UPSC/IAS (Indian Administrative Service) is a dream career for lakhs of civil aspirants & job seekers in India. Who doesn’t want to work in the biggest bureaucratic network in the world! Do you know, more than 8 million students apply for the UPSC exam yearly, but merely a thousand get their dream job.
The key difference? UPSC preparation strategy!
The trick to taking the UPSC Civil Services exam is to prepare a winning strategy. And creating a solid strategy is an art in itself.
While in most cases students try to blindly follow toppers or follow a prep trick they found online, this may not be the right approach. What you need is an action plan based on your learning skills, the time you have, and the recommendations you get. Start slowly, but formulate a strategy according to your understanding. If your goal is to pass the competitive exam, your first step is to start working on a general plan that is right for you.
Vishnu IAS is the best UPSC & IAS Coaching in Hyderabad helping civil aspirants with the winning preparation strategies and much-needed interview skills. In this article, we have rounded up some proven tips and strategies and we will discuss the key points that you need know on how to prepare for UPSC CSE exams and achieve your dream job as a civil servant.
Let’s get started!
Kickstart your UPSC Civil Services Preparation!
Here is a list of things you should do before you start your prep journey!
- Know the Exam Dates
Not surprisingly, ideally you should be aware of the exam dates in advance. This will help you organize your study schedule in terms of the number of hours you want to devote. Decide when you want to show up for the exam.
General category candidates are allowed a maximum of 6 attempts. So don’t take the exam unprepared. Have at least 12-14 months to study thoroughly if you are a beginner.
- Be Clear About Why you Want to Prepare
It takes about a year to prepare for the UPSC and another year to pass the UPSC exam! So even if you decide on the first try, it will be a two-year process.
Therefore, it is important to have enough reasons to stay motivated throughout the UPSC preparation journey.
- How long does UPSC preparation take?
This is a very subjective question & will depend on how well you plan your strategy, what is your UPSC/ IAS prep strategy, who do you choose to mentor if you are completely new to prep scripting or have a good understanding of different topics and how long you can devote a day to preparation!
Ideally, 12-14 months is more than enough time to prepare for this coveted exam. If you are trying to crack the civil service exam 2022, Vishnu IAS is the best option. Join No1 IAS/UPSC coaching institute in Hyderabad to crack Civils in your 1st attempt.
- Do a SWOT Analysis
Before you start preparing for the UPSC exam, you need to conduct a SWOT analysis. This will help you identify your strengths and weaknesses; opportunities that you can take advantage of, and threats that may exist. This will let you know the rates related to your training. Once you’ve done all that and are ready to take the plunge, here’s a concrete IAS prep strategy that you can draw inspiration from to come up with your own.
Always remember that any experts, mentors, toppers, or your friends who may already be in the training phase can only tell you what they think should be done. It is up to YOU to develop an IAS preparation strategy for one simple reason: no one knows you better than yourself!
Tips & Strategies
Here is a list of the essential things that all toppers and mentors swear by to set the stage for the UPSC CSE.
Build a strong foundation—Read NCERT
NCERT 8-12 are excellent sources of information, especially for beginners. They are important not only because the questions are asked directly by them, but also because they are very introductory, but very informative. So, start by reading and re-reading NCERT and get a brief description of each topic. You can purchase NCERT books or get them from the NCERT website.
Stay Updated with the Current Affairs
Newspapers like The Hindu or The Indian Express are must-reads! This will help you keep up to date with the latest events and improve your reading, writing and comprehension skills. So do not neglect reading newspapers.
You can read important news articles in the linked article. Monthly magazines like Kurukshetra and Yojna should be on your reading list. Even if you don’t have time to read it cover to cover, read its analysis or synopsis so you don’t miss a single important article!
Read Standard Books
When you have finished reading NCERT, begin reading the prescribed standard list of UPSC books.
Make sure that you do not increase the number of resources, but focus on viewing one resource multiple times.
In preparing for geography, it is extremely important to study maps. Maps are another important and rewarding area when it comes to preparing for IAS. Card-based questions are asked in both the UPSC Preliminary and Core exams. Therefore, always keep in mind the preparation of maps in preparation for the IAS. If this confuses you, you can take a course on maps, which is all about getting ready to work with maps.
Get the Basics Right
The civil service exam is conducted in three stages; preparatory courses, meals and personal interviews. The minimum required qualification is a bachelor’s degree from any accredited university in India.
Scheduling or Prioritizing Things
- Make a daily, weekly, and monthly schedule.
- Prepare a proper schedule by prioritizing the things, for example, yo;ll finish this chapter or subject by this much time or week.
- Our brain does not function correctly until it is given a clear command. This clarity will come when you have a proper plan written down on paper. Research is important, but so is the review. Preparing for UPSC will require you to memorize a lot of information, which is nothing short of a Herculean task.
So how are you going to save everything you’ve learned? The answer is a simple revision!
- By adopting the aforementioned techniques it can be helpful for you to maintain a well-balanced prep schedule for both prelims and mains.
Due to the highly unpredictable nature, it is not clear if a candidate will be able to succeed in one go, and in many cases the process becomes sluggish due to repeated failures. “The essence of the right strategy is to choose what not to do.” The recommendations & right strategy play a very significant role while preparing for an IAS exam. Strategy is like the deciding factor that determines your choices on the UPSC exam.
We hope you got a clear idea regarding how to prepare for the UPSC as well as some useful tips.
Vishnu IAS is the best IAS online coaching classes in Hyderabad, where our best faculty, 1 to 1 mentorship, guidance for interview, comprehensive study material, seminars, mock interviews, and much more will create a success path for your preparation as well as UPSC exams.
Vishnu IAS offers extensive online programs to help you get started preparing for UPSC without any hassle. You can view our range of UPSC courses on the linked page. Contact our experienced tutors to find out which course is right for you!
All the Best!