Revision is essential to avoid grade loss in any course or topic you are studying. With adequate review, you’ll probably enter the exam room more clearly and receive a higher positive result, which will negate all of your other efforts.
Do’s
Analyze Concepts vs. Facts
Over the past few years, the core topics portion of the UPSC preliminary examination has become more conceptual. To determine the types of questions on each subject, examine the question papers from the last 4-5 years.
For instance, in Politics, you don’t have to memorize the names of previous presidents, election commissioners, etc. The economics paper is scoring well since it has a solid conceptual foundation.
Spend your time learning the fundamentals. Identify all subjects for evaluation. You will be squandering time if your study plan does not match the exam format.
Allow Yourself Time to Prepare for Current Events
Many students commit the error of picking up current events books in the final few weeks to finish. You will likely be overwhelmed with information, and your memory might not be able to handle the unexpected load. Spending some time on current events should be a daily activity starting immediately. Also, remember to review frequently.
Practice Various Test Papers
No matter how well-prepared you are, pick up some test series booklets and give them a shot. This will allow you to evaluate your degree of preparation, your ability to complete tasks on time, and the kind of simple mistakes you make, such as improperly understanding the questions or options, among other things.
Create a Proper Schedule
During the final weeks before the exam, be sure you are studying or practicing with a lot of focus between 9 am and 12 pm and between 2 am and 5 pm. As a result, those hours will become when your brain is most active.
Keep an Eye Out For the Location
To ensure no surprises on the exam day, you (or someone who will be with you) must physically visit the exam location once before the exam day.
Additionally, the ideal form of transportation will be clear to you. Also, if you’re planning to take a cab, remember that there will be high demand for them, so allow yourself a buffer of 10-15 minutes.
Achieve prompt arrival at the location: Don’t forget to arrive 45 to 60 minutes early. Your focus may suffer from the last-minute hustle and anxiety you feel getting to the location.
Don’ts
Don’t Panic
Be confident in your preparedness and give your best effort. Your performance will suffer if you are anxious before or during the exam.
To relax, close your eyes, block out everything, and take several deep breaths for a minute. Do not be alarmed, even if the paper appears difficult at first glance and you feel ignorant. You will discover plenty of questions you can answer if you remain cool and go through the test question by question.
Refrain From Feeling Ill-Prepared
Never think that you are underprepared because your preparation is a fixed fact that will stay the same on test day. Don’t allow preparatory thoughts to creep in once you’ve decided to present the paper.
Make a smart effort with the paper and only concentrate on what you know.
Keep up your focus and study as much as you can in the days before the exam, so you don’t lose steam. Before the exam, one’s mindset is crucial.
Avoid Filling Out OMR Sheets
Students frequently fail to recognize that filling out OMR sheets requires time and is the most crucial element of the preliminary exam. If you don’t want to check the OMR sheet after each question, fill it out at least every 45 to 50 minutes.
This will not only guarantee that you do not forfeit points for failing to complete the OMR form, but it will also enable you to prepare your paper’s final section properly.
Additionally, remember the question numbers when you complete the OMR sheet. Serially completing the form without doing so could result in a serious accident.
Don’t Be A Lazy Bum When It’s Time To Update Your Attendance Sheet
You will be required to fill out a circled attendance sheet during the exam. It takes 1-2 minutes, so proceed with extreme caution. The exam centers will assist you if you make a mistake, but you will still lose time and feel more anxious.
Don’t Leave Any Question Unanswered
Be sure to read over each question and option at least once. There will always be one or two questions that, with careful study of the questions and available answers, you can correctly answer. You can already eliminate 2-3 choices with the bare minimum of information.
Never imagine that there will be a certain amount of questions you must attempt. After you’ve attempted the paper, you’ll be able to gauge its difficulty mentally. Try your best to answer 70 of the questions in the paper if the test appears to be very difficult and you have done well in your preparation.
Wrapping Up
The UPSC Exam Syllabus is enormous, as is common knowledge. You don’t need to be concerned about questions that aren’t on the syllabus, though. No! The information is untrue.
The curriculum is the only subject on which the Indian Civil Services test is focused. You may think the questions are unrelated to the given syllabus. However, they could be more challenging or have a tenuous connection to the issues mentioned.
The most important aspect of UPSC exam preparation is paying attention with focus. So, this is all you need to know about the dos and don’ts when it comes down to preparing for the UPSC exam, which further influences your decision of choosing the best coaching classes for UPSC.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. How many phases did the candidate have to pass for clearing the IAS examination?
Ans: There are three phases of the IAS examination conducted by UPSC. In the first phase, a candidate had to clear the Preliminary Examination Which contained two papers: Paper 1 General studies consisting of 100 questions, and Paper 2 General Studies II containing 80 questions. Both papers are objective type and scheduled for 2 hours with total marks of 200. After clearing Preliminary Examination, a candidate had to prepare for the Main Examination which comprises 7 papers each of the papers scheduled for 3 hours. Once candidates clear both examinations, their final interview schedule for the personality test.
Q2. How can we cover current affairs to prepare for the UPSC Examination?
Ans: Current affairs are of utmost importance in the UPSC syllabus and increase the chances of success in clearing the IAS exam. If candidates want to prepare for current affairs they should focus on analyzing recent big events happening in the country and world, and take extra note of magazines & newspaper contents. Sometimes, it is difficult to remember different topics with reading, noting down key points can help candidates to retain these topics.
Q3. How many attempts for the UPSC examination?
Ans: UPSC provides attempts depending on different categories. If you belong to the general category and Economically Weaker Sections there will be 6 attempts and Persons with Benchmark Disability can attempt 9 times.
