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ESSAY STRATEGY By Anudeep Durishetty, UPSC Civil Services Exam Topper, All India Rank – 1 CSE-2017 – How to write a good Essay in UPSC Mains, Explained 

Essay strategy.

How to write a good Essay in UPSC Mains, Explained 

By Anudeep Durishetty

UPSC Civil Services Exam Topper, All India Rank – 1 CSE-2017

Novelist Stephen King put it beautifully when he said, “I write to find out what I think.” 

Writing is a window to your thought process. What you write on paper will tell the reader how you think, how you argue and the way you substantiate your viewpoint. This is why for most competitive examinations and academic entrance tests, essay is mandatory. 

In the Civil Services Exam too, we have a paper worth 250 marks, equivalent to a General Studies paper. Despite its importance, essay paper often does not get the attention it deserves from aspirants. First timers think they will write an excellent essay in the final exam itself, whereas experienced aspirants believe that since they had already studied a ton for GS, it will alone be enough to write a good essay. This is a fatal miscalculation. 

I was one of those who made these errors in the past, and it is not a coincidence that I scored only 100 in CSE 2015. But in 2017, I devoted adequate time to this paper. I collected useful quotes, prepared notes and even made rough essay drafts for frequently asked topics. All this effort in essay paper helped me score 155. 

What follows is an elaborate post on how you should tackle the Essay paper. I’ve organised the content as follows: 

What UPSC says about the essay paper 

• How and from where to prepare? 

Improving language and expression 

• On subheadings and rough drafts 
• What you must avoid 
• How to write a powerful introduction? 
• Developing the content of an Essay 

Substantiating your arguments 

• How to conclude an Essay 
• My notes, quote collection and sample essays 

“Candidates may be required to write essays on multiple topics. They will be expected to  keep closely to the subject of the essay,   to arrange their ideas in an orderly fashion, and to write concisely . Credit will be given for  effective and exact expression .”  

Essay distinguishes itself from GS in the sense that in GS, marks will be awarded purely for content. But in essay, examiners will pay special attention to not just the content, but also the language, coherence and the way you organise your write-up. 

So you must take adequate care to arrange your ideas properly and not commit any fundamental spelling or grammatical errors. 

How and from where to prepare?  

Most of the content you write in Essay will come from your GS preparation. Apart from this, the following sources will help: 

• Reading non-fiction  helps you develop a matured thought process. Apart from imparting knowledge, they will also let you come across good figures of speech, art of argumentation, powerful rhetoric and unique content etc. For example, in an essay on Artificial Intelligence, I took arguments from Yuval Harari’s  Homo Deus  to argue that AI is an imminent threat to humanity. Or if you read  Why Nations Fail,  a book replete with examples, you will understand the importance of innovation, political and economic freedoms in propelling a nation forward. So my suggestion is, apart from UPSC related material, develop the hobby of reading non-fiction books. I do not mean to suggest that you should start reading one  non-fiction book per topic to get good scores in Essay, but reading them occasionally in your free time will benefit you in the long run. 
• Referring to specific magazines:  For certain topics, you can refer to specific issues of Yojana/EPW/Economic Survey etc. Example: for an essay on tribal issues or public health, you can go through specific issues of these magazines for getting the latest statistics (IMR, MMR, malnutrition levels etc) and also about the positives and criticisms of govt schemes in that sector. 
• Collecting good stories/anecdotes and quotes  Anecdotes, quotes and real life stories you see in newspapers and books which can be used in essay should be noted down. In most of my essays, I used to start with a relevant story or an anecdote that has the essay topic as its underlying theme. Apart from these, I also used a couple of quotes of eminent persons. 

         List of quotes, anecdotes I collected are available in the link at the end of this article.  

Language in essay must be simple and clear with as little jargon as possible. If you want to use complex definitional terms such as, say, ‘Constitutionalism’ or ‘Sanskritisation’ please define it in sentence just before you use it. Examiner will also understand clearly what you want to convey. Clear writing is clear thinking. And that is what any reader looks for. 

Keep your sentences short and powerful. Long, winding sentences makes it difficult to read and understand. If you tack on one clause after another through conjunctions, what you get is a bad sentence sprawl.   

Example of a bad sentence sprawl: 

At the end of World War 2, on the one hand, while capitalism was successfully championed by the nations in North America and Europe, on the other hand, it was USSR that put Communism at the forefront due to which there was an ideological clash between the  the  two superpowers which had led to proxy wars in various parts of the globe, a nuclear arms race and a rapid deterioration of the security of the world.  

(By the time readers finish reading it, they will lose their breath and the point of the sentence) 

So I had a simple rule: If you run out of your breath while  reading a sentence, then probably you will have to break it into two. 

Rewriting the aforementioned example after breaking it into two (which makes it much easier to read and comprehend): 

After World War 2, while the North American and European nations championed capitalism, USSR put communism at the forefront. This ideological clash between the superpowers led to several proxy wars, a nuclear arms race and a rapid deterioration of world security.  

Vocabulary   

There is no need to memorise complex words for writing a good essay. But an occasional use of a powerful word, or a good phrase definitely gives your write-up an edge. 

Also, I believe that learning numerous words by rote will not make them stick in your brain for long. The best way to build your vocabulary is by reading non-fiction and English newspapers. While reading these, if you come across a good turn of phrase, or a word that you don’t recognise, please note it down in a book, find its meaning and understand the context in which the word was used. This helps in long term memory. Having a dictionary app on your phone also helps. 

Building vocabulary is a slow process, but with consistency, anyone can become better at using an expansive set of words. 

Subheadings & Rough Drafts 

We can be a little innovative in our subheadings. Instead of bland subheadings such as ‘ Benefits of Nuclear Energy’  we can use “ Nuclear Energy: Promise or Peril?’  Similarly, for the essay on Social Media, instead of writing ‘ Advantages and Disadvantages of Social Media ’, I wrote  “Social Media: A Double Edged Sword”  

You can find my collection of a few such subheadings in the link to my notes, given at the end of the article. 

I also prepared a rough draft for a few essay topics (link given at the end). You may need to modify the structure as per the demand of the question. 

What you must avoid in Essay 

• Do not focus excessively only on one point, or one dimension (such as the historical or political aspect) Your essay needs to be expansive and multi-dimensional. 
• During preparation, we read a lot and it’s understandable that we feel strongly about certain topics. And since essay offers freedom to write, it’s very easy to get carried away with such a topic. But make sure that you write what is asked, not what you know or feel like. No  mann   ki   baat . Always stick to the subject of the topic. It helps to read the question in the midst of your essay to ensure that you are not steering away from the topic. 
• If you are not comfortable writing about abstract philosophical topics (I am terrible at writing them), avoid such questions. Your choice of topic has no bearing on the marks and that is why, selecting an unpopular topic just for the sake of it is unwise. Also, if there’s a technical term in the question, be doubly sure that you understand it correctly. For instance, in 2014, there was a question on ‘standard tests’, which is a technical term. I misunderstood it and wrote a generic essay. I got 112. 
• When you take a final stand on an issue, it’s best to avoid extreme or highly unpopular opinions. We are free to have any opinion in the privacy of our minds, but in UPSC essay why take that risk? For instance, in an essay on Capital Punishment, in the main body content, you should present a case for both abolition and retention. But when you take a stance, it’s best to be an abolitionist. 
• No ranting. You might be a great fan of Karl Marx, but if there’s a question on Capitalism, do not rant or rail against it  You must present both the positives and negatives of Capitalism and end the essay on a balanced note. 
• Do not dedicate disproportionate amount of time for the first essay and scamper through the second. Both carry equal marks, so please invest equal time. 

How to transition smoothly from one para to the next 

This can be done in three ways. 

Through a link sentence at the end of a para:  

Here, at the end of a para, you write a sentence that signals to the examiner what’s coming next. For example, let’s say you have just written a para about the threat posed by Artificial Intelligence (AI) to jobs. At the end of that para you can write a link sentence—   “Further, we must be mindful of the fact that Artificial Intelligence poses a major challenge not just economically, but also ethically.”  And in the next para, you can write about the ethical issues concerning AI. 

Through a question:    

Instead of a link sentence, you can also add a question at the end of a para so that examiner’s attention is helplessly carried to the next. To take the similar example as above, the question can be something like—   “Thus we have examined the threat posed by AI to our economy, but what about the challenges brought by AI to our ethics and morals?”  And in the next para, you can write about the ethical issues concerning AI. 

Signalling the shift at the start of next paragraph: 

Here you can simply add a word or two at the beginning of a para that signals a shift in your subtopic. For example in an essay on  Globalisation , let’s say you have just written a para about its historical evolution and impact. You can start the next para with something like—  “Politically too, globalisation has had a tremendous impact……” This way examiner immediately knows what to expect. 

These steps will ensure that the transition between paragraphs is not abrupt. 

How to write a good Introduction to your Essay? 

Essay introduction can be: 

a fictitious incident or story (where you introduce a character);  a real life anecdote;  a quote; or  a simple definition of the words in the question (not recommended in Essay) 

In GS, definitional approach is a great way to introduce your answers. But in essay, they are rather stale, lacking in any human element. I always believe that a good way to start your essay is to have that touch of humanity and warmth in your introduction. 

In my Mains exam, this was my introduction to the essay ‘Destiny of a nation is shaped in its classroom’ 

“The year was 1945. Towards the end of a gruesome world war, the world powers decided to carve up the Korean peninsula along the 38th parallel.  

“Before partition, North and South Korea might have been homogeneous in every respect, but after the division, they steered onto different paths. While schools in the North chose to ‘educate’ their children in the worship of a cult leader, ideological indoctrination and servility, its southern counterpart focused on liberal education, innovation and economic growth.  

“Today, almost seven decades later, the difference in the fates of these people and the trajectories of both these nations cannot be more stark. One is known for gross violation of human rights, while the other a champion of liberal democracy. One is known for gut-wrenching poverty, while the other unbridled prosperity.  

“This only proves the age old adage that the destiny of a nation is indeed shaped in its classrooms.”  

Similarly, for the Social Media essay, my introduction sought to bring to the fore the paradox of Social Media. I wrote on how social media was leveraged to crowdsource help and rescue during Chennai floods in 2015. At the same time, I mentioned how it was used nefariously in 2012 to cause mass exodus of northeast people from Bangalore. And taking cue from this introduction, in the main body, I discussed about the inherent selfishness and altruism associated with social media. 

These real life stories, anecdotes and incidents are everywhere in our books and newspapers. So when you come across them, note down and ponder as to how you can use them in your essay.   

Developing the Main Content from the Topic 

This is like spinning the web from a thread. Depending on the topic, you can choose among the following options that fits best. 

• Temporal : Past, present and future 
• Sectoral :  Media, Science & Tech, Business, Sports, Religion, Politics, Administration etc 
• Walks of Life : Individual, Family, Professional workplace, Society, Community, National, Global 
• Problem & Solution:  Concept (historical evolution+status), benefits, problems, solutions 
• Standard : Social, Political, Economical, Administrative, International, Environmental, Historical, Scientific, Security/Defence, Legal 

Example: for a topic like  “Has  Globalisation  delivered on its promise?”  I find the problem & solution method an apt way to develop your narrative. So choose as per the question. 

In the main body of the essay, each para must have an argument or an idea and a reasoning to back that argument. You can substantiate it through a real life example, a statistic, an authentic committee or organisational report etc. 

For example, if you are arguing that Capital punishment is an expensive form of justice, you should be able to given an example or a statistic or Law Commission’s opinion as to how the subjects of death penalty are overwhelmingly from poor communities. 

Statistics, examples, expert opinions and constitutional provisions are crucial and they make your arguments authoritative. 

Concluding an Essay 

Conclusion needs to be on  a futuristic, optimistic note. You need to summarise the complete essay in 3-4 sentences, after which you can write your vision for future. 

You can source some useful terms from the speeches of PM Modi. Phrases like  Sabka   saath   sabka   vikas ,  Reform-Perform-Transform, Building A New India  etc can come handy.  Rhetoric, lofty expressions, constitutional ideals, sanskrit slokas and quotes are a good way to conclude your essay. 

But suppose in your introduction, if you had written about a fictitious character, then it’s always advisable to end your write-up with a reference to that character. It gives a sense of completeness to the essay. 

Readers should keep in mind that these notes are written rather haphazardly (I mean who makes notes thinking that in future, they might have to upload them publicly :D)  

They are fragmented in certain pages, so you may not be able to comprehend them completely, but nevertheless I hope you take home something useful.  

Link to handwritten notes: 

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jmVMGOzAk2d9B5Y0HQ9XpVF5Mh2IXGku  

Quote collection:  

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jk71jLao60hHwJoTuGYaIDgJWccxa5Xn  

List of Topics one needs to prepare:  

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1q0W0PeH-80EKt6ucJTFOVPUlmXvCIzd-  

Sample Essay:    

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jqfUi1FXdG0icBdJpdQvwH1wlAizCMvo  

https://anudeepdurishetty.in/my-upsc-marksheet/

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5 Essential Steps: How to Write an Essay in UPSC Mains

Writing an essay in the Union Public Service Commission ( UPSC ) Mains examination can be a daunting task for many aspiring civil servants.

The essay paper carries a weightage of 250 marks and requires a high level of language proficiency, analytical thinking and writing skills. The essay is also one of the few opportunities for candidates to showcase their knowledge and views on a wide range of topics and make a lasting impression on the examiners.

In this blog, we will provide you with steps and strategies on how to write an essay in UPSC Mains exam.

Whether you are a first-time aspirant or an experienced candidate, you will find useful insights to help you approach the essay paper with confidence and write an essay that stands out. So, let’s get started!

UPSC CSE Mains Essay Writing Exam Pattern

What is a good score in essay writing paper in upsc mains, structure of an essay in upsc mains, 5 essential steps: how to write a well-structured essay in upsc mains, 1. t- time limit, 2. i- introduction, 3. p- paragraphs and pointers, 4. c- conclusion, 5. r- revision, strategy for essay writing in upsc mains exam, 1. the central idea is the key, 2. brainstorming for a better idea, 3. making a blueprint, essential elements of essays in upsc mains, the super 3, the supportive 3, personal comments and opinions, reference books for essay writing in upsc mains, faqs on how to write an essay in upsc mains exam, what is the format of an essay in upsc mains, how to choose a topic for an essay in upsc mains, how to write the introduction of an essay in upsc mains, how to write the body of an essay in upsc mains, how to write the conclusion of an essay in upsc mains, what are some common mistakes to avoid when writing an essay in upsc mains.

• How to improve one's essay writing skills for UPSC Mains?
• The paper comes under the UPSC CSE Mains exam in which two essays must be written within 3 hours, each within a 1000-1200 word limit.
• Each carries 125 marks, so the total is 250 marks.
• The paper is divided into two sections, each carrying a choice of 4 essays. The aspirant has to choose only one from each section.
• UPSC CSE Syllabus clearly instructs aspirants to keep their thoughts close to the subject and arrange their ideas accordingly. It further states that credit will be given for effective essays and coherent expression’.

Also Read : How To Complete UPSC Mains Paper in 3 Hours? – A Clear-Cut Guide

The essay paper counts for up to 250 marks. A score above 50% could be considered good. 125 is the perfect example.

A score of around 110-125 is considered average.

For an exceptional essay, you might score a perfect mark in the range of 150-160.

How to structure an essay for the UPSC exam is the first and foremost thing that should be learnt while taking into consideration how to write an essay in UPSC Mains.

The traditional way of UPSC CSE Mains essay writing is to break it into paragraphs with pointers in simple language. This technique is still working in structuring an informative and well-written essay for UPSC Mains.

A body paragraph is of utmost importance besides the introduction and conclusion part. The body paragraph contains important facts, figures, data, and information along with several relevant quotes.

Here are some points regarding the structuring of an essay in the form of an introduction, body, and conclusion that will help you in writing a well-balanced essay.

• The introduction part is the most important of all. Your introduction creates a first impression on the examiner. Your essay should always have a good starting and a conclusion.
• Body paragraphs are equally important parts of the essay that can be supportive, critical, or narrative. However, it is advised to have a mature thought process in all forms and to not take any side or get emotional in writing a certain opinion.
• Essays, along with facts and language skill also demands your opinion that should be written in a well-balanced way. The narrative part should be written by starting with an argument along with different facts.
• Further, a supportive paragraph is necessary to contain positive facts/ideas. Talking of a critical paragraph, it is advised to place it in the last part with the exact expression. However, it depends on your will. You can also open with a critical part.
• The conclusion is also crucial as it can bring you additional marks if done properly. Your concluding statement reveals a lot about you, as balancing every statement after a lot of critical evaluation and facts is a form of art.

Related Reading: How To Start Answer Writing Practice For UPSC: 5 Effective Pointers

Remember the mnemonic provided here that will help you to keep the important pointers in mind on how to write an essay in UPSC Mains.

Stick to the  TIPCR  formulae always. If you write with this structure, along with filling in a good amount of content, you are definitely going to score well in this paper.

Time management  is very important for UPSC CSE Main essay writing. You get 3 hours to write two essays in the exam which means you have 1 hour and 30 minutes for each essay.

It is a fact that any aspirant needs 45 minutes to 1 hour to write one essay. Another 10 minutes is required for the revision of one essay.

Before all this, you need at least 20-30 minutes to brainstorm, jot down some points, and make an outline. Dividing the time and sticking to it is the only key to scoring good marks.

A good start of the introduction always arises the interest in the examiner. The examiner’s judgment and how they are going to take your whole piece depends on your starting.

If you start well, you must also end in an impressive manner. A good introduction can be a brief explanation of the given topic and you can make it effective by adding some quotes, a critical narrative, or your own narrative.

Paragraphs and pointers provide a smooth flow to your essay which not only looks like a structured essay but also feels like a more informative but less hectic to read a piece of writing.

Paragraphs in small chunks or pointers like short paragraphs provide an establishment that leads towards a conclusion.

Examiners are habitual of reading something in an ordered way, especially in Mains essay writing section.

Finishing on a good or smooth note is as important as starting on a good note. A smooth and positive conclusion with a clear explanation will help you in scoring good marks.

There should be a ‘Cyclic-return’ approach in your essay. The introduction should end with a question or discussion and in the conclusion, you can again come to that question to conclude it with a positive statement or anecdote.

To revise or read your whole piece in the entirety is as important as writing it. Keep a check on grammatical mistakes, and some missing points, or make sure your answer looks clean and tidy.

These things can be done only when you revise your answer. Add/omit some words as per your demands but should not be overdone.

You Might Also Like: How To Prepare For UPSC Prelims And Mains Together Like An Absolute Pro!

Just like the UPSC CSE your essay writing also needs planning. There are broadly three steps to writing a structured essay defining what the essay is going to talk about i.e. the central idea, brainstorming, and making a blueprint of it.

Mains essay writing demands a well-structured format from your side as it is one of the most prestigious and tough examinations in India .

“Innovation is the key determinant of economic growth and social welfare” . 

This is basically a thesis statement of an essay question of UPSC CSE Mains 2016. In this statement, the central idea is ‘innovation’.

Here, the aspirant is supposed to bring out a dimension of innovation that directly or indirectly affects economic growth and social welfare. Aspirants are supposed to write that statement of facts only which supports the central idea or those statements that supplement the overall idea.

Brainstorming is one of the most powerful tools in the examination phase. Brainstorming leads to developing new ideas quickly or listing those ideas that align with your knowledge of the given topic.

There is no specific rule or technique for brainstorming, instead, you can jot down points on a paper that are necessary for your Mains essay writing.

Making a blueprint or outlining your essay means deciding what to write in the introduction, body, and conclusion parts. What ideas to represent in which section, which quotes are relevant to the given thesis, etc.

Before the actual writing, it is very important to see it in its entirety. It helps you to see the big picture. The blueprint also helps you in finding the right conclusion to wrap up your essay.

Check Out Our Blog On: Why is Self Assessment for UPSC CSE Necessary?

• Social element
• Political element
• Economical element

These three points should be considered while writing an essay. These three elements give a proper shape to an essay or any piece of the thesis.

Writing a formal one always demands dimensions and these three dimensions will always support your arguments concerning various areas of society. It enhances the effectiveness and creates a proper report-like structure along with your narratives to form well-balanced and good writing in your Mains essay writing.

• Constitutional
• Technological

These three additional dimensions also enhance the quality of your writing. You can use various technological perspectives, constitutional facts, remedies, laws, and legal terms to support the thesis in your Mains essay writing.

Your opinions matter a lot. UPSC CSE Mains essay writing demands a subjective approach to writing. It is very important to express your personal opinion on the issue or the given statement.

However, it should be kept in mind that your personal opinions should not be too biased in nature. Neutral and well-balanced writing is always appreciated by the UPSC.

Additional Reading: 3 Ways to Build a Revision Strategy for UPSC – A Must

You may seek help from books that will assist you with Essay Writing for UPSC Civil Services Exam. 

• Essays for Civil Services and Other Competitive Examinations by Pulkit Khare.
• Essay Paper For Civil Services Main Examination by Pavneet Singh and Sonali Bansal
• Selected Contemporary Essays by Saumitra Mohan (MHE)
• My Experiment With Truth by M.K. Gandhi
• J.L. Nehru Getting India Back on Track by Ratan Tata

In addition to the above-mebtioned books, you make take help of English newspapers such as The Hindu and the newspaper editorial section to expand your vocabulary.

Staying updated with the current affairs is also necessary. Take a look at the Best Current Affairs Magazine For UPSC to keep yourself informed about the latest events happening around the world.

Practice is the key to success. Focus on reading, the art of argumentation, and correct sequence to achieve good scores in essays. Remember there is no such thing as a perfect essay, just arrange the ideas in an orderly fashion and keep writing.

Essays in the UPSC Mains exam must be written with the help of facts and figures along with data, like statistics from a government report or any data from a major research paper that supports a writer’s perspective on a given topic.

Conversational form, the use of first-person references, and getting emotional with the audience are not allowed in a formal structure.

The points made by the candidate need to be neutral, supported by logical facts and not someone’s biased personal opinions. A certain degree of straightforwardness should be there while writing a formal exam, especially for an exam like UPSC CSE.

The tips mentioned above revolve around how to write an essay in UPSC Mains. These will help improve your writing skills and build a better essay structure.

Also Read: Powerful Tips on How to Stay Motivated for UPSC Preparation

The format of an essay in UPSC Mains is as follows: Introduction, Body, and Conclusion. The introduction should state the main idea of the essay and the body should elaborate on it with examples and arguments. The conclusion should summarize the key points made in the essay. The word limit for an essay in UPSC Mains is usually around 250-300 words.

Choose a topic that you are well-versed in and have a strong opinion on. It is advisable to choose a topic that is relevant to current events and has social and political significance. This will help you present a well-researched and thought-out argument in your essay.

The introduction of an essay in UPSC Mains should be concise and clear. Start with a hook that grabs the reader’s attention, state the main idea of the essay, and provide a thesis statement. The thesis statement should provide a clear direction for the rest of the essay.

The body of an essay in UPSC Mains should elaborate on the main idea presented in the introduction. Divide the body into paragraphs and make sure each paragraph has a clear focus and supports the thesis statement. Use examples, facts, and statistics to make your arguments more persuasive.

The conclusion of an essay in UPSC Mains should summarize the key points made in the essay and restate the thesis statement. End with a final thought or a call to action that provides closure to the essay. Make sure the conclusion is not repetitive and adds value to the essay.

Some common mistakes to avoid when writing an essay in UPSC Mains include: poor structure, unclear arguments, repetitive information, grammatical errors, and using informal language. Make sure to proofread your essay before submitting to avoid these mistakes.

How to improve one’s essay writing skills for UPSC Mains?

To improve your essay writing skills for UPSC Mains, you can practice writing essays on a regular basis, read newspapers and articles to stay updated on current events, improve your vocabulary, and seek feedback from peers and teachers.

Additionally, reading sample essays and learning from the writing style of experienced writers can also help improve your skills.

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How to Prepare for UPSC Mains? - UPSC Mains Preparation Strategy

By vajiram & ravi.

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When it comes to the UPSC Mains preparation , meticulous and a well-structured strategy are paramount. The UPSC CSE Prelims is the first stage of the Civil Services Examination. After you have cleared the first hurdle of this prestigious exam, the most crucial phase of your preparation journey begins, which is for the UPSC Mains. Prelims is qualifying in nature, so your score in that round will not determine your final selection. The UPSC Mains exam, on the other hand, will play a critical role in determining your selection and rank.

As a result, it is critical to develop a solid UPSC Mains preparation strategy that will boost your score and improve your chances of obtaining a good rank. The first step is to find a suitable approach to preparing for the Civil Services Mains examination, which is shared in this article.

8 Important Tips to Prepare for UPSC Mains Exam

The UPSC Mains exam is all about writing answers that meet the requirements of the questions. While preparing for the Mains exam, the following are some important things to keep in mind:

• Understand the syllabus
• Set a timeline and create a study plan
• Daily Answer Writing practice
• Analyse previous year's questions to understand the trends
• Essay writing skills
• Prepare for the Optional subject
• Current Affairs preparation
• Maintain a healthy balance

Understanding the UPSC Mains Syllabus

The UPSC syllabus is comprehensive and covers a wide range of subject areas that are essential for an administrator. It is divided into two language papers, four papers on General Studies - I, II, III and IV, an essay paper, and optional papers - I and II.

It is a good idea to pin the entire syllabus on paper and paste it in front of your study table. This will help you stay focused and remember the topics so that you can relate them to the current events that you read about in the newspaper, articles, or any other study material.

Create a Study Plan

To prepare for the UPSC Mains Exam , It is generally advised to complete the syllabus once and revise it at least once before starting your preparation for the Prelims. Some of the tips to create a comprehensive study plan for UPSC Mains are as follows:

• Joining a UPSC Mains test series is one of the easiest ways to prepare for the Mains exam, which is why it should be included in the study plan. This is because writing answers under a time constraint helps you to cover the syllabus and identify the important topics. It also helps you to identify your areas of weakness so that you can improve them.
• It is advisable to club related subjects together in your study plan so that you can cover them at a faster pace and avoid boredom. For example, you can club history and polity, geography and environment, economics and current affairs .
• Ethics is an important subject and should be covered extensively as its importance has been increasing in recent years.
• With a good booklist, you should aim to cover two subjects in two months. This will take you about six months to cover the entire syllabus thoroughly.

You should start your UPSC Mains preparation in July and plan to finish the entire syllabus by the end of January. This will give you an edge over other candidates when you start preparing for the Prelims. The answer writing practice that you do during this time will also keep you "Mains ready."

UPSC Mains Answer Writing Practise

UPSC Mains Examination requires you to write at least 20 answers within a given time period of 3 hours. This makes Answer writing practice paramount for UPSC Mains as it enhances the ability to articulate thoughts coherently within the given time frame, fine-tuning the skill of addressing multifaceted questions comprehensively. Having everything perfectly fit in the mind does not assure that you will be able to write the same on paper. Everyday answer writing practice will help you develop analytical thinking, structure responses logically, and reinforce the integration of knowledge across subjects. Through consistent practice, you will gain confidence, improve time management, and develop the capacity to present complex ideas with clarity, a crucial skill for success in the UPSC Mains Exam.

Understand the Trends of Questions

To write qualitative answers, it is important to understand the trend of questions in each paper, including the essay. The best way to do this is to track UPSC previous year question papers . This will help you identify the important topics and areas that are likely to be tested.

You can also use a technique called "reverse engineering" to improve your understanding of the questions. Reverse engineering involves starting with the question and working backwards to identify the relevant concepts and theories. This can help you to write more comprehensive and analytical answers.

For example, if you see a question about the Fundamental Rights chapter, you can start by identifying the specific rights that are mentioned in the question. Then, you can read the relevant sections of the Constitution and other textbooks to understand the meaning and implications of those rights. This will help you to write a more informed and nuanced answer.

The same methodology can be applied to your optional subject as well. By tracking previous year's question papers and using reverse engineering, you can identify the important topics and areas that you need to focus on. This will help you to write qualitative answers that will impress the examiners.

Develop Essay Writing Skills

Writing an essay for the UPSC Mains Exam requires a structured and well-organised approach. The UPSC essay paper is not just limited to assessing your creative writing skills, but rather, the focus is on evaluating your ability to think critically, express your ideas clearly, and present a balanced perspective on various issues. While preparing for Mains Examination, a well-structured essay has a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Your introduction should introduce the topic and provide a brief overview of your stance. Each body paragraph should focus on a specific point, argument, or example. The conclusion should summarise your main points and reiterate your thesis.

Focus on Optional Subject Preparation

The Optional Papers 1 and 2 together combine to 500 marks, helping you improve your overall ranking in UPSC Mains. While preparing for the Mains Exam, a well-prepared optional subject can elevate overall scores, compensating for challenges in other areas. It showcases in-depth knowledge, analytical skills, and critical thinking, thereby reflecting a candidate's multidimensional aptitude. A strong performance in the optional paper not only boosts rankings but also amplifies the overall profile, demonstrating a candidate's commitment and proficiency in a chosen field.

Current Affairs for UPSC Mains Preparation

Current affairs play an important role in your UPSC Mains preparation. They help you demonstrate relevance and awareness. Integrating recent events into answers adds depth and context, showcasing your grasp of real-world implications. Understanding contemporary issues fosters a holistic viewpoint, enriching essays and answers across subjects. Regularly reading newspapers, journals, and analysis platforms helps cultivate an informed perspective, contributing to well-rounded responses and increasing overall exam performance.

Maintain a balance between your Studies, Health and Well-Being

It is essential to maintain physical and mental fitness while preparing for the UPSC Mains Exam. The UPSC Mains Exam Preparation requires you to stay on the learning curve for over 18 months. During this time, discipline is the only thing that will help you achieve your goal. However, excessive focus on studies and neglecting your health and mental well-being can be counterproductive.

Here are some of the reasons why it is important to stay fit and healthy while preparing for the UPSC Mains Exam:

• Physical fitness can help you maintain focus and concentration. When you are physically fit, you have more energy and stamina, which can help you stay focused and concentrated on your studies.
• Mental fitness can help you deal with stress and anxiety. The UPSC exam is a stressful exam, and it is important to have the mental strength to deal with the stress.
• Good health can help you avoid illness and injury. When you are healthy, you are less likely to get sick or injured, which can help you stay on track with your studies.

Do’s and Don'ts while Preparing for UPSC Mains

Preparing for the UPSC Mains examination is a rigorous and challenging process. Here are some do's and don'ts to help you navigate this journey effectively:

• Form a daily time table and follow it meticulously.
• Be regular with your studies, including the coverage of current affairs.
• Allot proportionately the time to cover G.S, Optional Subject and Essay.
• Revise your lessons regularly.
• Access your performance periodically.
• Never procrastinate
• Never postpone the development of writing skills
• Don't try to cover too much at once. Focus on quality rather than quantity in your preparation.
• Avoid comparing your progress with others. Everyone's journey is unique, and what works for one person may not work for you.
• Never take lightly the language papers that are compulsory.
• Stay confident in your abilities and stay motivated throughout your UPSC Mains preparation.

FAQs on UPSC Mains Preparation

How to prepare for upsc mains.

To prepare for the UPSC Mains, candidates need to have a strong strategy and a well-structured timetable. They should start by reading the NCERT textbooks, which provide a solid foundation in the basic concepts. Then, they can move on to more advanced books and materials. It is also important to make their own notes, which can be helpful for revision.

Are NCERT Books sufficient to prepare for UPSC Mains?

The NCERT books are a good starting point for IAS exam preparation, but they are not sufficient. They cover the basic concepts, but you will need to refer to other resources to cover the entire syllabus, such as advanced textbooks for different subjects, test series, PYQs, etc.

How hard is the UPSC Mains Exam?

The UPSC Mains Exam is considered challenging due to its comprehensive syllabus and demand for analytical thinking. It assesses candidates' depth of knowledge, writing skills, and ability to connect concepts across subjects. Success requires thorough preparation, consistent practice, and a strategic approach, making it a rigorous evaluation of candidates' aptitude for civil services roles.

How much time is required to Prepare for UPSC Mains?

The time required to prepare for UPSC Mains varies based on factors like prior knowledge, study hours per day, and familiarity with the syllabus. On average, a focused and well-structured preparation of 3-4 months is recommended . This duration allows for in-depth coverage of subjects, multiple revisions, and extensive answer writing practice, ensuring a comprehensive readiness for the examination.

How to prepare for UPSC Mains Answer Writing?

Preparing for UPSC Mains answer writing involves consistent practice. Analyse past papers and syllabus to identify key areas. Develop a structured approach with clear introductions, main points, examples, and conclusions. Follow the 7-5-3 answer writing approach in your answer writing. Regularly engage in timed writing sessions, seek feedback, and refine your style to ensure clarity, depth, and conciseness in your answers.

How to prepare for UPSC Mains without coaching?

Preparing for UPSC Mains without coaching involves self-discipline. Follow a well-structured timetable with focused study hours. Utilise standard textbooks and online resources for comprehensive coverage. Engage in self-assessment through mock tests and previous years' papers, and seek guidance from experienced candidates or mentors when needed.

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UPSC Mains Essay Paper

The UPSC essay paper is one of the important papers of the civil services mains exam. Furthermore, the marks obtained in the UPSC essay paper 2022 will be counted for merit ranking. Thus, it is essential to give priority to essay papers in preparation.

In broader terms, candidates are required to write two essays, pick one IAS essay topics from each of sections A and B and write in about 1000-1200 words each. Moreover, each UPSC essay paper carries 125 marks, making a maximum of 250 marks.

Thus, the candidates should adhere to the best books, and strategies, and solve the previous year’s UPSC essay paper with answers to prepare well for this section.

In this article, we have shared complete details on the Essay 1 exam paper for the candidates aspiring for the upcoming UPSC IAS exam.

UPSC Essay Topics-Overview

• As per the UPSC notification , the essay paper is one of the nine subjects in the IAS main exam. Thus, the candidates are required to write essays on multiple topics.
• Hence, it is advised to stay updated with the subject of the essay to arrange their ideas in proper order and write concisely.
• Moreover, credit is usually given for effective and exact expression. The maximum mark for essay questions UPSC is 250 and the exam duration is 3 hours.

UPSC Essay Previous Year Papers

Candidates should solve past UPSC essay paper with answers to strengthen their preparation. This will improve their writing skills and also help them to understand essay UPSC topics asked in the exam over years.

Hence, we have shared below the official UPSC essay previous paper PDF link for ease of the aspirants.

How to Prepare for UPSC Essay Topics in IAS 2023 Exam?

While preparing for the IAS mains exam, candidates devote their maximum time to studying general studies and optional subjects. However, they should give equal importance to the UPSC essay paper .

Let’s look at the best preparation tips to excel in the Essay 1 exam paper .

• Inculcate the habit of reading newspaper editorials on a daily basis. It is also observed that many times essay questions are based on current affairs.
• Next, jot down relevant quotes from the newspaper/books and use them when writing an essay.
• Practice writing on the IAS essay topics related to health, women, education, science, internet, technology, etc to improve your vocabulary and overall writing skills.
• Select the essay topic wisely. Candidates should go through all the topics carefully and pick the topic they are familiar with.
• Candidates should also ensure that their essay includes an introduction, body, basic theme, and conclusion.
• Lastly, ask for feedback on the essay from the mentors, seniors, or teachers. This will help them to discover their weak points and allow them to focus more on improving the same for better results.

Best Books for UPSC Essay Paper

Along with the best preparation strategy, candidates should pick the most reliable Books for UPSC and study material for the essay paper. Let’s look at the expert-recommended books for essay preparation shared below:

Check the latest CSAT books for UPSC.

Q1. How to write an essay for IAS exam?

Ans. Candidates must prepare an outline first before writing the essay. This will also help them to prepare an introduction/conclusion, ideas, quotes, etc that can be used to write a good essay for the IAS exam.

Q2. What comes in essay paper of UPSC?

Ans. The UPSC essay paper is one of the nine subjects in the IAS main exam. Moreover, candidates need to write two essays with a word limit of 1000–1200 for each paper. Each essay paper carries 125 marks, making a maximum of 250 marks.

Q3. Which type of essay comes in IAS exam?

Ans. There are four types of essays in the IAS mains exam including narrative essay, descriptive essay, informative essay, and persuasive essay.

Q4. Is handwriting important for IAS?

Ans. Candidates will not get extra marks for good handwriting in the essay paper because the quality of the answer matters. However, bad handwriting can definitely decrease the chances of scoring high marks on the paper.

Q5. How can I improve my UPSC essay?

Ans. To improve the UPSC essay preparation , one should keep their outline consistent, avoid using too many jargon/technical terms, and practice essay writing to strengthen the preparation.

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How to conquer GS in UPSC Mains, Explained

Note: My book,  Fundamentals of Essay and Answer Writing is now available both in paperback and e-book versions. It’s a comprehensive guide that helps you write better Essays and Answers in the UPSC Mains Exam. You can know about the book here .

In this article, I elaborate on my preparation strategy for UPSC Civil Services Exam (Mains) exam, particularly General Studies (GS).

With 1000 marks spanning across four papers in Mains, GS feels like one giant, insurmountable mountain. The point of this article is to convince you that those fears are unfounded.

I’ve written this post assuming someone who had already read the foundational books for GS Prelims. If you haven’t read them as yet, you should first read my post on GS Prelims . At the end of this article, I embedded download links to my complete GS notes and answer copies. There I had marked two particular answer booklets that accurately represent my writing style in Mains. I hope aspirants who are struggling with answer writing find them useful. I had also written previously about the  Essay preparation and Essay writing.

As you start reading the books I mention here for GS mains, please keep the following points in mind:

• Along with these books, get a printout of the syllabus and read it carefully. Your final aim must be: for each topic mentioned in the syllabus, you should have enough content to write a 250-word answer.
• Go through the past five years’ question papers to understand the breadth and depth of questions UPSC usually asks. It’ll give you a good perspective of what’s important and what’s not.
• Use the internet extensively, especially for topics like Science and Tech. Your target must be to gain knowledge, be it through books or through the internet.
• For all subjects, you have to superimpose current affairs over it, especially for GS-2 and GS-3. For both these papers, current affairs form the nucleus. You will inevitably do a lot of reading on the internet, so use Evernote   to organise and highlight content like this .
• Give adequate time for revision. Without it, you will not be able to recollect whatever you may have read. So please dedicate enough time to it, whether you are giving a mock test or the actual exam.
• Many aspirants commit one fundamental mistake: they read and revise, over and over, but never practise. Remember that the examiner checking your copy will have no idea about the number of books you’ve read or the number of hours you’ve slogged. Your answers are all that he has to judge you. So it makes sense to learn it, practise it and perfect it.
• Mains exam demands not only our memory and intelligence but also endurance. If you lack prior practice, writing relentlessly for 6 hours a day and do this for 5 days will cause both mental and physical fatigue. The only way to overcome it is to practice enough before the final exam.
• General Studies demands only a peripheral understanding of an expansive set of topics. So it’s important that you try to gain minimum sufficient knowledge over a diverse set of subjects rather than obsessively focussing on one topic. For instance, it doesn’t make sense to read World History for three months at the expense of all other subjects. Always maintain that fine balance between all the topics and don’t get imprisoned in one.
• In GS, there will be very few questions where you will have absolutely no clue. Even if you only have a vague idea, write those generic points. For instance, in last year’s GS-1 paper, for the question on Malay peninsula, I knew no specific fact except a vague idea that Singapore had a partition story similar to India. So I just wrote a generic answer comprising of problems such as ethnic strife, insurgency, and economic collapse. The examiner checking my copy might have given 2-3 marks for it, which I am sure any aspirant would gladly take.
• You must develop the skill to speed read a committee or an organisation’s report on your computer (reading online saves you a lot of time) and highlight important lines as you read along. In the second reading, this highlighted portion is what you need to revise. It should look something like this .
• In GS papers, map of India is your most effective tool for illustration. For example, I drew India maps and labelled relevant parts for questions on river linkage (GS-3), North-East insurgency (GS-3), Inland navigation (GS-1), India’s 18th-century fragmented polity (GS-1) etc. Practise it enough so that you are able to draw and label it under 60 seconds.
• If you are taking a test series, please give those tests with all the seriousness of the final UPSC exam. In the mock test, if you take 10-15 additional minutes to finish the paper, you are cheating no one except yourself. Observe strict time limits.
• You will never feel content with your Mains preparation and there is always a nagging tendency to just keep reading and procrastinate writing answers or skip an upcoming test. You have to overcome this reluctance through conscious effort. Suppose before a mock test if you were unable to finish the syllabus, you can postpone your test by a day or two, but don’t skip it altogether.
• Perfectionism is your enemy. If you keep referring to countless sources to make that “perfect notes”, if you keep postponing your mock tests in order to write “perfect tests”, this mentality will bring you to ruin. Getting a good score in Mains is about attempting all questions to which some answers are excellent, some good and many above average. So instead of waiting for that elusive perfection, start imperfect and then keep improving.
• When you are buying coaching material, always ask yourself: “what new is this material adding to my preparation?” If you can’t answer that question convincingly, then the material probably isn’t really useful.
• Just because I am AIR-1, it does not mean that my notes are the best or that this book list is the last word. If you have been studying some other material, that’s fine, too. To succeed in this exam, the source of material is not important. What’s important is you to understand the concepts, memorise the facts well and have a firm grip over the entire syllabus.

Stiffer the climb, better the view.

The list of books for GS Mains:

Indian Art and Culture

• An Introduction to Indian Art – Class XI NCERT
• Chapters related to culture in Ancient and Medieval India NCERTs
• Centre for Cultural Resource and Training (CCRT) material
• Heritage Crafts: Living Craft Traditions of India -NCERT
• For someone who is starting just now, this topic can overwhelm them. So I suggest beginners read this section after they get acquainted with other GS topics.
• In Art and Culture, questions asked by UPSC in recent years are more analytical— which requires both the 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 it’s important that you read NCERT XI Ancient India for it gives you that historical context.
• For instance, don’t just memorise features of say, Sangam literature or Chola architecture, but understand the social, political, religious and economic context in which such grand art was produced. They will form the analysis part and will help you write great answers.
• Make good use of the internet to watch both visual and performing arts to understand how they actually look in real life. You will be able to recollect such visuals more easily. They will help you write a decent answer for questions which you only have a vague idea about.
• Wherever relevant, draw diagrams to illustrate your answers. For instance, you can draw a rough sketch to show the features of a Stupa, Dravida, and Nagara style architecture, Paleolithic art, Folk arts such as Warli, Harappan pottery etc. You don’t need to be a Michelangelo for this, but you must ensure that the fundamentals are correct. For example, in Warli art, human bodies are represented by triangles, heads by circles and hands by simple lines. Just get these basics right. Link to download diagrams is given at the end of the article.
• Art and Culture requires a ton of memorisation and there’s really no shortcut to mastering it except through multiple revisions.

Modern Indian History

• A Brief History of Modern India- Spectrum Publications
• India’s Struggle for Independence – Bipan Chandra (Read selectively for topics not covered in the Spectrum book)
• Questions on Indian history are something that every serious aspirant will answer well, so you really cannot afford to let go of these questions. If you had done your prelims preparation for this topic well, that is good enough. You just need to practise answer writing.

India’s Post Independence History

• India Since Independence by Bipan Chandra
• For certain topics, I made notes from this book. Download link is given at the end.

World History

• I prepared entirely for this topic from this outstanding book called World History: Patterns of Interaction by McDougal Littell. For UPSC, read from Chapter 22 to Chapter 36: You can download the book from this link: Download
• Since revising this big book before the exam was difficult, I prepared concise notes from it. I also practised maps to demonstrate major world historical events.
• Link to download my notes and maps is given at the end of the article.
• The study plan is the same as for prelims, which I’ve explained here.
• Indian Society
• This is a generic, nebulous topic with no style or structure. Questions are sometimes vague, philosophical and the challenge we face is not so much in lack of content as in presenting it concisely in 200 odd words. To understand the basics, read NCERT Sociology Std XI and XII. Make concise notes on each topic that includes: a crisp definition, latest statistics, govt schemes, criticism of these schemes; causes of issues such as communalism and regionalism, historical and current examples, their impact on our society, and your suggestions as the way ahead. (you can get these suggestions from the internet or ARC 2 or some committee report). In case if you find good coaching material for these topics, that’ll do as well.
• For this topic, a generic answer with proper structure and subheadings that cover multiple dimensions is good enough to fetch you marks. You can find my notes at the end of the article.

Polity, Governance and Social Justice

Static Portion:

• Polity Notes (this will provide analytical content. Download link is given at the end of the article)
• ARC 2 (One of the best reports ever written for the government. It’s been more than ten years since the reports were published, but the content is still priceless. Read complete reports, memorise only recommendations)

Current Affairs:

• The Big Picture on RSTV
• CivilsDaily current affairs material
• I also referred to Insights/ForumIAS current affairs material for topics not covered well by CivilsDaily
• PRS India for latest legislation
• All India Radio – Spotlight (used to listen during my commute to the office)
• Open your answers with Constitutional articles. Question on Governor? Art 153 must be there in the first line. Question on Civil Services? Art 312 is where you begin. If there’s a technical term like ‘Parliamentary Sovereignty’, ‘Political democracy’ or ‘Social Audit’ — define them in your introduction telling the examiner what you understand by those terms.
• Supreme Court judgements are very important. Make a list of important judgements (both historical and current) and quote them to substantiate your answer. For example, when you are answering a question on Free speech, quoting SC judgement in Shreya Singhal vs Union of India case will add tremendous value to your answers.
• For a debatable topic, always write both sides of the issue even if not explicitly asked in the question. Example: A question might ask:  Do you agree that Civil Services is in need of drastic reforms? For this, explain under a subheading why drastic reforms are needed. And in the next paragraph, counter by saying why drastic reforms are harmful. In the end, you can add the view of ARC 2/Hota/Surendranath committee to convey your view and end on a balanced note.
• For miscellaneous topics like the comparison of Constitutions, RPA Act, SHG, e-Governance etc refer to any good coaching material to have 200-word worth content. Source latest examples and issues from newspapers and quote them in your answers.
• Prepare thoroughly on Govt policies and bills. PRS India is an excellent resource for all the latest legislation in the offing and The Hindu for policy criticism. But the newspaper is patently leftist and they publish articles incessantly and nauseatingly ranting on policies they don’t like (Eg: Aadhar). But as someone aspiring to be a civil servant, you need to be more dispassionate. This is why you must actively pursue articles with a contrarian and balanced opinions like this and this .
• Cram latest statistics pertaining to health, employment, women, education, poverty etc. Also apart from committees, you may quote authentic reports from reputed organisations such as Lancet, Transparency International, UNICEF, FAO etc to substantiate your point. I made notes on important statistics that can be used for all papers of GS and essay. Download link is given at the end of the article.
• Conclusion: Wherever possible, end with a committee/ commission recommendation or observation. For instance, a question on Centre-State relations should invariably end with Punchhi Commission, a question on death penalty with Law Commission and a question on Indian Constitution with NCRWC. Referring to Sustainable Development Goals, Preamble, DPSP is also another good way to end your answers.

International Relations

• Any good book that adequately covers the historical aspect of India’s bilateral relations.
• Current affairs: The Hindu, India’s World on RSTV, CivilsDaily or Insights or ForumIAS depending upon the topic.
• Questions on IR will be almost, always be about the current happenings in the world. But before you run after the Hindu or some other latest magazine for this section, it’s important that you understand the historical background of India’s relationship with other countries. This is indispensable because every bilateral issue that you see in the news can be traced back to history. Once you understand this historical context, this topic becomes uncomplicated.
• For example, let’s take India China relations. Don’t merely focus on Doklam crisis and troop positioning, but understand the larger context of our border dispute with China, the agreements we had signed starting with the Simla Accord of 1914. For India-Sri Lanka, don’t just concentrate that India voted for or against Sri Lanka at the UN, but understand how India always championed peace between the Tamils and the Sinhalese, the 1987 accord, its fallout, Sri Lankan civil war and what India did during these times. When you have that bigger picture in mind, each part of the puzzle becomes easier to fit in.
• For miscellaneous topics like diaspora and international institutions, refer to any good coaching material.
• Draw map wherever relevant. Example: for India-Iran relations, you can draw a rough map to show how the Chabahar port helps us to bypass Pakistan and reach Afghanistan. Act East policy can be demonstrated with arrows pointing from India and showing our specific relationship with Vietnam, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Australia and ASEAN, MGC, BIMSTEC etc.,
• Each bilateral relationship or a global grouping is multi-faceted. To make your answers comprehensive, always write a multidimensional perspective that includes: the strategic dimension, defence co-operation, technology, education, culture, diaspora, trade and investment, co-operation in global fora etc.

Static part:

• Standard resources I already mentioned in my prelims post
• Budget (any coaching material compilation)
• Economic Survey (gist)
• Niti 3-year Action Plan report (a good resource for policy recommendations that come in handy while you write conclusion)
• CivilsDaily
• I referred to Insights/ForumIAS current affairs material for topics not covered well by CivilsDaily

Indian Agriculture, Land reforms, PDS, Food Processing, LPG, Infrastructure

• The Hindu and CivilsDaily for current affairs
• You need to remember that for GS-3, questions revolve around current affairs and there is no dearth of material. It may sound counter-intuitive, but the trick is to restrict yourself to material that’s good enough for you to write a 250-word answer for all topics. It’s very important that you don’t get sunk under the heap of current affairs and coaching material.
• So for each topic mentioned in the syllabus, make concise notes from the resources mentioned above. I also found Niti Aayog’s 3-year Action Plan report really helpful for this paper. And just as I had mentioned for GS-2, statistics and committee reports are very important.
• Vajiram and Vision IAS material
• Prepare crisp and clear definitions of technical terms such as cybersecurity, terrorism, organised crime, money laundering, left-wing extremism etc.
• For questions on border security, draw India map to illustrate.

Disaster Management

• Fundamental reading: CBSE book
• Prepare concise notes on NDMA (structure, functions, rules etc), international agreements such as Sendai Framework, latest current affairs from newspapers, internet and coaching material.
• Draw diagrams to illustrate concepts like river embankment, land zoning, watershed management etc.

Environment and Ecology

• Shankar IAS book
• My handwritten notes (Download link given at the end)

Science & Tech

• Vision IAS Mains 365
• This topic terrifies many aspirants, and for good reason. There’s no single book or resource to help one navigate this section and it all feels like one big haze. But there’s good news: the questions asked in S&T are mostly from current affairs and you are expected to have only a general understanding of the topics.
• During my preparation, I used to note down in my book whatever scientific term or technology that’s frequently talked about in news. For instance, these days we repeatedly encounter terms such as Artificial General Intelligence, Blockchain, Machine Learning, Cryptocurrency, CRISPR-CAS9 in news and on the internet.
• Note down all such scientific concepts that are in news and then scour the internet (especially Youtube) to understand them. There are many explainer videos on Youtube that explain the concept so well that even a school student can understand it. For instance, take this excellent video on blockchain technology. Once you see it, it’s impossible for you to miss a question on blockchain and its practical applications.
• Apart from the above, you need to learn fundamental terms and technologies used in Space (PSLV, GSLV, Cryo Engine etc), Nanotech, Nuclear Research (Fast breeder reactor, Uranium enrichment, Nuclear fission and fusion etc.), Defence (Cruise missile, Ballistic missile, Stealth Bomber etc), Biotech (Gene editing, Stem Cells, GM food etc), Communication (LIDAR, RADAR, LiFi, 5G etc). Any comprehensive material of a coaching institute will be sufficient for this (I referred to Vajiram printed notes).
• Whatever S&T topic you are learning, always focus on the concept, why is it in news, practical applications, potential threats, benefits far into the future etc. Just do this and you will easily handle this topic in the final exam.
• 2nd ARC reports: Ethics in Governance, Promoting E-gov, RTI, Citizen-centric Administration, Personnel Administration. Read all ARC reports completely, memorise only recommendations.
• For moral thinkers, Google them to read about their major contributions and for misc topics such as corporate governance, I referred to Vajiram printed material. I also prepared some notes for certain topics (download link at the end of the article)
• I went through the syllabus and tried to define each term in clear words and simple sentences. I found this exercise very useful because these definitions inevitably formed the introduction to most of my answers. For all of ethics paper, the essence can be distilled as just this: a clear and simple definition of the term and a real-life example to illustrate the concept. You can draw flowcharts and schematics wherever apt.
• It’s important to understand that each question is an opportunity to display your ethics. This will be best demonstrated by the actions you did or some other personalised/ real-life examples you quote. Reflect on your childhood, school life, college time, professional career etc and glean examples that are simple, unpretentious and at the same time bring out your ethical values clearly. For some questions, you can also quote historical examples from the lives of great leaders.
• For case studies, my aim was not so much in writing ingenious, extraordinary solutions, but to write something that’s realistic and practicable and finish the paper no matter what.
• I always started with Q1 and not with case studies because I could not see how one mark in Section B (case studies) is superior to one mark in Section A. I gave equal importance and dedicated equal time to both the sections.
• Rest of the GS papers have 20 questions each, Ethics has only 14. But don’t let that number 14 fool you. I’ve always found GS-4 to be the lengthiest paper of all. Every question in Section A has many subparts that drain an inordinate amount of your time. In fact, if we go by the absolute numbers, we write more words in GS-4 than in other papers. So to manage your time well: Abide by the rule that you must complete at least 80 marks worth of questions in each hour, irrespective of whether you start with Section A or Section B.
• Just before GS-4, you would have had written three stressful GS papers that would put your body condition under severe mental and physical strain. But it’s important to stay mentally tough during this crucial period and push your endurance limits so as to survive another 3 hours of relentless writing. Remember that it’s all in the mind— it can be your biggest enemy or your greatest strength.
• World History Textbook
• World History Notes
• World History Maps
• Art and Culture Diagrams
• India Since Independence
• Geography – Resource Distribution
• Constitutional Articles you need to memorise
• Environment
• Important Statistics for GS
• ARC 2 Notes
• Quote collection
• List of important topics

My GS Answer Copies

• Answer Booklet 1
• Answer Booklet 2 (accurately represents my writing style in the final exam)

I hope this article on UPSC Mains preparation and tips for GS answer writing helped you.

GS may look insurmountable at first, but remember that it’s always the small steps towards the summit that count. Through effective planning and adequate practice, anyone can conquer it.

Best wishes, Anudeep.

Note: My book,  Fundamentals of Essay and Answer Writing is now available. It’s a comprehensive guide that helps you write better Essays and Answers in the UPSC Mains Exam. You can know about the book here .

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597 thoughts on “ How to conquer GS in UPSC Mains, Explained ”

i will break in 2022

Sir can you tell us, about your csat strategi, books and any suggestions for us

I dont know how i stumbled upon your blogs while searching for wether to join a coaching, thing is i was preparing on my own but suddenly after the demise of my father this month my focus broke i was having a hard time coping up with the reality and couldnt concentrate on studies and felt enrolling into a coaching institute might solve my problem but glad that i found your website and it reinforced the idea that attending classes wouldnt be great for me, hope i can gather courage and face the exam in 2025. If i do manage to get into my desired post which is forest services i would surely drop by to thank you.

Sir could you please tell us the sources for key natural resouces distribution and location of industries that you referred while preparing your notes and how one should manage this very topic

Sir how many time we have revise or syllabus before apperaing in exam

Sir, all words really helpful.

Sir, Which institutes GS Test series is the best for practice?

Sir should we have to read ncert for science

Thanks for your advise.

Thanks sir . This is very helpful

Thank you so much Sir . Does conceptual understanding improve retention.

Sir in your gs 3 mock tests you have written solutions and challenges in one or two sentences without much explaining them. So sir we can also do this or need to explain each and every point which we write. Sir please tell.

sir pls tell which book is better for international relation to develop basics

Thanks a lot For Sharing this information

Sir, what is the CBSE book you mentioned for disaster management? The link seems to be broken. I’m new to UPSC preparation. Awaiting you reply sir, please help…

Thanks for providing such information.

Sir, Which is the selective chapters in the art and culture? Please help me sir.

Thanks 🙏🏻 sir , you combined all my queries’ answers. Kindly give some tips on how to CONQUER THE PRELIMS. Hope you will. 🙏🏻

P shruth Sir please tell me best books for csat for math’s and optioninal subject of anthrupalogy

Thank you so much for the wonderful information

Hi ,Anudeep,can you suggest me which online test series would be the best for prelims and mains

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NPR defends its journalism after senior editor says it has lost the public's trust

David Folkenflik

NPR is defending its journalism and integrity after a senior editor wrote an essay accusing it of losing the public's trust. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

NPR is defending its journalism and integrity after a senior editor wrote an essay accusing it of losing the public's trust.

NPR's top news executive defended its journalism and its commitment to reflecting a diverse array of views on Tuesday after a senior NPR editor wrote a broad critique of how the network has covered some of the most important stories of the age.

"An open-minded spirit no longer exists within NPR, and now, predictably, we don't have an audience that reflects America," writes Uri Berliner.

A strategic emphasis on diversity and inclusion on the basis of race, ethnicity and sexual orientation, promoted by NPR's former CEO, John Lansing, has fed "the absence of viewpoint diversity," Berliner writes.

NPR's chief news executive, Edith Chapin, wrote in a memo to staff Tuesday afternoon that she and the news leadership team strongly reject Berliner's assessment.

"We're proud to stand behind the exceptional work that our desks and shows do to cover a wide range of challenging stories," she wrote. "We believe that inclusion — among our staff, with our sourcing, and in our overall coverage — is critical to telling the nuanced stories of this country and our world."

NPR names tech executive Katherine Maher to lead in turbulent era

She added, "None of our work is above scrutiny or critique. We must have vigorous discussions in the newsroom about how we serve the public as a whole."

A spokesperson for NPR said Chapin, who also serves as the network's chief content officer, would have no further comment.

Praised by NPR's critics

Berliner is a senior editor on NPR's Business Desk. (Disclosure: I, too, am part of the Business Desk, and Berliner has edited many of my past stories. He did not see any version of this article or participate in its preparation before it was posted publicly.)

Berliner's essay , titled "I've Been at NPR for 25 years. Here's How We Lost America's Trust," was published by The Free Press, a website that has welcomed journalists who have concluded that mainstream news outlets have become reflexively liberal.

Berliner writes that as a Subaru-driving, Sarah Lawrence College graduate who "was raised by a lesbian peace activist mother ," he fits the mold of a loyal NPR fan.

Yet Berliner says NPR's news coverage has fallen short on some of the most controversial stories of recent years, from the question of whether former President Donald Trump colluded with Russia in the 2016 election, to the origins of the virus that causes COVID-19, to the significance and provenance of emails leaked from a laptop owned by Hunter Biden weeks before the 2020 election. In addition, he blasted NPR's coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

On each of these stories, Berliner asserts, NPR has suffered from groupthink due to too little diversity of viewpoints in the newsroom.

The essay ricocheted Tuesday around conservative media , with some labeling Berliner a whistleblower . Others picked it up on social media, including Elon Musk, who has lambasted NPR for leaving his social media site, X. (Musk emailed another NPR reporter a link to Berliner's article with a gibe that the reporter was a "quisling" — a World War II reference to someone who collaborates with the enemy.)

When asked for further comment late Tuesday, Berliner declined, saying the essay spoke for itself.

The arguments he raises — and counters — have percolated across U.S. newsrooms in recent years. The #MeToo sexual harassment scandals of 2016 and 2017 forced newsrooms to listen to and heed more junior colleagues. The social justice movement prompted by the killing of George Floyd in 2020 inspired a reckoning in many places. Newsroom leaders often appeared to stand on shaky ground.

Leaders at many newsrooms, including top editors at The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times , lost their jobs. Legendary Washington Post Executive Editor Martin Baron wrote in his memoir that he feared his bonds with the staff were "frayed beyond repair," especially over the degree of self-expression his journalists expected to exert on social media, before he decided to step down in early 2021.

Since then, Baron and others — including leaders of some of these newsrooms — have suggested that the pendulum has swung too far.

Author Interviews

Legendary editor marty baron describes his 'collision of power' with trump and bezos.

New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger warned last year against journalists embracing a stance of what he calls "one-side-ism": "where journalists are demonstrating that they're on the side of the righteous."

"I really think that that can create blind spots and echo chambers," he said.

Internal arguments at The Times over the strength of its reporting on accusations that Hamas engaged in sexual assaults as part of a strategy for its Oct. 7 attack on Israel erupted publicly . The paper conducted an investigation to determine the source of a leak over a planned episode of the paper's podcast The Daily on the subject, which months later has not been released. The newsroom guild accused the paper of "targeted interrogation" of journalists of Middle Eastern descent.

Heated pushback in NPR's newsroom

Given Berliner's account of private conversations, several NPR journalists question whether they can now trust him with unguarded assessments about stories in real time. Others express frustration that he had not sought out comment in advance of publication. Berliner acknowledged to me that for this story, he did not seek NPR's approval to publish the piece, nor did he give the network advance notice.

Some of Berliner's NPR colleagues are responding heatedly. Fernando Alfonso, a senior supervising editor for digital news, wrote that he wholeheartedly rejected Berliner's critique of the coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict, for which NPR's journalists, like their peers, periodically put themselves at risk.

Alfonso also took issue with Berliner's concern over the focus on diversity at NPR.

"As a person of color who has often worked in newsrooms with little to no people who look like me, the efforts NPR has made to diversify its workforce and its sources are unique and appropriate given the news industry's long-standing lack of diversity," Alfonso says. "These efforts should be celebrated and not denigrated as Uri has done."

After this story was first published, Berliner contested Alfonso's characterization, saying his criticism of NPR is about the lack of diversity of viewpoints, not its diversity itself.

"I never criticized NPR's priority of achieving a more diverse workforce in terms of race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. I have not 'denigrated' NPR's newsroom diversity goals," Berliner said. "That's wrong."

Questions of diversity

Under former CEO John Lansing, NPR made increasing diversity, both of its staff and its audience, its "North Star" mission. Berliner says in the essay that NPR failed to consider broader diversity of viewpoint, noting, "In D.C., where NPR is headquartered and many of us live, I found 87 registered Democrats working in editorial positions and zero Republicans."

Berliner cited audience estimates that suggested a concurrent falloff in listening by Republicans. (The number of people listening to NPR broadcasts and terrestrial radio broadly has declined since the start of the pandemic.)

Former NPR vice president for news and ombudsman Jeffrey Dvorkin tweeted , "I know Uri. He's not wrong."

Others questioned Berliner's logic. "This probably gets causality somewhat backward," tweeted Semafor Washington editor Jordan Weissmann . "I'd guess that a lot of NPR listeners who voted for [Mitt] Romney have changed how they identify politically."

Similarly, Nieman Lab founder Joshua Benton suggested the rise of Trump alienated many NPR-appreciating Republicans from the GOP.

In recent years, NPR has greatly enhanced the percentage of people of color in its workforce and its executive ranks. Four out of 10 staffers are people of color; nearly half of NPR's leadership team identifies as Black, Asian or Latino.

"The philosophy is: Do you want to serve all of America and make sure it sounds like all of America, or not?" Lansing, who stepped down last month, says in response to Berliner's piece. "I'd welcome the argument against that."

"On radio, we were really lagging in our representation of an audience that makes us look like what America looks like today," Lansing says. The U.S. looks and sounds a lot different than it did in 1971, when NPR's first show was broadcast, Lansing says.

A network spokesperson says new NPR CEO Katherine Maher supports Chapin and her response to Berliner's critique.

The spokesperson says that Maher "believes that it's a healthy thing for a public service newsroom to engage in rigorous consideration of the needs of our audiences, including where we serve our mission well and where we can serve it better."

Disclosure: This story was reported and written by NPR Media Correspondent David Folkenflik and edited by Deputy Business Editor Emily Kopp and Managing Editor Gerry Holmes. Under NPR's protocol for reporting on itself, no NPR corporate official or news executive reviewed this story before it was posted publicly.

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Essay Paper UPSC 2020 (Mains): Question Paper and Analysis

Last updated on January 9, 2021 by ClearIAS Team

UPSC conducted the  Essay Paper , as part of the Civil Services Main Exam 2020 on 08-01-2021.

There were 8 Essay topics, out of which candidates were asked to write on two topics in 3 hours.

Table of Contents

Essay Paper UPSC 2020 Instructions

• Total Marks: 250 marks, Time duration: 3 hours.
• The essay must be written in the medium authorized in the admission certificate which must be stated clearly on the cover of this question-cum-answer (QCA) booklet in the space provided.
• No marks will be given for answers written in the medium other than the authorized one.
• Word limit, as specified, should be adhered to.
• Any page or portion of the page left blank, must be struck off clearly.

Essay Question Paper – UPSC Civil Services Main Exam (Written) 2020

Write two essays, choosing one topic from each of the following Sections A and B, in about 1000-1200 words each:

• Life is long journey between human being and being humane
• Mindful manifesto is the catalyst to a tranquil self
• Ships do not sink because of water around them,  ships sink because of water that gets into them
• Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication
• Culture is what we are, civilization is what we have
• There can be no social justice without economic prosperity but economic prosperity without social justice is meaningless
• Patriarchy is the least noticed yet the most significant structure of social inequality
• Technology as the silent factor in international relations

Though aspirants were asked to write only two essays out of eight, most aspirants faced difficulty to select the right combination of two essays.

A philosophical theme was present in most of the essay topics in Section A as well as Section B.

As per most aspirants, the essay topic ‘Mindful manifesto is the catalyst to a tranquil self’ seemed the most tricky one. Only a few attempted that topic.

UPSC has ensured that the essay topics were much different from the GS questions.

As we have mentioned many times, Essay needs a different approach than GS. Only those candidates with good essay writing skills will score high in this year’s essay paper.

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JEE Main 2024 Live Updates: When will NTA release JEE final answer key

Jee mains 2024 session 2 live updates: once released, candidates will be able to check the final answer key at the official website -- jeemain.nta.ac.in..

JEE Mains 2024 Session 2 Final Answer Key Live Updates: The National Testing Agency (NTA) will soon release the final answer key for the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main 2024, session 2 for paper 1. Once released, candidates will be able to check the final answer key at the official website — jeemain.nta.ac.in.

In the session 1 exam of 2024, the NTA dropped six questions in the final answer key — three in mathematics and three in physics. Also, a physics question from the January 30 (first shift) with the question ID 533543864 has two answers: 5335432831, 5335432832.

A total of 23 students achieved 100 percentile marks in JEE Main 2024 session 1 . Telangana had the highest number of 100 percentile holders with seven followed by Maharashtra , Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan with three each. Delhi and Haryana had two 100 percentile holders. One each from Tamil Nadu , Gujarat and Karnataka had also scored 100 percentile marks.

JEE Main 2024 Final Answer Key Live Updates: Will there be negative marking for JEE Main?

Yes. For every wrong answers marked, NTA will cut one mark each. 

JEE Mains 2024 Live Updates: Is JEE Main answer key releasing now?

The JEE Main 2024 final answer key will likely be released by tonight. The jeemain.nta.ac.in website will host the JEE Main final answer key.

JEE Main 2024 Final Answer Key Live Updates: Humanities and Social Sciences popularity at IITs

The popularity of Social Science courses is that they allow students at the IITs to be able to talk about their social location in informed and reflexive terms and thus also to make good academic sense of social diversity and difference.

JEE Main 2024 Final Answer Key Live Updates: IIT Madras BS programme

The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) is inviting applications for BS in Data Science and Applications & Electronic Systems . Interested students can apply at study.iitm.ac.in/ds and study.iitm.ac.in/es. The last date for application is May 26. The institute will offer up to 75 per cent scholarships to the economically disadvantaged learners.

JEE Mains 2024 Live Updates: 'Kota is misrepresented city'

Kota District Collector Ravindra Goswami once came to the city known as the education hub of the country with the hopes of cracking the Pre-Medical Test (now known as NEET UG) and making it big in life. However, after spending less than a week in the city, he decided it was not a place for him. But like they say, never judge a book by its cover; he now not only represents the city but even finds it one of the most beautiful places in the country .

JEE Main 2024 Final Answer Key Live Updates: Is sleeping less and studying more help?

Responding to the viral tweet, psychologist Manjuri Bharali Saikia said: “When one is sleep deprived, reaction time slows down, judgement capacity falls and concentration drops. Emotions also increase leading to irritations, anger issues and anxiety among students. With no time for self and less rest, the immune system also gets suppressed leading to illnesses which start from weight gain and obesity in young adults.”

Sleep, the psychologist and arts-based therapy practitioner said, plays an important role in the maintenance of our mental health. “Sleep is directly proportional to our mental and physical functioning. In today’s scenario, we see most adolescents are sleep-deprived due to their hectic routine and academic demands. As a mental health professional, I always believe that eight hours of sleep is required for the brain to absorb and retrieve all information one takes in throughout the day.”

For example, the psychologist added: “Take our brain just like a sponge and information like water. If we don’t squeeze out water from the sponge in regular intervals, there will be a time when the sponge will not be able to soak anymore water. Most young adults are now therefore in conditions like stress, anxiety brain fog and poor judgement capacity. It is important to have an overall development and have time for self. We must encourage our children to have a balance.”

Read | ‘Scored full marks, didn’t study half as much’: JEE toppers respond to the viral tweet

JEE Mains 2024 Live Updates: How to approach the JEE Advanced question paper?

— Switch between subjects efficiently: When faced with a variety of subjects in the question paper, it’s essential to allocate your time wisely. Don’t get stuck on one subject for too long. Instead, switch between subjects strategically. If you find yourself spending too much time on a particular question, mark it and move on to another subject. This way, you ensure that you cover as much ground as possible within the allocated time.

— Focus on the essence of the question: During exams, it’s common to struggle with understanding complex questions. However, remember, the most important thing is grasping the main idea being tested. Don’t spend too much time on fancy words or complicated stories. Get straight to the point and figure out what the question is really about.

Read more here

JEE Main 2024 Final Answer Key Live Updates: IIT Kharagpur announces curriculum reforms

IIT Kharagpur has announced several reforms in its UG programmes for sessions starting from the academic year 2024-25. Admission to all UG programmes will be for five-year – BTech and BS levels only. The students will be able to opt for the five-year dual degree programmes after the second or third year of their study. Depending upon the suitability and interest, the students can choose a five-year dual degree programme in his/her parent department or he/she can also choose the interdisciplinary dual degree programmes (IDDP) offered by several schools and centres of the institute.

JEE Mains 2024 Live Updates: JEE Main cut-off

In JEE Main session 1, students had achieved a percentile of 99.96 , setting the stage for competition, Nitin Vijay, founder and CEO of Motion Education reiterated. Considering that the session 2 paper 1 exams were moderately easier, he added, it is expected that the candidates will surpass the prior benchmark registered in session 1. With the majority of the questions coming from the Class 11 and 12 NCERT curriculum, there are chances that the students might outperform the session 1 result, he added.

JEE Main 2024 Final Answer Key Live Updates: IIT Kharagpur CSE cut-off

The IIT cut-off for CSE in IIT Kharagpur is rising. 

JEE Mains 2024 Live Updates: Differences between JEE Main and Advanced

Jee main 2024 final answer key live updates: jee mains marking scheme.

As per JEE Main marking scheme 2024, if more than one option is found to be correct then four marks will be awarded to only those who have marked any of the correct options and for questions where all options are found to be correct then four marks will be awarded to all those who have attempted the question.

If none of the options is found correct or a question is found to be wrong or a question is dropped then full marks will be awarded to all candidates who have appeared irrespective of the fact whether the question has been attempted or not attempted by the candidate.

JEE Mains 2024 Live Updates: Cut-off for JEE Advanced

According to Mohit Tyagi of Competishun, the JEE main cut-off to become eligible for JEE Advanced for general category candidates will see an increase — up from 90.7788642 last year to 92.19 this year. For OBC-NCL, the cut-off to be 77.67.

JEE Main 2024 Final Answer Key Live Updates: Student’s journey from a mud house in West Bengal to IIT Bombay

Biplab Singha discovered the JEE was the key to admission to the best engineering colleges in the country while he was in school. Motivated by this dream to get admitted to an IIT, he dedicated himself to preparing for his Class 10 exams in 2019 and managed to obtain a 93.57 per cent score, including a perfect 100 in mathematics. The Class 10 result which brought immense joy to his family, also earned him scholarships. 

Read his full story here

JEE Mains 2024 Live Updates: Free coaching by state governments

Considering the highly competitive nature and sky-rocketing fee of the coaching programmes of JEE Main, several state governments and school boards offer free coaching to engineering aspirants .

While some states provide free residential coaching programmes to all categories of students, several others have been offering engineering and medical entrance exam coaching to students belonging to certain categories of students including those only from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. Bihar, Assam, Delhi, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal are among some of the states.

JEE Main 2024 Final Answer Key Live Updates: 23 students score perfect 100 in session 1

As many as 23 male students across India scored a perfect 100 in the first session of  JEE Main results announced by the National Testing Agency on Tuesday, with the highest from Telangana. Among the 23, seven are from Telangana, three each from Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, two each from Delhi and Haryana, one each from Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Karnataka. In 2023, 20 students were on the list of perfect scorers in the first session.

JEE Mains 2024 Live Updates: What is the official website to download JEE Main answer key?

The JEE Main 2024 session 2 answer key will be released at jeemain.nta.ac.in. Candidates will not be required to use any credentials to check the JEE Main answer key 2024. NTA might also drop certain questions from paper 1 and alter some keys after considering the grievances raised against the answer keys.

JEE Mains 2024 Live Updates: Will answer key release today?

According to NTA, the JEE Main 2024 final answer key by April 16. If the challenges made by the candidate is found correct, the answer key will be revised and applied in the response of all the candidates accordingly. Based on the revised final answer keys, the result will be prepared and declared. The keys will be finalised by the experts after the settlement of the challenge will be final. 

JEE Mains 2024 Live Updates: Can exam be cancelled ?

The result of JEE Main 2024 of the candidates who indulge in unfair means practices will be cancelled and will not be declared. Similarly, the result of those candidates who appear from the centre other than the one allotted to them or allow another candidate/person to write the examination on his behalf will be cancelled. No plea will be entertained in this regard, NTA said.

JEE Mains 2024 Live Updates: Eligibility

Students must have passed qualifying examination with Physics and Mathematics as compulsory subjects along with one of the chemistry, biotechnology, biology, technical and vocational subjects. 

JEE Mains 2024 Live Updates: Application for JEE Advanced

The Indian Institute pf Technology, Madras (IIT M) has revised the JEE Advanced 2024 registration dates . As per the revised dates, the online registration process for JEE Advanced 2024 will begin on April 27.

JEE Main 2024 Final Answer Key Live Updates: Seat allocation

Candidates will be offered admission based on their choices and All India Ranks of JEE Main 2024 through a seat allocation process to be announced later by CSAB and JoSAA. The authentication and verification of relevant documents in support of identification, date of birth, qualifying examination, state of eligibility, category, and disability (if any) of the qualifying candidates would be done at the time of the seat allocation or admission process. On failing to produce any of the authentic documents, the candidate may not be considered for admission. 

JEE Mains 2024 Live Updates: ‘IIT-B is not just about classes and learning from curriculum’

Pranav Vivek Malpure, who is doing BTech in Aerospace Engineering at IIT Bombay , talks about how the electronics and robotics club there has transformed him into a confident person.

JEE Main 2024 Final Answer Key: In other news

Anand Kumar, founder of Super 30, will launch an online educational platform to help underprivileged students in India. He emphasized the importance of technology in reaching more students and giving opportunities to talented children in poverty. Kumar believes in society's responsibility to provide equal access to education and the power of hard work in achieving success.

JEE Main 2024 Final Answer Key Live Updates: Eligibility criteria

Jee mains 2024 live updates: use of jee main 2024 scores.

The merit list, scores and JEE Main 2024 result will be utilised by other entities of the central, state governments with their eligibility criteria, norms and applicable regulations, guidelines and rules. For the academic year 2024-25, admissions under MEA (Welfare) quota seats shall be based on the JEE Main. Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Technical University (AKTU) Lucknow and Madan Mohan Malviya University of Science and Technology Gorakhpur will also use the score of JEE Main 2024 for admission to the BTech, MTech (Integrated) and BArch courses in its affiliated colleges across the state.

From the academic year 2024-25, the Government of Goa has approved that admissions to engineering degree courses in the state engineering colleges in Goa will also be done based on JEE Main. 

JEE Main 2024 Final Answer Key Live Updates: FAQ

Question: Why should a candidate with 75 marks not always be considered to be better than another with 70 marks? After all, 75 is greater than 70.

Answer: In spite of best efforts by the question setters, NTA said, different question papers may have different levels of difficulty. It may be very easy to score 75 marks in one of the two papers while it may be very difficult to score even 70 in another, NTA added.

JEE Mains 2024 Live Updates: Can JEE Main result be cancelled?

Jee main 2024 final answer key live updates: marking scheme for numerical value questions.

There will be negative marking for Section B. However, if any anomaly or discrepancy is found after the process of challenges of the key verification, it shall be addressed in the following manner: i. Correct Answer: Four marks (+4) ii. Incorrect Answer: Minus one mark (-1) iii. Unanswered/Marked for Review: No mark (0). iv. If a question is found to be incorrect or the Question is dropped then Four marks (+4) will be awarded to all those who have attempted the question. The reason could be due to human error or technical error. v. Candidates are advised to do the calculations with the constants given (if any) in the questions. The answer should be rounded off to the nearest integer. 

JEE Mains 2024 Live Updates: Cut-off from previous years

Jee main cut-off from the past 5 years, jee main 2024 final answer key live updates: tie-breaking method.

The tie between candidates obtaining equal total NTA scores in Paper 1 or BE/BTech will be resolved in the following manner in descending order:

1. NTA score in Mathematics, followed by 2. NTA score in Physics, followed by 3. NTA score in Chemistry, followed by 4. Candidate with less proportion of a number of attempted incorrect answers and correct answers in all the subjects in the Test, followed by 5. Candidate with less proportion of a number of attempted incorrect answers and correct answers in Mathematics in the Test, followed by 6. Candidate with less proportion of a number of attempted incorrect answers and correct answers in Physics in the Test, followed by 7. Candidate with less proportion of a number of attempted incorrect answers and correct answers in Chemistry in the Test followed by 8. Candidate older in age followed by 9. Application number in ascending order

JEE Mains 2024 Live Updates: JEE Main negative marking in paper 1

The JEE Main paper 1 comprises of section A and section B. Section A is held for multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and section B contains questions whose answers are to be filled in as a numerical value. In Section B, candidates have to attempt any five questions out of 10. There will be negative marking for both Section A and Section B.

JEE Main 2024 Final Answer Key Live Updates: What if none of the options are found to be correct?

Jee mains 2024 live updates: what if more than one answer is found to be correct.

As per JEE Main 2024 marking scheme, if more than one option is found to be correct then four marks will be awarded to only those who have marked any of the correct options and for questions where all options are found to be correct then four marks will be awarded to all those who have attempted the question.

JEE Main Answer Key 2024 Live Updates: Is final answer key releasing today?

Jee main answer key 2024 live updates: is the provisional answer key out.

The JEE Main 2024 provisional answer keys of paper 1 (BE/BTech) along with the question papers with recorded responses have already been uploaded on the website -- jeemain.nta.ac.in and candidates were also allowed to submit challenges to the provisional answer keys if any online by April 14. The JEE Main paper 2 answer key is yet to be released.

JEE Main 2024 Answer Key Live Updates: What is the official website to check the final answer key?

The National Testing Agency (NTA) will release the JEE Main 2024 final answer key at jeemain.nta.ac.in.

JEE Main 2024 Live Updates: Once the NTA JEE Main result 2024 score card is released, students have to visit the official website and key in their required credentials such as registration number and password to login. Once successfully logged in, students will be able to check their score card.

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• The 7 5 3 Rule For UPSC Mains Answer Writing

How To Write UPSC Mains Answers ? - Learn Seven-Five-Three Rule

There are a few effective answers to the question ‘How to write UPSC Mains answers?’ to clear the civil services examination. This article will provide you with the ‘ Seven-Five-Three Rule ‘, which aspirants should follow during answer writing practice for IAS Exam . Following this method will make it easy for them to answer questions in the Mains exam.

Aspirants can also visit the UPSC Mains Answer Writing Practise page and work on their writing skills to improve their scores in the mains examination. Candidates can also compare the answers written by other aspirants and adapt necessary aspects from each of them in their own answers.

UPSC Mains Question Pattern

UPSC Mains consists of 9 papers, all of which have descriptive answer type questions. To achieve the dream to clear this coveted IAS Exam, an aspirant has to go through three stages – Prelims, Mains and Interview. Mains stage for many will be the most challenging as after reading a lot of information, one has to produce the answers in a limited span of time and that too accurately.

Before getting into the rule, let’s take a look at the pattern of questions asked in the UPSC Mains Exam , which every candidate should be aware of. It will give them a fair idea about how to answer a question within the given word limit and stipulated time.

Major types of questions asked in the UPSC Mains Exam

• Evaluate/critically evaluate
• Critically Examine

It is useful for aspirants to go through UPSC previous years’ papers (Linked above) to know the type of questions that have been most commonly asked. The answer writing practise for UPSC 2022 should incorporate most frequently asked questions to be effective. In the following paragraphs, we will explain what is the 7-5-3 rule for answer writing in Mains.

The 7-5-3 Rule of Answer Writing

The name of this rule is taken from the code of discipline that many martial artists use. The 7-5-3 rule is as simple as the numbers given, where:

• SEVEN – Candidates’ should aim to answer questions within 7 minutes per question.
• FIVE – Write 5 points in their answers related to the keyword. It would be better to break down the answer into bulleted points.
• Social, Economic, Political and Geographical perspective
• For, against, and conclusion
• What/Why/How

Now, let us learn with how to apply the 7-5-3 rule for answer writing in IAS Mains Exam.

Examples of Application of 7-5-3 Rule for UPSC Mains Answer Writing

First and foremost, aspirants’ should read the questions thoroughly (twice at least) then recognize the type of the question and identify the keyword/s in the question.

Example Question: Krishnadeva Raya, the King of Vijayanagar was not only an accomplished scholar himself but was also a great patron of learning and literature. Discuss. (UPSC 2016 Civil Services Mains Question)

The first part of the rule: Identify the keyword/s

• The keyword is Krishnadeva Raya as a scholar
• Write a small introduction.
• Write five points on the keyword
• How he patronized learning and literature
• His contribution to literature and learning
• Scholars who adorned his court and whom he patronized
• Famous literature work
• How literature flourished during this period
• Discuss each point written and conclude it with how the learning and literature flourished during this period and ensure you are done with answering in 7 minutes.

Some questions may require a conclusion that summarizes the bullet points listed in their answer. Other questions may require essay type answers where they should justify their argument with supporting facts through charts, flowcharts or diagrams as required.

It would be useful for aspirants to go through sample answers for UPSC Mains from answer keys. This would give good templates to apply the above rules and check if the highest scoring answers and the ones written during answer writing practice match. If not, aspirants can focus on the areas that need improvement.

This is how the 7-5-3 rule can be applied while answering the questions asked in the UPSC Mains exam. If IAS aspirants follow this method during answer writing practice, it would become easy to employ it during the exam.

The key to scoring high is to perform intensive answer writing practice in a time-constrained setting. Candidates should also refer to the UPSC Syllabus from time to time. It would enable aspirants to increase speed and accuracy while deploying this method and guarantee success in UPSC examination.

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