IAS Strategies for UPSC Mains Examination

The UPSC Mains Examination is the most critical juncture in every aspirant’s journey who is aiming to secure their own position at the esteemed Indian Civil Services. The UPSC main examination is designed to be comprehensive and rigorous not just examining the knowledge but also the analytical abilities, decision-making skills, and overall personality of candidates.

A well-structured IAS strategy is necessary to crack the UPSC Mains examination. The UPSC Mains is an obstacle-ridden path to civil service that is beset with a vast syllabus comprising multiple subjects, and clear and concise yet effective written communication. The candidate has to perform these under pressure within the given time frame with consistency. This makes the UPSC CSE Mains examination the most difficult and prestigious among all examinations in the country.

However, if these issues are addressed with the proper IAS strategies, then they can be overcome and thus provide the aspirant with an edge over his or her peers. A well-defined approach toward time management, prioritisation of subjects, and writing answers will turn this daunting task into a well-structured and achievable goal for IAS aspirants. 

Get to Know UPSC Mains Examination 

This is the second stage and the main phase of the Civil Services Examination. This examination aims to test the academic knowledge and the ability of a candidate effectively. There are nine papers in the Mains with 250 marks for each, except the qualifying papers.

The qualifying papers are: 

• Paper A – Compulsory Indian Language – 300 marks 

• Paper B – English – 300 marks 

The other seven papers will contribute to the overall merit.

• Essay Paper: 250 marks 

• General Studies I (Indian Heritage and Culture, History, and Geography of the World and Society): 250 marks 

• General Studies II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice, and International relations): 250 marks 

• General Studies III (Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management): 250 marks 

• General Studies IV (Ethics, Integrity, and Aptitude): 250 marks 

• Optional Paper I: 250 marks 

• Optional Paper II: 250 marks

This means the UPSC Mains examination carries 1750 marks that contribute significantly to the candidate’s final ranking and his selection for the final interview.

Difference Between Prelims and Mains

UPSC Preliminary Examination, commonly called Prelims, is a screening examination conducted to filter candidates for Mains. It comprises two objective-type papers:

• General Studies Paper I: It will have questions on current events, history, geography, polity, and general science. 

• General Studies Paper II (CSAT): The comprehension, logical reasoning, and decision-making skills of the candidates will be tested.

The UPSC Mains Examination is more comprehensive and subjective. The candidates are required to write descriptive answers in this examination. Every mark in the Mains Examination counts for the final rank. While Prelims test a candidate’s knowledge across a broad spectrum, the Mains check depth, analytical skills, and clarity of expression.

General Civil Service Strategies for Preparing UPSC Mains Examination

• Understand the syllabus for the UPSC Mains examination deeply and thoroughly

• Craft a perfect timeline for studying each topic

• create a study plan after analysing your strength and weak topics. It is recommended to allocate more time to weak topics for preparation.

• Practice answering previous year’s question papers by setting time. This will help the candidate to understand their areas for improvement and improve time management skills

• Practice for improving essay writing skills

• Spare time separately for preparing optional subjects

• Read the newspaper, current affairs magazines and Fortune IAS Circle for learning current affairs. 

• Allow for regular breaks during learning to maintain a healthy balance. This practice not only keeps candidates feeling refreshed but also helps alleviate stress.

IAS Strategies for Answer Writing Practice

The UPSC Mains examination is descriptive and the candidate has to write 150-300 words for each answer. In this scenario, practising answer writing is necessary for securing high scores in the Civil Service Mains Examination. For timely completion of the question paper, the civil service aspirants need to practice question papers weekly or twice a week. Thus, it is necessary to practise answer writing to improve the speed. Here are some tips for writing answers. 

• Spare some time for model tests in between preparation

• Mind Maps: This process will help the candidates to link the sub-topics to the main topics. This helps them to recall and remember every point easily.

It’s recommended that while preparing notes for the UPSC current affairs paper, aspirants should write about each topic in 150-300 words. This concise approach makes it easier for candidates to answer questions effectively during the examination.

Strategies for Preparing Essays

The essay paper in the UPSC Civil Service Mains Examination consists of two sections., ie., section A and section B. When comprising both sections, 4 topics appeared with 125 marks each, which makes a total of 250 marks. The topic for one section in the UPSC essay examination is based on ‘general quotes’ and the other section would be based on ‘administration’. Among the two topics that appear in each section, the candidate has the option to choose one topic from each section for answering. In this paper, the candidate needs to write about a topic of around 1000-2000 words within the allotted time of three hours. 

Tips for Writing Essays

• Between the topics, choose the topic that helps you perform well.

• Spend almost 30 minutes to understand the topic as well as for planning the structure of the essay

• Before start writing the essay, it is recommended to write short points that are related to the topic at the end of the sheet. This helps the candidate to develop the essay precisely and quickly.

• Approach the topic with a calm mind. With a provocative mind, the candidate would end up creating an essay with inaccurate facts.

• As an end note or conclusion, you need to summarise all the facts discussed in the essay and give an effective conclusion.

The essay paper influenced in determining the final rank of the candidate. The goal of the UPSC regarding this paper is to analyse the personality of the candidate by analysing the views, ideas, suggestions, values, aptitude, coordination and communication abilities of the candidate. 

Civil Service Strategies for Preparing Current Affairs

Most questions that appear for the current affairs question examination are from the events that mainly occur between the period of June, July and August. However, the fact is the majority of the candidates stopped reading the newspaper during this time. But, reading newspapers at this point is very crucial from the Mains exam viewpoint. Usually, the questions based on current affairs have a relation with history, geography and international relations. Thus, it is very important to read the newspaper daily and refer to online current affairs platforms like Fortune IAS Circle as well as offline current affairs magazines.