How to Prepare for UPSC Prelims?

Every year, the civil service exam is conducted to recruit people into different administrative posts. This year, the UPSC civil service exam was supposed to be conducted on 27th June, postponed to 10^th October 2021 due to the pandemic situation. Since not much time is left, you must be worried about preparing well for the UPSC exam.

Many take the help of IAS online coaching that various UPSC coaching centres conduct. However, if you are studying all by yourself, you need to follow specific policies. Therefore, given below are some tips that will help you prepare well for UPSC even if you do not take the help of online UPSC coaching.

 Tipa to Prepare for UPSC Prelims

1. Be aware of the basics of the exam

Before you sit for any exam, it is imperative to know its whereabouts. So, before you start with your books, give yourself at least one week to understand and check out the exam pattern, type of recurrent questions in the exam, the syllabus of the UPSC exam, and the other nitty-gritty. Also, you can check out few YouTube videos uploaded by different mentors, which will boost you up and set your mind for a long journey to UPSC. Remember, UPSC is not as easy as it may sound. It needs patience and consistency.

2. Put more emphasis on your foundation

For UPSC exam preparation, all the candidates need to have a strong foundation. This can only be made possible if you go through the NCERTs thoroughly. The NCERT books focus on the standard of class VI to class XII. Therefore, it should be clear to you that if you have your school-level education and related concepts clear, you will not have to face too many troubles in your journey to the UPSC exam. Once you are done with the NCERTs, you can move on to the IGNOU books.

3. Start gaining knowledge

Once you have made up your mind to strengthen your foundation, it is time to start reading standard books that will help you gather the correct knowledge. You will come across a lot of sources where UPSC materials are available in abundance. However, not all sources are appropriate for the UPSC exam. To get the best and standard study materials for UPSC, you can help various UPSC coaching centres. Whatever material you get, try to add more information to it and prepare your notes.

4. Revision

For any serious exam of such a high stature, revising as many times as you can is ultimately sure to benefit you. The more you revise, the more you recall things. While writing the UPSC exam, remember you will not have too much time to think. Therefore, the more you revise, the less time will you have to invest in remembering things in the examination hall. There are current affairs in the UPSC exam that needs to be consistently revised.

5. Practice writing answers

In the UPSC Mains, candidates are asked to write long answers and essays. After you have completed 50% of the syllabus, start to practice writing answers. The answers in the UPSC exam are not as easy as they may sound to be. You have to know to write answers critically. To enrich your answers, you can begin with a quote that is relevant to the answer. One of the most important points here to be remembered is to know to write to the point. Instead of beating around the bush, write only as much has been asked of you.

Conclusion

After you follow all these steps for a considerable period, you are ready for the UPSC civil service exam.