Answers (3)
Narayani 2nd Sep, 2022

Hello aspirant!

Sadly there is no secret recipe to this.

The only thing that actually works and can actually help is being consistent.

It might sound simple but it is the most difficult thing to do throughout the preparation.

If you master the art of consistency you can achieve great heights.

All the best for your future pursuits!

Feel free to ask more questions and queries.

Narayani 2nd Sep, 2022

Hello aspirant!

Sadly there is no secret recipe to this.

The only thing that actually works and can actually help is being consistent.

It might sound simple but it is the most difficult thing to do throughout the preparation.

If you master the art of consistency you can achieve great heights.

All the best for your future pursuits!

Feel free to ask more questions and queries.

-Narayani

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ADITYA KUMAR Student Expert 31st Mar, 2022

Hi

To be honest cracking UPSC and becoming an IAS in the first attempt itself is really difficult as only top rankers i. e your rank you should under around 90 in upsc to become an IAS if you are from general category.

Still there are many who crack upsc and become IAS and that too it in the first attempt itself. So, yes, you can also become an IAS in the first shot itself provided you prepare for it with consistency, dedication and focus and right strategy which is given below for your help:-

------------------------------) To start your preparation  first of all understand the examination pattern and go well through  syllabus :-

>>>> Examination pattern :- UPSC examination has 3 stages listed below :-

  • prelims exam

  • Mains exam.

  • Interview



PRELIMS EXAMINATION PATTERN:-

******* Number of papers

GS 1: Based on :-


  • Indian History,

  • Economics,

  • Indian and World Geography,

  • Science and Technology,

  • Indian Polity,

  • Current Affairs and

  • Environment.

GS 2: Based on :-

  • Reasoning,

  • Aptitude and

  • Quantitative

******* Language of paper

English

Hindi

******* Duration of exam

4 hours i. e 2 hours for each paper

******* Number of questions

  • General studies paper 1: 100

  • General studies paper 2: 80

******* Maximum marks

400 (200 each)

******* Qualifying marks

33% for Paper 2


††† Prelims is just qualifying in nature, considered for final merit list.


MAINS EXAMINATION PATTERN

******* Number of papers

9

******* Language of question paper

English

Hindi

For language paper you can choose any one of the 22 languages mentioned 8 th schedule of Indian constitution

******* Duration of exam

3 hours each

******* Subjects

  • Paper A :- Compulsory Indian language

  • Paper B:- English

  • Essay

  • General Studies I

  • General Studies II

  • General Studies III

  • General Studies IV

  • Optional I

  • Optional II


††† Paper A & B are just qualifying in nature i. e not considered for final merit list

******* Number of questions

Part A and B: 300 each

General studies and optional paper: 250 each

******* Maximum marks

1750







---------------------------------) Top books which you can follow for UPSC examination preparation are listed below subject wise:-

HISTORY

*NCERT XI (Ancient & Medieval)

*NCERT XII (Modern Indian History)

*Facets of Indian Culture Spectrum

*From Plassey to Partition - A History of Modern India

Indian Art & Culture

*Indian Art & Culture - Nitin Singhania

Polity

*NCERT IX-XII

*Indian Polity M Laxmikanth

Geography

*NCERT VI X (Old Syllabus)

*NCERT XI, XII (New Syllabus)

*Certificate Physical Geography G C Leong

World Atlas

Economics

NCERT XI

*The Indian Economy Sanjiv Verma

*Indian Economy by Ramesh Singh

*Economic Development & Policies in India Jain & Ohri

Environment

*Class XII Biology (last 5 chapters)

*Environment by Shankar IAS Academy

International Relations

*NCERT XII (Contemporary World Politics)

*Current Affairs ( read newspaper )

To get the complete list of books go through

https://competition.careers360.com/articles/books-for-upsc-ias

-----------------------------------) Discipline is the key to crack UPSC, so you need to make a routine/ time table and follow it .


----------------------------------)Read newspaper like the Hindu or Indian Express  and magazines like Yojana, Kurukshetra, Economic and Political Weekly  to keep yourself updated with the current events and issues.

----------------------------------) take short breaks in between your studies, studying continuously can be brain tiring and it becomes difficult to focus and study with concentration, so take breaks to relax and refresh your brain otherwise you won't be able to retain whatever you read.

-----------------------------------)Choose your optional subject wisely , choose the subject you have interest in.

----------------------------------)Make short notes for each subject, these will be your life saviour and will help you in your revisions a lot as syllabus is wide

----------------------------------)Set daily goals like I have to cover these many topics today, weekly goals like I have to  cover these chapters this week and practice their questions too, by the end of this week and similarly set monthly goals to cover the syllabus and meet them without any fail.

----------------------------------)Revise :- there's no point of preparing for the exam if you couldn't recall anything in the UPSC Examination so you should stress on revision as well.

----------------------------------) Your mains examination is in written, so you need to work your speed and also work on improving how to present the knowledge you have on paper, so answer writing practicing should be your priority

----------------------------------)Solve previous year question papers and mock test papers ;- You should solve these , it will give you idea of types of questions asked and their difficulty level and will help you a lot.

----------------------------------)Also work on your communication skills and personality development as it plays an important role in your interview round.

For more tips go through

https://competition.careers360.com/articles/how-prepare-for-upsc-ias


Thankyou


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