The UPSC Civil Service Examination is one of the most challenging and prestigious examinations held in our country. People spend five to six years preparing for this exam and still end up with no result; that is the competition level. It is often said that the chances of anyone qualifying is one in a million, and that is true because nearly around 10 lakh people appear for the preliminary exam. Only a few thousand are qualified after all three rounds.
The exam is conducted in three stages, namely:
- Prelims
- Mains
- Interview
And after all these stages, the best candidates who qualify for all these screening tests crack the exam and move ahead for their training to become civil servants.
Here are some important tips that will help you crack the civil service examination:
Tips to Crack Civil Service Exam
1. Prepare Mentally
Understand the situation and be prepared to face whatever is coming your way because the odds of getting selected in the very first attempt is quite less, but again it is not impossible. People have done it in the past, and if you put in the hard work, you can too.
But speaking generally, people require 4 to 5 attempts to crack the exam, and for that, you need to have a strong desire and consistency, or else someday you might end up at a place thinking that this is not your cup of tea.
During the preparation period, you might feel like giving up many times as this period is very long, but whenever you have such a problem, look at the bigger picture (which is you cracking the exam), which will help you out of it. This is among the most important tips to crack civil service exam.
2. Decide Your Exam Strategy
To begin with, enrolling yourself in a good institute is important. This includes everything, i.e., from when, how, to where the preparation will start. Is it mandatory? Maybe no, but it is often suggested to enroll in an institute as they will have a better idea about the various ways you can crack the exam and adequate coaching.
And this is where The Thought Tree (T3 ) comes into the picture. The Thought Tree is a leading Jaipur-based institute that provides excellent coaching for IAS aspirants. The things that make them special are the quality of education they provide, their faculties, the study materials, etc. Personal attention is given to each student with proper mentorship and guidance, and this will help start the preparation journey.
The Thought Tree offers the best UPSC Coaching in Jaipur, and you can select any according to your convenience. There are packages for school students, for people who reside in or around Jaipur and can attend the classes physically and if you are unable to do that then they have a solution for such people also which is online coaching. There are some other packages also and to know in detail check on to the T3 website and choose the course that suits you the best.
3. Plan your day
Create a timetable and plan your day accordingly. If you are a student or a working professional, plan out your day so that you allow a sufficient amount of time for your studies and stick to the routine. Add a bit of discipline to your lifestyle, and it can do wonders.
4. Select your Study Material wisely
This is a crucial step in your preparation journey. You must stick with a particular book you have selected initially because if you keep changing your materials in between, it will do no good to you. Reach out to your teachers or seniors, taking suggestions from them about the good books.
It is always suggested to start with NCERTs. Be thorough with the NCERTs because there isn’t any better book available in the market, which helps you strengthen your basics. Once you are done with it, go towards more advanced books to upgrade your knowledge.
Try not to skip any topics initially so that you have a rough idea about everything. Later on, you will realize the important topics and focus on them accordingly.
Also, there is an ocean of information and materials available on the internet in the forms of pdfs, videos, and whatnot; make use of these resources properly to reap good benefits.
5. Stay Updated about Current Affairs
Current affairs take up a significant part of the prelims exam, and sometimes aspirants neglect it but don’t make this mistake. Read newspapers, articles, blogs, or whatever source of information you find comfortable with to stay up to date about things going around in the world. This is among the most important tips to crack civil service exam.
6. Make Notes
Making notes is very important because while revising, you won’t get time to go through the whole book, and this is where your notes come in handy. The notes written should be short and conclusive such that it covers all the important aspects related to that particular topic.
7. Choosing Optional
Choosing the optional subject wisely is a very important task because it accounts for 500 marks in your final score. Always keep in mind certain things while choosing the subject which is, your interest in that particular subject, the prior knowledge you have about the subject (it is suggested to choose a subject which you are comfortable with and have covered during your graduation), and also the availability of proper study material.
8. Writing Practice
You might already know that there is handwritten submission to be done during the UPSC Mains exam. At this point, the major problem faced by the candidates is the unavailability of time and space in the booklet which is to be submitted.
This means that a candidate should be able to express his/her thoughts in minimum words but at the same time covering all the points and also keeping in mind the time. And to be able to do all these things a lot of practice is required.
9. Revision
Revision is a crucial deciding factor on how well you will score in your exam. The main aspect which makes UPSC exam tough is the length of the syllabus. The portion is so vast that it is impossible for anyone to keep everything in mind going through the topics once, so revising frequently is a key factor.
Still, after several revisions, the chances of everything fitting in your brain are also impossible, such as the length of the syllabus. So the chances of qualifying increase with an increase in your number of revisions.
While you are on the end phase of revision, i.e., before the exams, try not to study any new topic unless it is very important. Smart work is very essential at this stage because there is no time for you to go through every topic, so you should know the important topics which should be referred to before the examination.
10. Solving Previous years Question Papers
Going through several question papers will give you an idea about the pattern and the important topics from which questions are asked frequently and prepare accordingly. While solving these papers, set time limits to inculcate the habit of solving the questions quickly, keeping in mind the time; this will help you a lot while appearing the exam.
Read More: What would be the Best for IELTS Preparation?
11. Appear for Mock Tests
Enroll in test series conducted by any good institute. Try to appear for a maximum number of mock tests possible because it will make you comfortable when you sit in the actual exam. Often candidates panic after reaching the exam hall and appearing for mock tests will help you avoid this. But appearing for too many mock tests will result in less time for revision, so create a perfect balance.
If you enroll for test series in good institutes, they also provide you with a detailed analysis of your test result specifying the areas you need to work on more, and it could be very helpful. This is among the most important tips to crack civil service exam.
12. Learning from mistakes
If you are a person who is very passionate about cracking the exam, then remember each attempt of yours, even if you don’t qualify, will not be a waste of time. During your journey, you will make many mistakes, and there is nothing wrong with that, but to make it count, you need to identify the mistake and rectify it, and it will surely lead you to your goal.
13. Have a Positive Attitude
The last stage of the Civil Service Exam is the Interview, and here more than your knowledge and concepts, your personality will be put to the test. Their focus will be more on your attitude, character, how you react to a situation and how well you can communicate your thoughts to others.
And for this, you need to start working on yourself as early as possible because character and attitude are not things that can be changed in a day.
Hope all these tips help you reach your goal and someday become a great asset to society as a civil servant serving our country.
Happy learning!! And All the best!!
