Lakhs of candidates dream to kick start their career with the Indian civil services exam. Many of them spend years of time to prepare. In fact, you can consider the UPSC exam as one of the toughest to get through. The planned and strategic preparation will help you. Students tend to fail due to lack of good preparation. Focus on the right methods during the UPSC Exam preparation. Here are some IAS Exam Preparation tips you can follow. Your positive action combined with hard work leads to success.
Three Stages of The UPSC Exam
The UPSC board conducts civil services exam in three different phases. They go in order from the preliminary stage, the mains stage, and personality interview stage. In the first place, it is better if you know about the exam stages. It helps you to learn about do’s and don’ts of UPSC Exam preparation.
Preliminary phase comprises of two papers namely CSAT and general studies. Each paper carries a total of 200 marks. The mains phase comprises of nine subjective papers out of which two are qualifying papers. Each paper carries a total of 300 marks and 250 marks respectively. The interview phase takes up the personality test for 275 marks.
Consider the things you should do and never do when you prepare for the UPSC exam.
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Things You Should Do During UPSC Exam Preparation
Prepare A Systematic Study Plan
Let your study plan focus on the basics as a first step. You must be already aware of the huge syllabus of civil services exam. You will need an accurate study plan to cover such a vast syllabus. Hold a gap of at least one year for your UPSC Exam preparation. Additionally, take care of both long term study plan and revision study plan.
Allot considerable time to learn the basics. You can refer to NCERT Books and then move on to advanced concepts. Your achievement seems to be connected with hard work and consistency. Select the set of reference books carefully. Too many books cause confusion. Refer two to three good books. This helps you to use the time efficiently. Motivate and push yourself to the maximum. It is one of the best IAS Exam Preparation tips every candidate must follow.
Solve Mock Tests and Question Papers Regularly
Time management is the greatest challenge during the UPSC Exam Preparation. Spend a lot of time in cracking sample question papers. Collect the previous years UPSC Exam papers, mock papers, and practice papers. Sit with a watch and practice till you succeed. Keeping this in mind, you can better analyze the question paper pattern.
Improve your general knowledge, reading, current affair, and writing skills. Newspapers are your companion! You can never ignore any of the exam stages of Civil Services exam. Put equal efforts in every exam phase, section, and topics. Just find an innovative way to stand with these IAS Exam Preparation tips.
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Motivate Your Self Throughout The UPSC Exam preparation
The Indian Civil services exam tests your attitude along with the knowledge. Staying positive is equally important as being the best in your subject knowledge. You have to be patient, persistent, and confident throughout the learning process. Some of the candidates stop the UPSC Exam Preparation just because of the negative mindset. Stay connected with positive people and never let anybody influence you.
It would be still better if you can meet the candidate who is also serious to attend UPSC exam. It helps you to take up healthy discussions. Consider this IAS Exam Preparation tips seriously. It has the ability to ignite a better understanding of the subject. Stay away from people who tell UPSC exam is not your cup of tea. You can achieve success only if you own a strong mind.
Avoid Last Minute Preparation
Work hard from the beginning and consider all the IAS Exam Preparation tips. If you have not studied any particular topic then never think of preparing in the last minute. A couple of hours before the exam should be dedicated to revision only. You will attain the winning UPSC exam preparation with the presence of the study plan. You cannot understand any new topic in last minute. At the same time, you will tend to waste time for revision.
It spoils your mindset and distracts you. Instead of spending time on new topics, you can focus on already learned topics. It boosts your confidence level and allows you to stay positive during the UPSC Exam. It is completely okay to leave some topics out while preparing for the Indian civil services exam. It removes all the unnecessary panic and confusion in the last minute.
The research statistics have confirmed that last minute study overcrowds your short term memory. It interferes with your long term memory. It is one of the IAS Exam Preparation tips you must take care of on a serious note. Last minute preparation kills your decision-making ability and results in poor performance. It would be still better if you stay away from books before the exam. Take a deep breath and stay calm.
Ignore All the Myths
It is a well-known fact that the UPSC Exam Syllabus is huge. It does not mean that you have to worry about out of syllabus questions. No! It is a piece of false news. The Indian Civil Services exam strictly focuses on the syllabus. You might feel that the questions asked are irrelevant to the syllabus mentioned. But, they are either tough or indirectly related to the topics listed. Focused attention is the primary thing in UPSC Exam Preparation.
Prepare for the exam day in prior
Candidates are busy and indulge themselves in Civil Services exam preparation. These are the most general IAS Exam Preparation tips anyone can tell you. If you forget them, you will most likely end up getting panic. Treat this point as the checklist to glance on the day before your exam.
Carry the admit card to the exam hall. If you have not yet downloaded, complete this task with high priority. ID proof forms the essential element during the civil services exam. If your photograph is not clear, then carry the photo ID proof along with your admit card.
Check for the exam center location and reach the place at least before one hour. Make a detailed study about the travel time and direction you need to take. Don’t panic before the exam time. If you do not plan your exam day well, all your efforts put during the preparation goes in vain.
The presence of the watch during the Civil Services exam is very much needed. As mentioned in the earlier IAS Exam Preparation tips, time management is the critical aspect of the exam. Finish studying early and get a good sound sleep the previous night. Remove all the negative energy and nervousness from your brain. Spend a relaxing time and attend the exam.
You must not forget about this IAS Exam Preparation tips! Keep the black ballpoint pent in your bag. You need it to fill the OMR answer sheets. Just don’t believe in borrowing from others in the last minute. Relax and stay confident with all the stationary need for the exam.
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Things You Should Never Do During UPSC Exam Preparation
Do not Get Deviated and Go Out of Syllabus
There are no limits when it comes to the availability of reference books in the market. As a result, candidates end up buying too many books. More the number of books greater is the tendency of deviating from the syllabus. Questions appear in the UPSC Exam are strictly within the syllabus. Your UPSC Exam Preparation should always keep a check on the syllabus.
The Civil Services exam contains a lot of questions from the basics. Never forget to push yourself to study from the NCERT Books. The successful IAS Exam Preparation tips begin from the careful choice of books. Do not collect too many study materials and mess up your preparation.
Say No To Rote Learning but Understand
Great things never come from mugging up the books. Let your UPSC Exam preparation focus on understanding the concepts. Jump out of the comfort zone and dive deep into your subjects. You cannot succeed in the UPSC Exam with the rote learning method. As a first step, get the basic idea of all the important topics. Extract your strong and weak points while preparing for the Civil Services exam.
Follow this IAS Exam Preparation tips while choosing your optional subject. Do not neglect your educational background, interests and comfort level. It plays a significant role while selecting an optional subject. Don’t stop just because you are tired. Maintain your consistency, hard work, and revision at the top. Success lies in the way you prepare.
Check out the Latest & Updated: UPSC Exam Syllabus
Stop Procrastination and Work Hard
Follow one course of action until you achieve it. Time is the most scarce resource when you consider the UPSC Exam preparation. The struggle you must put to get things done is not easy. It does not matter whether you are a working professional or student. Once planned, take action and complete it. Procrastination is the biggest mistake the UPSC Exam aspirant can do. Manage your time proficiently to reap the benefits of successful results in civil services exam.
The best IAS Exam Preparation tips are to set your daily study targets. By doing so, you can avoid postponing things and study systematically. You need all the courage to continue studying without any unacceptable breaks in between. If you do not have a daily action plan ready, prepare it today. Or else, it builds up the pressure and the results you get in UPSC exam is directly proportional.
Never Studying from Lengthy Books
Every UPSC Exam aspirant gets abundant of knowledge resources from coaching institute. Above all these study materials, you can also find many options online. It does not mean that you must study from all the lengthy materials you get in the course of UPSC Exam preparation. Sometimes, you forget the concept of UPSC syllabus and go on reading deeper into books. Realize and stop this today!
The Civil Services exam tests your knowledge in a wide range of areas. If you cover only a few topics it is not one among the advisable IAS Exam Preparation tips. If the book has more than 500 pages ignore the same and move on to syllabus oriented books. It is impossible to find success in the UPSC Exam if you stick to lengthy books. In fact, it kills your study time and ends up in confusion.
Should Not Attempt All the Question
Each question in the civil services exam carries negative marketing for wrong attempts. It is not wise to attempt all the questions blindly and end up with a loss of marks. Your ability to get extraordinary marks lies in answering the questions smartly. Here, quality takes over quantity.
The ratio of UPSC Exam cut off the list is approximately 52%. It does not matter how many questions you answer as long as your answer correctly. It is the right time to stop worrying about the number of questions. Be bold and focus on time management. Consider it as the most important IAS Exam Preparation tips.
Conclusion
We hope this article provides you the detailed information about IAS Exam Preparation tips. It is the right moment to learn the dos and don’ts of UPSC Exam Preparation. So, start with the preparation packed with all the necessary success tips. If you come across any difficult question, do not panic. Leave it and move on to the next question. Come back later and solve with the peaceful mind.
Take up the exam confidently and complete it with good marks. Every IAS aspirant chooses to be at the top. All you need is constant efforts executed in a systematic manner. Upgrade your quality of preparation with these tips. Also, do not miss out the preparation to be done for the exam day.
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