How to Prepare For Civil Services Exam ?

Begin your test preparation early.

Check the current year’s schedule for the dates of the preliminary exams. Several months of preparation should be done to ensure that you are ready for the variety of questions that may be asked.

Read the newspaper every day.

Stay informed about current events from the local to the international level. Focus on the economic and political sections without worrying about the entertainment news as much.

Have booklist

Take expert advice to make booklist for you, So that you can start your journey. But don't change books with time, revise and repeat as many times as you can.

Friend circle

Make friends in your college those who are aspiring to become an IAS Officer after the graduation. You can even team up as a community and share some valuable notes and thoughts with each other. Meet your seniors, to have broader understanding of things.

Use your holidays properly

Don't waste your time and complete your major portion of your syllabus in your semester holiday.

Use your resouces to fullest

Utilize your resources like use of your college internet and library for your preparation, which can help you a lot as things are changes. Nowadays you need not to move to other places for the sake of preparation. Use your free time in the library by reading the daily newspaper, magazines, and books which is related to IAS Preparation. Read as many books as possible which are more inclined to your IAS Preparation Syllabus.

NCERT

NCERTS are basic foundations and the whole preparation starts with your school NCERT’s.  who have cleared this exam acknowledged that NCERT is the best source to build your fundamental knowledge for this examination.

Notes making

Develop notes making skill. Yours notes should be crisp and concise so that you can revise easily multiple times especially before exam.

Study a variety of subjects.

The IAS exams cover a broad range of topics. You need to be well versed in a number of subjects to be successful. Here are a few focus areas included in the Preliminary Papers:

• Geography: both Indian and World Geography are important areas.
• History: knowledge of key events and social movements is required.
• Polity: the structure of the Indian Constitution, judicial processes, and international relations are all included.
• Economics: micro and macro aspects of the Indian economy should be understood.
• Environmental Science: Climate, agricultural issues, and pollution should be studied in depth.
• Arts and Culture: historical and contemporary study of Indian music, dance, literature, architecture, and painting are all covered during the exam.

Previous years' exam questions and pattern.

Previous Year papers are most important thing to start your preparation. You need to have with the previous year papers and pattern of exam.

Improve your language and communication skills.

Although the mains can be taken in a number of languages, preliminary papers are given in Hindi and English. It is important for aspirants to be well studied in Hindi and English.

Take practice tests.

Find practice tests online to prepare yourself for the time limits and formatting of the test. When you take a practice test, try to make the environment like the one you will experience on test day.

• Find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed.
• Set a timer.
• Take the entire test in one sitting.
• Review the answers when you are finished to learn from your mistakes

Read as many books as you can find. Because the IAS exams cover so many varied topics, reading books on almost any subject can be helpful.

• Review book lists from previous toppers.
• Read classic literature.
• Study non-fiction books of various topics such as historical biographies

IAS Prelims Exam Format

So, here are two objective types (MCQs) papers in the prelims exam.

   1.  General Studies Paper 1 (General Awareness)
    2. General Studies Paper 2 (CSAT)

Paper 2 is qualifying in nature and merit is decided by paper 1. So let's look in detail of this paper.

Topics For Paper1

• History and Culture of India
• Polity and Governance
• Indian Economy
• Indian Polity and Constitution
• World and Indian Geography
• Environment and Ecology
• General Science/ Science and Technology
• Current Affairs and Miscellaneous GK

Topics For Paper2

•     Comprehension and Communication Skills
•     Reasoning and Decision-Making
•     Basic Numeracy and Data Interpretation

To succeed in this IAS / CSE examination, it require prudent planning, organized preparation and appropriate resource materials. Determination to succeed, positive attitude and requisite confidence would be a key in clearing IAS / CSE. Keeping in mind the pattern and level of questions asked in Prelims General studies, this paper requires an appropriate strategy. A thorough knowledge of concepts, current affairs, speed and accuracy coupled with confidence would be key elements to tackle Prelims.

It is not an overrated fact that IAS is the nation’s toughest competitive exam and it demands intensive preparation and practice. One should also understand that it is not about quantitative preparation and what required is qualitative. It is about the completion of your short term target.

• Outline the syllabus and Design your preparation : Heard of the biological process “catabolism” where you break down the original components into their by­products, do the same with your IAS syllabus. Find out about what topic you would have an edge and the topics you would need help in. Do it for all the subjects. You have now marked your territory; the bulk of the syllabus wouldn’t scare you at all. Also, this is an excellent confidence building exercise.
• Objectifying the syllabus : Most of the IAS aspirants feel that the bulk of IAS syllabus deters them. No doubt, the syllabus is huge, but remind yourself that it is something that you have already studied before. Let’s take a quick look at the definition for ‘Divide and Conquer’. It basically means that you divide the population in this case the subjects into manageable chunks and that makes it impossible for them to come together (dividing them) and fight against the sovereign authority (conquering them).
• Enjoy your preparation : Undeniably, UPSC preparation is a lengthy process, but you won’t find it easy if you don’t enjoy your preparation. Preparing for UPSC doesn’t mean that you have to sacrifice all your hobbies, make sure to keep abreast your hobbies as it will make your preparation more fun. Don’t give up music especially if you are a music lover and there are people who study while listening to music and if you are one among them then definitely you make your learning more interesting and enjoyable. If you are passionate about anything make sure to keep it abreast during your UPSC preparation as this will keep you lively.
• Give Prelims Mock test series : Since a mock test is a simulated exam environment there you could experiment with yourself by weighing different strategies of approaching and attempting the exam so that you could zero on one single strategy that produces maximum results. So every mock test can be an experiment until you develop your own strategy for the test which ultimately would help in clearing the exam as yours is a tested and certified strategy.

How To Prepare For IAS Mains Exam

Making a study plan

The first step in any endeavour is to outline a plan. Before you embark on your mains preparation, make a realistic study plan. In this plan, you must include dates for all the GS papers, language papers and the optional subject. You should also incorporate a dedicated time every day for newspaper reading.

Basic book reading

You would already have read many of the basic books before the prelims exam. Even so, you can read basic textbooks of all the subjects that you have to study. Start with subjects that interest you so that you can cover a lot of ground in the initial phase itself. After the basic books are done with, you should move on to detailed books only where it is recommended.

Practicing questions

Simultaneous to your book reading, you should start practicing questions from previous years’ UPSC papers. This will help you analyse your own knowledge and also familiarise you with the type of questions asked. Answer writing is very important in the mains exam and at the end of the day, you will be marked on what you write on paper and not on your knowledge. So, practice answer writing along with your mains preparation. Don’t wait till you finish the full syllabus to start writing practice.

Using the Internet

Technology offers new and exciting ways to learn. The internet is now an integral part of the UPSC exam preparation and it has made life of aspirants easier in more ways than one. You can also stay ahead of your competition by taking the weekly current affairs quiz. 

Revision

Revision is a must if you are serious about clearing the IAS mains exam, you should revise periodically and ensure maximum understanding and retention. Revision ensures that you remember whatever you read in the vast UPSC syllabus.

IAS Interview Preparation

The IAS Interview preparation is the final hurdle in the way of becoming a part of the Government services. UPSC Civil Service Examination holds the title of Mother of all Exams" in India. To become an IAS officer, one has overcome mainly three obstacles (Prelims, Mains and Interview) during the course of UPSC Civil Service exam preparation. The last hurdle before the candidate which is unpredictable in nature is the IAS interview, a.k.a. UPSC Personality Test.

So, in UPSC terms, it is not a regular job interview - it is a test of one's personality, integrity and honesty.

UPSC IAS preparation is an integrated process wherein the three phases of the exam - Prelims, Mains and IAS Interview, should be prepared comprehensively and holistically.

As stated earlier, IAS Interview preparation is a test of personality, not knowledge. This is because of the fact that UPSC analyses and judges the candidate's knowledge in the Mains written examination.

During the IAS interview, the interviewer assesses the candidate s personality by listening carefully to the candidate s approach to the question, and probe him or her further based on that. A vibrant & positive candidate is what they look for.

An individual's personality cannot be changed within a short duration of time just for the IAS interviews sake. As personality development is a process, which students have been developed over years. The best way to prepare for IAS interview after your mains results are to approach all situations with a positive attitude. Candidates, please note that this is how to prepare for IAS interview.

Most of the interview questions revolve around your Detailed Application Form (DAF) that the candidate submits during his or her mains written exam. Thus, be cautious and honest while filling the DAF. Please don t bluff or write irrelevant matter (Especially in the hobby section) that you won t be able to recall during the interview.

When you stand before the interview board, try to present yourself in a positive way. Try an honest approach to every question, if you're not honest or conveying irrelevant information, your body language which is being observed closely by the interviewers will surely help them figure out if you re answering truthfully or not.

How to prepare for IAS interview? Before the D-day, take as many mock interviews as possible and get feedback from the mentors and experts. Try to incorporate the feedback in your IAS interview preparation and you will do well!

Finally, and most importantly, self-evaluation is the best evaluation. Sit before a mirror, ask questions and answer to yourself. This is the best way to prepare and present yourself before the IAS interview panel.

Importance of optional for IAS Exam

Optional papers (Paper VI and Paper VII) of the IAS Mains Examination carry 500 marks together which is almost 25% of the total marks (2025) of the written and personality tests put together. So, with so much weightage, the IAS Mains optional can be a deal maker or a deal-breaker. If you’d have analysed the IAS Mains General Studies marks of a particular year’s topper and the person who’d scored the 100th rank, the range of their marks will not be at much variance. Toppers become IAS toppers through their Optional subject and the Essay paper. These are the most controllable parts of the IAS Mains written Test. So to say, if you perform very well in these two areas, the chances of you becoming a topper are very high, if you fairly perform well in the General Studies part of the IAS Mains Exam. Marks in the IAS Optional paper decide whether or not you’ll get your Interview call, your dream service and your dream cadre. Now having stressed the importance of IAS Optional let me first tell you “How not to choose an IAS optional Subject” before suggesting how to choose one.

Factors Affecting the Choice of the UPSC Mains Optional Subject

Interest towards the subject

To select the best optional subject for IAS Exam, the first criteria should be the interest in the subject. When an aspirant is interested in studying the subject, the process becomes much easier.

Syllabus of UPSC Optional Subject

The syllabus and the requirement for coaching for IAS optional subject preparation should be considered next. An IAS optional Subject with a limited syllabus is ideal since it will take lesser time for preparation and will have a chance of scoring higher marks. With a small and limited syllabus, it is possible to cover the IAS optional Subject within a period of 5-6 months. The decision to choose a particular UPSC optional subject should never be based on its popularity.

Availability of coaching and reference materials for IAS optional Subject

Coaching also plays a significant role in the selection of the optional subject for IAS. The aspirant will have to determine if coaching for the subject is easily available or not. In addition to coaching, the availability of reference books should also be considered. Every subject will require extensive reading and preparation, hence the optional subject for IAS should be chosen after considering all the aspects.

UPSC Optional subject must not be confused with your favourite subject

Do not blindly choose your favourite subject without having a look at the syllabus. It might be your favourite subject but it could have an extensive syllabus which will take up a lot of your time for preparation. Look for other options and analyze the syllabus before making an informed decision.

How Not To Choose An Optional Subject For IAS Exam

1. Believing in the myth of the ‘Trend’

People in civil service exam circles often say “This optional is trending now with UPSC. You better pick it up for you to be able to score good marks.” Some others say, “This IAS optional Subject is being taken up by too many people now. Don’t take it. The possibility of you scoring a good mark is less". Both these propositions are unscientific at best. In any given year if UPSC were to ‘favour’ one optional over the other, most of the toppers that year would have been people who picked that particular optional. This is clearly not the case. Even if coincidentally this were to happen, it is not because UPSC is ‘favouring’ one optional over the other. In any case, the knowledge that many of the IAS toppers had picked the same IAS optional Subject is gained only after the exam results are finally published. This so-called ‘trend’ changes from year to year, so what’s the use in going with it when you don’t know whether it will be ‘favoured’ again? The same logic applies to the negative trend of not picking an optional picked up by many aspirants. So never believe in the myth of the ‘trend’. It will get you nowhere.

2. Going with the flow

Some people ‘go with the flow’ i.e they choose their IAS optional Subject because their friend has chosen the same optional. Just for the ‘company’ they say. Some people go along the flow directed by the IAS coaching institutes they study in.

The above two are the major criteria on which IAS optional Subject ‘should not be picked'. There are other myths to be busted regarding the selection of IAS optional Subjects. I’ll take it up some other day.

How To Choose An Optional For IAS Exam

• I’ve told you how important choosing an IAS optional Subject is and how it’s like your spouse. So before deciding upon your IAS optional Subject, you should take some time.
• Download the latest Civil Services Examination notification from UPSC’s website and take a printout of it.
• Find the IAS optional Subject list in the notification. There is a list of 26 optional subjects.
• Start by striking out the subjects you definitely know that you cannot take up. For example, if you are a Mechanical Engineering graduate there’s a high possibility that you may want to strike out Medical Science or Commerce and Accountancy.
• While striking off subjects you should also consider your own aptitude for a particular subject. For example, if you are someone with a humanities background such as Sociology, you may want to strike off a science-based subject such as Physics or Chemistry
• In any case, take a look at the detailed syllabus of the IAS optional Subject provided in the notification before striking off a particular subject.
• As the choices become lesser, eliminate subjects with more care. Eliminate a subject only after being 100% sure that you cannot pick it up.
• At the end of the above iterative process, you should ideally be left with 2-3 IAS Optional Subjects for your IAS Mains Exam. Ideally, one of the subjects out of the three should be the subject you graduated in. For example, if you have graduated as a doctor, then there is already enough reason for you to pick Medical Science as your optional subject. But for some reason, if you don’t like the subject, you can pick allied subjects like Sociology, Psychology or Zoology. I recommend that you pick a subject you graduated in unless you have strong reasons to not do so.
• It is also good to pick subjects that have more spread over other IAS Mains General Studies papers. That way your IAS preparation can be holistic and will take lesser time. For example picking Geography, History or Political Science will help you in other papers.
• Carefully consider the options by repeatedly going through the UPSC IAS syllabus because all the 3 have an equal chance to be selected by you.
• Next, make sure good source materials are available for the IAS optional Subjects selected for IAS Exam. If any of the three falls short on this count, then that option can be eliminated. Having good sources for the selected optional is a very important criterion. You do not want to be left scrambling for credible sources after zeroing upon an optional. For example, the literature of Dogri may or may not have sufficient sources.
• Finally, go through previous years question papers of UPSC for the selected IAS optional Subject and make sure that the questions asked can be tackled through the sources/guidance that you have. If you think that the questions asked do not conform with your resources, either change the resources or consider a different optional for IAS Exam.
• After zeroing upon an optional subject for IAS Exam, read the basic sourcebook for the respective subject for at least a week. In a week, you’ll be able to clearly analyse your aptitude for the subject and whether or not you’ll be able to study it for a long time and repeatedly. If you are not comfortable with the subject please change it. Just because you’ve zeroed in upon it, you are under no compulsion to stay with it. You can move on to the other optional and follow the same process with it.
• This is what I’ve been suggesting to my students and others and it has worked for them well. Hope it does so to you too!!

Essay is one of the nine mains paper. which gives you an opportunity to put forward your thoughts in a manner . This paper checks the depth and breadth of your knowledge. And when we say knowledge, it doesn’t mean our conventional understanding of the same. The topics are unknown to us before the exam and we are expected to apply all that we have learnt to produce a logical and intelligent account of what is being asked. You have to write two essays each with a word count of 1000 – 1200. You have to pick one topic from four topics. The Essay Paper is for a total of 250 marks with one essay for 125 marks. Essay writing is not easy job. It requires right approach and good practice. MAny candidates take the essay paper too lightly resulting in a score not comparable with their potential. Hence, it is vital to attempt this paper with the same seriousness as all other papers in GS Mains and learn the art of writing a good essay.

It can be easily said that many UPSC exam aspirants overlook the importance of preparing their essays well. A majority of novices mistakenly feel they can write the perfect essay on their exam day, while the repeaters equate the knowledge gained through their General studies preparation to successful writing. In both cases, writing practice is left unconsidered. UPSC essay writing carries a total of 250 marks comprising of 2 essays in total (125 marks each). Leaving behind writing a good essay of 1000 to 1200 words to mere chance is a grave error.

Essay is the deciding factor in your Mains score. Even after spending months in GS preparation, aspirants struggle to score even 100 marks in GS papers out of 250 each. If one prepares smartly and gives adequate time for Essay preparation, its quite possible to score 150+ marks in Essay.

Being unpredictable nature of essay evaluation, how can we can tackle this paper?

Tackling it smartly

The duration of the essay paper is 3 hours and the word limit is not mentioned. It is generally said that 1500-2000 words should make a good essay. This can comfortably be written even with a moderate pace in 2 to 2 ½ hours. So the first 30- 45 minutes can be spent for the groundwork preparation. First is the selection of the proper essay topic. Out of the 6 topics, one topic would generally be related to philosophical issue, unless one is confident it is better to opt it out. Like wise one can eliminate topics with which one is not comfortable. Some topics, most of the aspirants cannot maintain a balance throughout the essay so better opt them also out. Finally select the topic that you think can do justice. The answer booklet of the main examination consists of 24 single pages. The last 3-4 pages can be used for rough work. If you are sure that you can complete the main booklet, then ask for one additional at the beginning of the exam and use it for rough work. In these pages prepare outline for the essay by asking questions yourselves. It is also called as brainstorming.

Few Essay Writing Tips

• Framework Before Writing

A proper structured framework with all your essay points is required before writing. You have see toppers strategy, papers and  It will have three compulsory distinct parts. They are an introduction, content body, and conclusion. This type of format looks neat and authentic. As a result, you will be able to fetch greater marks.

• Right knowledge

UPSC essay writing is not your regular school or college question. Here, along with your knowledge of a topic, your ability to produce it sequentially, consistently and with precision is given equal importance.

Your general studies preparation, magazines like Economic and Political weekly, Yojana, etc will give to knowlwdge. These magazines will not only help you revise your GS content, but will also give you good ideas regarding content presentation.

• Right Introduction

Starting your GS answers with a definition is the right thing to do, but doing so in essays just makes it stale and boring. You must try to up the examiner’s interest by quoting a famous personality, an interesting quote, or a relatable real-life/fictional event. Books, magazines and newspapers will help you learn essay-worthy anecdotes and incidents.

• Relevant content

One way of writing for a particular topic might not necessarily work for the other. You must first understand the nature of your topic and then decide how you want to tackle it down further.

• Back-up your arguments

It is a must to include constitutional provisions, examples, statistics and expert opinions, to look authentic.

• Vocabulary

A good vocabulary showcases how well-read you are. This doesn’t mean you use it incessantly. But, a strong word can add value to your sentences when used the right way.We know that you can’t read up an entire dictionary in a week. And we do not expect you to do so too. The best way to build-up a strong vocabulary is by reading the newspaper daily. Even reading non-fiction can be of great help here. What you must do is write down the words, phrases and quotes that seem unique alongside their meanings.  Writing an example sentence along with it will also help you retain it in your memory longer.

• Intelligent and wordly-wise subheadings

The subheading is the entire body copy at a glance. Representing a paragraph with a catchy, smart and content-aligned subheading can get you major points in an essay exam. It raises  the interest of the examiner, and also aids readability.

• Coherent in paragraphs content

When writing a long essay of 1000-1200 words, it’s quite easy to end up losing out on the main message you want to convey. To ensure that you deliver the desired message, it is crucial to present your sentences/paragraphs in an organized and sequential manner. Practice is essential if you want to deliver a write-up that showcases your well-connected thinking ability. You can end a paragraph with a question, or an introduction to the next paragraph. This will help you maintain a smooth connect between your subtopics.

• Aviod unnecessary jargon

Though exam tests your vocabulary , but avoid using complex words just to sound well-read. Instead, concentrate on writing clear, concise and meaningful sentences that put your point across. It is best to avoid redundant sentences. A common mistake made by many is writing lengthy sentences. It’s best to put down small and simple sentences rather than elaborate ones that will make the reader lose out on the crux of your point.

• Powerful conclusion

You must always summarise your essay on an optimistic note in 3-4 lines. It is advisable to not skip on giving your vision for the future. Introduction and conclusion are most important in making your  impression /picture and deciding your score. Hence ending and introduction of your essay should be very strong.

Overview

CSAT Preparation for General Studies is one of the important components of Civil Services. The IAS exam is one of the most prestigious exams of our country. Also, one of the toughest to crack. Yet each year lakhs of aspirants appear for the exam and the best among them make it to their dream destination.

Confusion to most aspirants is that they consider CSAT as a subset of UPSC prelims, ie. they treat CSAT as a synonym to the General Studies Paper 2 of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Exam. A few aspirants equate CSAT with the entire Preliminary Exam stage of UPSC CSE (ie. General Studies Paper 1 + General Studies Paper 2).

UPSC notification, syllabus, or question paper does not use the term ‘CSAT’ or ‘Civil Service Aptitude Test’ at all. This term is popularized on social media by students and other institutions.

Main aim of introduction of  CSAT in the year 2011 is to test the analytical skills, reasoning ability and aptitude of a candidate.

Controversy in Marking System (2015)

From 2011-2014, the total marks of both GS Paper-1 (General Studies Paper) and GS Paper-2 (CSAT paper) were considered for calculating the UPSC CSE prelims ranking (to qualify for the mains examination). However, there was a protest about including the CSAT for calculating the prelims ranks by a section of aspirants. The Centre asked UPSC to make a change in the pattern in response to this protest. In 2015, the CSAT was made a qualifying paper.

Present Scheme of Marking

Only the marks of GS Paper 1 will be counted for calculating the Prelims ranking.

However, candidates have to score a minimum of 33% i.e. 66 marks out of the 200 allotted for the GS Paper 2 paper (CSAT paper) in order to clear the Civil Services Preliminary Examination.

Preparing CSAT

Many candidates finds it diffcult to handle this subject because of their education background, time constraints or the other reasons. They needs proper planning and a clear strategy to cover the topics of CSAT. If you plan ahead and balance your efforts, you will be able to score very well in the CSAT. One must understand that- CSAT requires a good understanding and practice.

The CSAT paper is divided into a number of sections, which can be managed according to the level of each candidate. Here are some of the major sections of the paper and the strategy to deal with them:

Comprehension and Interpersonal Skills

The Comprehension has become a primary section in all recruitments. The toughness of the question in the comprehension section can managed, after the adequate amount of practice. But aspirants must improve their basic English. Reading newspaper reports, editorials and magazines will be helpful in sharpening your reading skills. The important aspect is practising the question from the comprehension section from previous years question papers. One can also attempt passages which are easy and topics which are familiar. Make sure you should create a habit of reading and referring to dictionary.

Logical reasoning

Logical reasoning hold an important part in CSAT. The difficulty level of the reasoning section in the CSAT paper is not high for any aspirants. Generally, a candidate can solve the questions if one is aware of the types of questions in the reasoning section. In order to attempt most questions effectively, one should practice at least 50 - 60 questions every day. The candidate should understand and read about the topics, concepts which are important. But, simple reading the questions and answers will not be helpful without practicing them.

Decision-Making

Decision making section is an important section which tests the decision making skills. Since the questions are not technical and are situation based and generic one need to practice a lot of questions. The purpose of the section is to measure the use of logic and common sense in solving of problems confronted in administration. Daily practice and solving previous year question paper will help to cross this hindrance.

Basic Numeracy & Data Interpretation

The questions on Basic numeracy in the CSAT paper will be easy, since most of them are matriculation level. Regular practice and understanding of the basic concepts helps to score better. Logical reasoning needs more practice. Practising 40-50 questions from the section is a must. In order to succeed in data interpretation one need to learn and study the concepts of statistics. One of the positive elements is that toughness of the section is not high. Most of the questions are based from data table and bar graphs. Anyone who can understand the basic concepts can attempt this questions. Candidates with good practice along with the mathematical part of the section.

Directions For English section in CSAT

• Improve your grammer.
• Work your vocabulary to get help in comprehending the meaning of the passages.
• Cram or Learn common idioms and phrases.
• Become strong in newspaper, use other English books to get command over English words, phases, grammer etc.

Points To Remember In General

• Solve previous year questions within timelimit.
• Check your answers and improve your weak areas.
• Regular tests to measure your performance.
• Time management is most important of CSAT.
• Solve mock tests