How to ace the UPSC Prelims exam? What is the Guru Mantra?

The UPSC Civil Services exam has three stages. The first stage is Prelims which is objective in nature, the second stage is Mains which is a written examination and the third stage is the interview which is a verbal evaluation process.

The first stage, Prelims is very unique as it is also the eliminatory stage. Aspirants face immense competition at this stage and thus it requires a dedicated strategy.

The Guru Mantra for shining in UPSC Prelim exam can be summarised in following steps:

1. Completing the syllabus: The first and most important requirement is covering the whole syllabus. Neglecting any subject can cost big time. You can find the micro-listing of Prelim Syllabus at https://iasscore.in/upsc-syllabus 
2. Making Notes: Notes making is important because these are the key to quick revision. Just before the exam, it is neither recommended nor feasible to take the whole book and read again. It is necessary for an Aspirant to make notes and regularly make updates in the notes as per the requirement of the exam.
3. Revision: Revision is equally necessary for clearing Prelim exam as is making notes. Until or unless the notes are revised properly, there is no benefit of making those notes. Revision can be done by revising notes and side by side practicing questions subject-wise. Practicing in a more detailed manner will help you going through multiple topics at a time. NCERTs are the most important source and are often neglected during the revision phase. An aspirant can take benefit from the GS Score’s Prelims Practice Workbook of NCERT based Question. Here, the aspirant can find NCERT based questions of UPSC prelim pattern and can thereby boost their revision.

4. Taking Mocks: Taking time-bound mock tests can be helpful for maintaining the speed of attempting questions during the final Prelim exam. Mock papers help in providing similar pattern as followed by UPSC and thus taking mocks before Prelim Exam is important. A mock paper covering Current affairs can help in revising the important events in a time bound manner.

5. Practicing Objective questions: Practicing is the key to perfection. To avoid any silly mistake in the Prelim Exam, an aspirant needs to be practicing objective questions before hand. GS Score has been providing a Practice workbook of advanced questions that covers both static and current affair questions for Prelim 2022 Exam. Aspirant can reap the benefits of this workbook to make way to the UPSC Mains.

6. Practicing Previous Year questions: Previous year questions are the main source of insights of UPSC’s demand. Practicing Previous Year Questions (PYQs) can help in identifying the traps that UPSC set every year and thus help aspirant in avoiding such traps in UPSC Prelim 2022.

GS Score has compiled the PYQs for making the work easy for the aspirants. The Workbook can be downloaded for free from here.

To get through the UPSC Prelim, revising and practicing helps in avoiding the mistakes that are usually done in exam pressure. Practice as much as you can. GS Score is here to help aspirants by giving them all sorts of practicing material. Following links can be of immense help. Take a look!