The UPSC Civil Services Examination for recruitment of candidates for the Central and All India Services in conducted annually in three stages. The aspirants, in order to make it to the final merit list and serve in the capacities of their choice are required to clear all the three levels of examination in a single attempt. In case the candidate fails to do so, he/she must start from the first level of the examination afresh.
UPSC Mains exam follows the UPSC Preliminary examination and is followed by the final test i.e, Personal Interview. Once the UPSC Mains result is announced, the candidates will know if they have scored the required cut off to qualify for the Personality Test. UPSC Mains is considered a challenging part of the examination, as the candidates are expected to write descriptive answers, addressing the demands of the question, in a concise manner within the given time frame. To find out the tips begin the mains examination preparation, read on:
- The first step to preparing for any exam is, knowing the requirements of the exam. Hence, it is essential for the aspirants to go through the UPSC mains syllabus and understand what is included in the syllabus.
- The UPSC Mains syllabus PDF can be found on UPSC’s official website. For those candidates, willing to take up the examination in Hindi Medium, UPSC mains syllabus in hindi can also be found on the official website of the commission.
- The candidates can appear for the UPSC Mains paper in any language of choice. The language however must be mentioned in the 8th Schedule of the Indian constitution.
- The UPSC mains exam pattern comprises of descriptive type papers. A candidate must attempt one essay paper, four general studies papers, two optional papers of choice and two language papers of qualifying nature.
- The marks scored in all the papers barring the language paper will be considered for arriving at the list of candidates who will be summoned by the commission for the personality test.
- It is essential for the candidates to go through the previous year mains question paper for each of the papers and also have a look at the UPSC mains solved papers.
UPSC Mains examination is not a cakewalk for those who have neglected answer writing practice. As necessary as it is to gain knowledge by reading, it is equally important to learn the art of putting your thoughts onto the paper within the given time in an understandable and crisp manner that would fetch good marks.