Introduction to UPSC Exam
The following article provides an outline for How to Prepare for UPSC Exam? UPSC conducts a national level exam for 24 services which falls under the Central & State Governments of India. It is a highly competitive exam, and there are a lot of aspirants who go through prelims and mains of UPSC. While preparing for an exam, the main challenge is to manage time. Without a proper direction, the journey would not be easy to complete. There are many factors for the one, who needs to keep in mind before starting the preparation.
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How to Prepare for UPSC Exam?
There are three parts, UPSC prelims, UPSC mains, and the interview. For 2021, the prelims and UPSC mains exams are due in June & September this year. So, if you want to apply this year, then the application’s last date is 2nd March 2021. You can apply online, through upsconline.nic.in . You need to submit the DAF1 form which is Detailed Application Form I. Once you are done with your documentation part, make sure you are updated with any kind of changes that happened. Keep visiting that website once in a while.
If you have just finished your 12th exams, then this is a very good time to start your preparation. The eligibility for civil services is that you should have a Bachelor’s degree from any recognized university in respective subjects. So basically you will have 3 to 4 years in your hand. Apart from your regular college studies, you can manage time to be prepared well.
10 Major Tips to Prepare for UPSC Exam
Given below are the 10 major tips to prepare for UPSC exam:
1. Time
Prioritizing time is very much important. After 12th, 3 to 4 years can be a long time or it can be short, it depends on how you manage time. Before starting preparation, it is important to prepare yourself first. Apart from your college hours, make sure you study for at least 9 hours with full dedication. A comfortable timetable you should always follow. It is not bad to set a daily target or deadline for your planned study.
2. Syllabus
Whether prelims or mains, you will find so many segments and it is you who is best to understand that where you have put more time and where less. Always start with the difficult one. But never stop to revise old topics or practicing reasoning and aptitude tests and so on.
3. Optional Selection
Go through the complete breakdown of the syllabus. There are sections, where you can choose a subject as per your choice. Make sure you select subjects, where you are best at or you are more comfortable with.
4. Health
A good healthy body always leads to a healthy mind. Here, a calm, healthy, and focused mind is required while studying. So take the all necessary measures to be physically fit. There are many options to explore such as yoga, gym, eating nutritious food, meditation, etc.
5. Revision
There are so many areas in the UPSC syllabus thus it is equally important to do a regular revision of subjects that you have studied earlier.
6. Reading
Build a habit to read the newspaper regularly. You should always keep yourself updated with the latest news. There are some magazines that too you can follow such as Down to Earth, Economic and Political Weekly, Kurukshetra, Yojana, etc.
7. NCERT Books
NCERT textbooks from class six to twelve play a very crucial role for exam preparation, as it covers many topics of Civil Service Examination. It gives a crystal clear clarity.
8. Mock Test
Enroll yourself for the prelims mock test series. Practice more with consistency. It is a very useful way to understand important concepts faster and earlier. It increases confidence level too.
9. Previous Year’s Question Papers
Once you have covered more or less all areas do try solving previous year’s questions. This is the best way to test yourself that where do you stand and take action accordingly.
10. Writing Skills
After clearing prelims, the mains exam would be descriptive type. It explores areas such as essays, synopsis writing, reading comprehension, grammar, basic language usage, translation, which include English to compulsory language and vice versa, Indian heritage & culture, history & geography of the world & society, governance, economic development, biodiversity, constitution, polity, social justice & international relations, technology, security & disaster management, ethics, integrity, and aptitude. It is not at all possible to clear the exam without sufficient writing skill knowledge.
Conclusion
It is always good to go through the free FAQs available at upsc.gov.in/faqs where the candidate would be able to get information related to examination, recruitment rules, services, etc.
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