How to Prepare For Civil Services Examination

Civil Service is the most sought after career in India. People from diverse backgrounds appear for the UPSC exam every year competing for 800 odd posts. Though it is regarded as one of the toughest examinations, with the right strategy and attitude, one can crack the exam in the very first attempt. The exam is spread over a year with 3 different stages, i.e.

1. Prelims
2. Mains
3. Interview

The very first thing you need to do before you start your preparation is asking yourself why you want to be a civil servant. This very purpose should be a driving force and motivating factor during your preparation.

• The Second step is going through and understanding the UPSC syllabus. Do not get carried away by hearsay that the UPSC syllabus is “everything under the sun and beyond”, the syllabus is very well defined and your preparation must be well in sync with it.
• The next step is to choose the right optional subject, as it makes up a major chunk of your Mains marks (two papers of 250 marks each) and could decide your rank in the Final list.

Prelims exam tests one’s awareness while Mains tests the analytical ability of the candidate. Though the approach for both Prelims and Mains exam is very different, it is essential for one to integrate the Prelims and Mains preparation. The facts you learn for Prelims can be used as fodder for Mains answer writing. Though there is no specific book list to be read for the exam, you can customize your own list according to your knowledge and comfort level in each of the subjects. NEWS PAPER reading is a must. Select a newspaper of your choice, preferably “The Hindu” and read it thoroughly every day without fail! To start off with the preparations, one can read the NCERT books for creating a solid base for each of the subjects. Revision is the key to be able to crack the exam in the very first attempt. Concentrate on having conceptual clarity over a mere collection of information from various sources. The importance of practice cannot be emphasised enough. To test if your strategy is going to yield results, it is important for you to test your preparations by solving questions and giving as many mock tests as possible. You can start by solving previous year question papers to get an idea of the type of questions you could expect. Last but not the least, have faith in yourself and your strategy, do not try to change it very often. DEDICATION, DETERMINATION and CONSISTENCY can get you through this exam.

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