8 Tips to crack the UPSC 2019 exam in first attempt
Before starting to prepare for UPSC 2019 you must be clear that this exam is just not like other government exams. Rather this exam is the toughest and most prestigious exam in India and no one can crack it without solid determination and hard work. So, you must prepare yourself to dedicate yourself to the nation if you crack it. The success rate of this exam is very low and dreams of lakhs of people are shattered while only a handful of candidates are selected for the posts. Here are few sure shot tips which if followed will definitely brighten your chances of success.
- Follow the UPSC syllabus and appropriate resources
The first thing is that you have to learn the UPSC syllabus by heart. Just follow the UPSC syllabus and restrict your studies only to the syllabus. Studying anything out of the syllabus will be just a waste of time. You cannot afford to waste your time while preparing for this examination. After knowing the syllabus, just start collecting the appropriate study material. Start with the NCERTs and then followed by the standard books.
- Cross check your eligibility and number of attempts
Before starting to prepare for the UPSC exam, it is advisable to check the eligibility criteria of UPSC. It may happen that you don’t qualify the criteria or your number of attempts has been finished. Cross check everything before starting your preparation.
- Follow only one book at a time
Steeping shoes in two sailing boats, will definitely sink you. So, we recommend you to follow only one standard book. In case any confusion arises, you can consult your teacher, explore digital media or refer to another book.
- Coaching or not
If it is your first attempt, you definitely need to be coached. But that does not stop you from securing good marks. If a student cannot afford the coaching center, then there are a lot of websites which provide free study material, even of the coaching centers also. So, rather than paying those hefty sums of money to the coaching centers, you can save them for the mock tests.
- Do join a mock test series
It is very important to join a mock test series either online or offline (coaching centers). This will help you in analyzing your true strength. You can work over your weaker areas and improve the scoring. Moreover giving mock tests will help you to understand the pattern of the exam as well get a hands on over time management, speed and accuracy.
Also, don’t miss out on attempting the previous year’s question papers before joining the mocks. This will help you to know how the questions are framed and how the concepts are applied to the answers. The candidate must note that there are no direct questions in the exam, rather you need to find the concept which is hidden in the questions and apply that to solve the question.
- Identify your weaker and stronger areas
After 2-3 months of your studies, you must be able to identify your stronger as well as weaker areas or SWOT analysis in other words. You should try to revise your stronger areas and work over your weaker areas. If you want you can explore the digital media such as YouTube and subscribe to some good theory classes by professionals. It is just like you are attending a caching class.
- Newspaper reading
Only newspaper reading is not going to work, the reading has to be effective. You must be able to connect the dots and frame the picture of the events. Make a separate notebook and write down all the important events, people and the places associated. The editorial section of any newspaper will help you understand the situation in a better way and frame opinions based on that.
- Optional sections and preparation
First of all select your optional subject based on your interest and availability of the subject material. Secondly, it is advisable to choose a subject which you have already studied in the graduation period.
Start preparing for the optional subject alongside your prelims. Don’t leave everything for the end. If you are able to crack the prelims, the time you have before the mains should be totally dedicated for revisions and not learning the new concepts.
All this is possible only if you follow a proper time management plan. Divide your complete course into smaller milestones and review them weekly or monthly. Don’t start with a single subject. It will turn out to be monotonous and you will lack interest soon. Rather divide the number of hours of your study amongst the subjects.
So, gear up and the time is running. Start preparing for your UPSC with an optimistic approach and full determination. Good Luck!