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How to Clear IAS Exam With One Year Preparation

  • Categories
    Strategy for UPSC Prelims
  • Published
    31st Aug, 2021

The Civil Services Exam is considered to be one of the toughest and most coveted exams in the country. Taking the decision to qualify this exam defines the ambitions and goals of a person. Some aspirants believe that more than 1 year time is necessary for this exam but 1 year time is enough for IAS Preparation. 1 year is enough for IAS preparation if one concentrates on studies with full devotion. Preparing for the exam is a full-time job in itself. A candidate should study an average of 6-8 hours to crack the exam. Those who clear all the stages of the exam become officers in IAS, IPS, or IFS and other prestigious services of the country. However right approach and a strategic study plan will always help in overcoming the hurdle. It can help a person to crack the exam easily in the very first attempt. To proceed with the plan, the first and foremost step involves a self-assessment. Knowing your strength and weak points will surely help an individual to prepare an accurate and suitable timetable.

It requires hard work, successful strategy, constant writing practice, etc. If you want to get success in the first attempt itself, then you will have to adopt the same strategy as the students who were successful in IAS Exam in the first attempt itself. The strategies we are discussing here are the strategies adopted by successful students, which they expressed through interviews given in their various mediums. Here we are discussing those strategies, by which you can not only succeed in the IAS exam in your first two attempts or you can also get a good rank.

Adherence to the points mentioned below will certainly help an individual to conquer this exam in very first attempt:

  1. Knowing the structure of the exam system well:-

First of all, you should understand the IAS exam very well. For this, you should be well acquainted with the examination system. This exam is three-tiered exam comprising 3 stages :

  1. Prelims Exam
  2. Mains Exam
  3. Personality Test or Interview
  1. Familiarity with the syllabus:-

One must be familiar with the Civil Services Exam Syllabus in its entirety. In a way, the syllabus of the prelims and main exam should be glued in your mind. For this purpose you need to be able to distinguish between topics, issues, or facts that are essential and non-essential n the course of study. Once you are having clarity regarding the syllabus the remaining would be easier.

  1. More emphasis on current Issues:-

The past few years have seen a strategic shift in the planning and structure of exams. Both the prelims and mains exams have become heavily tilted towards dynamic content. Keeping this in view current affairs should be given the top priority. But shifting more focus towards current issues would not suffice one needs to integrate the static and dynamic content also. For this purpose, it would be advisable to keep making short notes regularly from The Hindu, Indian Express, GS Score website. In the preliminary exam  about 30 to 40 percent and in the main examination about 60 percent questions are directly or indirectly related to the current issues themselves.

  1. Mock Test:-

Not joining coaching depends on your choice, ability, or other circumstances but mock tests remain mandatory to be a part of preparation. By giving continuous mock tests, you will not only be able to adapt yourself to the Civil Services Examination, but you will be able to make a self-assessment of your performance from time to time. These mock tests will also help you in real-time exam solving questions in stipulated time. The Integrated Test Series (ITS) by GS Score could be the best option that incorporates post test discussions, One on One interaction with faculties, and updation classes for prelims and mains exams.

  1. Short and To the point Notes:-

In the context of making notes, As per Ankit Pannu, IAS (AIR-31, CSE-2017), “Covering every bit of paper is tough, but making small notes and developing self-generated ideas are helpful to prove yourself in a better way in this competitive exam. “ The few dimensions that must be taken care of regarding current issues is -What is it, what was before, what is now, it's positive-negative side, reasons for revision and further future. It is important to link prelims and mains questions along with the notes making. Try to write answers on the particular issues too. Write succinctly and to the point, this will prepare a good list of relevant topics in three to four months. Watch the following video for more details :

  1. Optional Selection:-

Despite the importance of general studies in the main examination, the role of optional cannot be ruled out. It can determine your path to success or failure. In recent years, by scoring good marks in optional subjects, many students not only compensated for marks in general studies but made themselves in the top 100 list. The choice of an optional subject should not be based on the trends, results or popularity of the optional rather it should be based on your vested interest in a particular subject. Study the standard books related to the optional subject like a novel i.e. get familiar with the subject in totality during the study. Vikram Grewal, (AIR-51, UPSC CSE-2017) chose history optional as he was having an interest in History and helped him gain more confidence while writing answers in Mains exam. Another factor that must be taken into account that selected optional subject should have maximum overlapping with General Studies Syllabus and hence helping you more in general studies too.

  1. Integrated Preparation:-

All the students who got success in their very first attempt did not prepare for the Preliminary and Main Exams separately. Both the preparations were done in a coordinated manner. Since the first paper of General Studies of the Preliminary Examination and the four papers and essays of General Studies of the Main Examination are very similar to an extent. Current Affairs play an important role in both the exams. Though there is a difference in the type of questions asked in both the exams but the areas from where the questions are asked are almost the same. 

  1. Basics and Fundamentals:-

NCERT Books are considered as Holy Grail for UPSC Exam Preparation. These books are the best source for basics and fundamentals. Without having the basics it’s almost impossible to go ahead with advanced preparation. About 90 percent of the students who were successful in their first attempt went through the NCERT books frequently and clarified their concepts on various subjects. Read all the NCERT books of class 6th to 12th twice. In fact, you can also start your preparation with these books. Solving questions based on these also proved to be very beneficial.

  1. Try to read lesser but important books:-

Do not read more than one book for one topic. One or two books is enough. Anyway, if you go on the same route every day, then you will remember the small things of that route too. On the other hand, if you go on a different route every day, then you will not be able to know about any route very well.

  1. Analysis of previous year’s questions:-

Although the questions asked in the Civil Services Examination in the previous years is rarely repeated, yet their study and analysis remain vital. It gives a fair idea of the trend of questions asked in the exam. With trend analysis, you can also strategize the way you study. What to read, what to leave, can also be guessed. Apart from this, you can also practice your answer writing through these questions. Successful students followed this strategy in the first attempt.

  1. Answer Writing Practice:-

The common complaint of students in all the four papers of study in the main examination is that they could not answer all the questions due to scarcity of time. General Studies plays the most important role in the success in the Main Examination. You will have to answer all the questions to be successful. Answer Writing Skills are not generated overnight it is a gradual process and skills can be honed through rigorous practice and sustained efforts. So start practicing answer writing from the very first day of preparation.

  1. To the point writing:-

While writing answers it should be kept in mind that to the point answers fetch more marks in the exam. Properly formatted answers with a neat and clean appearance always cast a good impression over invigilators so be precise and crisp while writing answers in the mains exam. It is also advisable to use simple and lucid language for answer writing.  

 

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