With the vacancies for this year being around 782, the cut-off for Main is expected to be even higher. Thus, a sound preparation strategy is crucial, not only to clear the cut-off but also to secure a higher rank.

While what constitutes a sound strategy will differ from one individual to another, what should be the same for anyone preparing for the Civil Services (Main) exam is their attitude.

Overall strategy

Keenly analyse the previous five years’ question papers. Pinpoint the focus areas in each. Thereafter, develop your own strategy for the different sections based on your findings.

Keep the timetable of the Main exam in mind. This year, for the first time, aspirants will be getting a week and a gap for optional subjects. So, try and allot time in a balanced manner to optional subjects as well as the GS papers.

Try and cover the entire syllabus. The exam has a reputation of being unpredictable. One way of tackling this is to analyze the previous years’ papers. To do that, you first need to cover the syllabus of all the four papers of GS, as well as the optional papers.

Current Affairs

Undoubtedly, a consistent point of concern for almost all CSE aspirants; mainly due to the vast syllabus, which makes it difficult to prepare all the relevant topics.

A word of caution: most students end up cramming the present year’s current affairs; when, in reality, it has been observed that at the Main level UPSC includes current affairs related to the past 2-3 years.

You can take help from our 100 Probable Issues for Mains Compilation: Click2Get

Essay

Develop an in-depth understanding of burning issues. Watching, or listening to, quality debates will be of immense help.

Read important burning issues here: Click2Read

Ethics (GS-4)

Connecting, at a deeper level, with the society around you will surely help in coming up with better answers and solutions. Delve into the reasons behind the thoughts of important personalities.

For case studies, track issues from our day-to-day lives. Keep challenging yourselves with various problems plaguing the society; and try to come up with your own, genuine solutions. This, in turn, will help you a lot in case studies.

Answer Writing

Your knowledge serves little purpose if you cannot communicate it well to the examiner. So, it is of utmost importance to hone your answer-writing skills.

Remember, writing answers that catch the eye of the examiner and compel them to read is an art. And like any other art form, rigorous practice is needed to present your views in limited words, but in a balanced manner