

8. Practice Answer Writing

  • As you might already know, the UPSC Mains papers are all descriptive in nature. This is so because through these papers the UPSC seeks to test you on your ability to think and critically analyze topics, and also simultaneously communicate the same in a fluid and concise manner.
  • Therefore, to score well in the UPSC Mains, you’d need to have conceptual clarity about the various topics, the ability to structure your opinions, thoughts, and perception, and also the ability to write down the same in an easy-to-understand language.
  • Oh, another thing about the Mains papers is that the time and space provided to you during the exams is limited, so you’d also have to be quick and concise in your answers.
  • All of the above can only be possible if you practice answering writing adequately. Without adequate practice in writing answers, your performance in the Mains exam would be nothing but a dud.

9. Solve Past Year UPSC Papers

  • Solving past years’ UPSC papers is the most reliable way to get an idea about the actual difficulty level, pattern, and question types of the exam.
  • Therefore, solving past years’ UPSC papers is extremely important to gauge your strengths and weaknesses, and also to know the topics that are most important from the exam point of view.
  •  

To know more about UPSC Previous year papers and download them, you can also go over my blog on UPSC past year papers.

 

10. Solve Mock Test Series

  • Solving mocks is an essential aspect of the IAS preparation, that’s because by solving mock you get to assess yourself by understanding your strengths and weaknesses better.
  • I’d recommend enrolling in one or more mock test series for your IAS preparations, especially if you are preparing for the exams without joining a coaching institute.

Also read : UPSC mains commerce coaching

Source by: https://www.anujjindal.in/upsc-cse-notification-exam-date-and-ias-preparation/ Share

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