How to prepare for UPSC/IAS Mains Exam?

Tips for UPSC CSE mains

The Mains examination is not just about testing your knowledge on the subjects but your way of approaching the answer, articulation of the problem, and providing an effective solution on a positive note within the prescribed word limits. Examiner will also judge your answers on various parameters like conceptual clarity, content relevance, objectivity, use of examples and illustrations, etc.

In recent years, UPSC CSE's mains paper went through visible changes. Earlier in mains question papers majority of the questions were asked directly from some of the reputed books and if a candidate had good command over those books, his/her chances of clearing that exam were maximum. However, things have changed now i.e at present, if you analyze the mains question papers of the last 5 years you can easily come across the domination of the current affair portion especially in papers 2 and 3.

To prepare for the mains a candidate first needs to understand the nature of questions and an approach to prepare for important topics of the syllabus. All the question papers contain word and time limits, therefore, the focus should also be given to time management and learning the art of answer writing which is writing as much relevant content as possible, understanding the demand of the question.

Four Important things to follow in one's preparation:

1. Practice answer writing as much as possible, one can start with questions from NCERTs.
2. Revise the subjects as many times as possible.
3. Make Notes in pointers, keep it precise.
4. Follow Current affairs, make notes Paper wise(not date-wise), and try to link your notes with the Static part of the syllabus. 

Paper wise Strategy for UPSC Mains Exam: 

General Studies Paper I

• The syllabus of GS paper 1 consists- Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society. These have further been divided into 12 topics and 40 subtopics.
• Once you are acquainted with the syllabus you should immediately start with the basics, reading NCERTs and NIOS material for GS Paper has proven to be beneficial for many candidates especially for the Indian Heritage, Culture, and History part, one can download these materials from the following link
• https://chahalacademy.com/free-downloads-ncert-book
• The most appropriate way to approach Paper I of the GS mains Paper is to understand the topic more broadly. e.g. Why Gupta Age is considered a golden era and why Magadha was the most powerful Mahajanpada of that time.
• In the Art and Culture portion, questions asked by UPSC nowadays are more analytical which requires both factual content and good analysis to answer the why and how. You can answer such questions well only when you understand the historical background in which such art was produced. This is why you must read NCERT XI Ancient India for it gives you that historical context.
• For the Indian Society portion of the syllabus, the Class 12 NCERT book on Indian Society is more than enough, but a candidate can also refer to Ram Ahuja's Indian Society for an in-depth understanding of the topics.
• For the Geography part, reading and making notes out of NCERTs is a must thing to do along with Goh Cheng Leong's Physical Geography, as discussed above the question in this section also come from an analytical and conceptual perspective, for instance, Impact of El-Nino on Indian Monsoon, conditions for a cyclone to develop, how climate change impacts agricultural activities so on. Illustrations through maps in geography make answers more catchy and soothing and one can grab good marks by using this approach. A candidate should not only read the topics but also make notes in pointers covering all the angles related to a topic which can be asked in the examination for revision in less time and long-lasting retention.
• FFollowing current affairs and making notes is an inevitable part of the preparation as one can always expect direct and indirect questions on the topics contained in the syllabus.  

General Studies Paper-II

• The Syllabus includes Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice, and International relations.
• Analyzing the trend in the last five years of paper II of GS, you can easily understand that this paper is not just about the static portion; a majority of questions is from current affairs and even that question that looks like of static one is linked to current events of recent times.
• For example; suppose a question is being asked about the power tussle between Lt Governor and CM of Delhi. So here you need to highlight the problem at present but at the same time, you have to state the significance of the post of Lt Governor post and CM briefly.
• For Basics on Polity and Governance, NCERTs are the best source anytime, along with Laxmikanths's Polity. DD Basu's “Introduction To The Constitution Of India” has also been found helpful to many toppers
• Other Sources: The 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission's report titled – Organizational Structure Of Government of India (13th Report) and Chahal Academy Magazine
• The Social justice part should mainly be covered from current affairs from various sources such as PIB, The Hindu newspaper and Indian express, etc
• International relations is all about current events, and you have to prepare it from a Newspaper and any standard magazine, whatever suits you. The Chahal Academy's Monthly magazine comprehensive provides coverage to all the relevant topics, here is the link below:
• https://chahalacademy.com/current-affairs-magazine

General Studies Paper III

• The Syllabus includes Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Environment, Security, and Disaster Management.
• Questions from Paper III are asked majorly from current affairs and if a candidate is actively following newspapers and making notes he can solve the paper easily provided his basic knowledge of each topic is clear. Therefore, the focus should be on clearing basics first by reading NCERTs and some standard reference books, the sources to prepare for the GS paper 3 are listed below:
• Questions from science and technology are general in nature and mostly contain the application part of many latest technologies and their impact on society and many other questions which are from general science and directly drawn from current affairs. Every year only 3-4 questions are asked from S&T and some of the most important topics such as Biotechnology, Space & Technologies, Defence Technologies, Public Health, Nuclear Technologies: Energy, Cyber Security: Discussed in Internal Security, ICT: Latest Technologies: AI, CPS, AR and VR, Quantum Computing, 5G, etc. Any information related to the above topics becomes important.
• For the Indian Economy, one can refer to Chahal Academy's Monthly magazine, current affairs, and some standard books such as Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh. Economic survey and Indian Budget released give out crucial information on the economy and hence are important sources.
• In Internal Security, most of the questions are always asked from a few selected topics such as Terrorism- International and domestic, Left-wing extremism/Naxalism/Maoism, North East Insurgency, Border Management, Coastal Security, Organized Crimes, Cyber-crime and cyber-security, Regionalism and inter-state disputes, etc. Topic-wise preparation on the above-mentioned topics is sufficient enough for this section, keeping the current affairs in mind.
• Biodiversity, Environment, and Disaster Management segment of GS Paper III- To cover the static part of this section, you can prefer NCERT Geography of 11th class, Biology of 12th class, IGNOU notes, Chahal Academy Notes, and ARC Report no. 3( Disaster Management). Besides, preparing current developments through newspapers and any standard current affairs magazine with mapping practice is advised.

General Studies Paper IV

The syllabus includes: Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude

The questions asked in GS Paper IV are mainly to test candidates’ attitudes and approach towards problem-solving, on issues relating to integrity and probity in public life. The question paper consists of questions on theory and case studies to understand a candidate's approach to determine these aspects. The Focus areas: ethics, public service/ values, and integrity, attitude, aptitude for the civil services, emotional intelligence, the contribution of thinkers, honesty in public life, etc.

Paper IV is 25 percent of basic book knowledge and 75 percent of your understanding of the situation based on the basic books you have read and clarity of syllabus you have. Using 2nd ARC reports for this paper is highly recommended by toppers and experts.

For the first portion of this paper, you have to read some moral thinkers and their contributions and when you will solve a case study, you have to utilize that information for not only writing the good answer of that case study but you have to also develop your knowledge and understanding of values.

The most appropriate way to develop for this paper is to first understand each terminology given in the syllabus e.g. Empathy, sympathy, and the difference between Attitude and Aptitude., etc. 

Essay Paper:

• The Essay paper is not about your knowledge and disseminating that information on your answer. It is about the representation of your approach to the skill of pinning down your information in sequence manner supported by some facts and figures.
• You can develop this art of representation and writing a good answer only by practicing it. So, make a good habit of writing one essay in a fortnight.

Optional Paper:

• The optional papers carry a total weightage of 500 marks in the mains examination and the better you score in your optional, the better are your chances of selection.
• Before choosing an optional a candidate should understand questions in the optional papers are of graduate-level and solving them requires in-depth knowledge and study of those subjects and hence it would consume an enormous amount of a student time of his preparation. Therefore, a candidate should choose that subject as optional which he finds interesting to read and can sit in for hours without getting bored.
• Shortlisting some of the subjects, going through its syllabus and last 5 years question paper to understand the dynamics of question asking pattern must be done before jumping on to the most important decision of choosing an optional.

Compulsory Paper:

How to Prepare compulsory language paper?

As the compulsory paper is qualifying in nature so before the examination just practice some of the things like grammar and basic things like ways of answering and approach of writing. Solve previous year papers of the past 2-3 years. These things will help you to easily clear the qualifying exams.

USE OF MAPS

The practice of using maps for locating places while preparing for current affairs is quite useful. In answer-writing of history, geography, disaster management, security in internal and border areas, etc, map using practice has proven results and is one of the most followed strategies of toppers.