What is the best way to crack civil services examination?

Civil Services examination is one of the most prestigious and at the same time a very competitive one in our country. There are a large number of candidates participating in it and there are stages through which one has to compete ahead. Undoubtedly this is the toughest one of the lot and requires sincere and serious pursuit.

Frankly speaking, the preparation for the Civil Services examinations start from the time when a student is in his high school. There itself the foundation for this examinations as well for many other competitive examinations is laid down and then on that strong foundation the further acquisition of knowledge and information is accumulated on. The Civil Services examination is not an examination where one reads some important things and guesses some question and gets through. It is a vast syllabus and requires a lot of strength in ones core subjects chosen as optionals in this examinations. For example if you have read the book 'Panchtantra' or 'Treasure Island' or 'My Experiments with Truth', you might find a question related to one of these books there asking you as who had written that. So what you had read 6-7 years back is also relevant.

Anyway there are no short cuts to get through the competitive examinations and same is true for Civil Services also. One has to thoroughly cover the subjects one is choosing and also prepare well for the compulsory papers like general knowledge etc. Reading the newspaper daily and jotting down some abbreviations and items of national and international importance is one way to be with the main activities going through the globe. Every subjects has some basic concepts which are to be made clear and they would not only be helpful in the preliminary and written examination but also in the interview. I remember, long back, son of one of my friends appeared for the Civil Services interview and there was some reference to the subject of biology and he was incidentally asked that how many legs a common house spider had. We see the spiders so often but he somehow confused and answered that it had 6 legs. Actually spider belongs to a particular insect group and has characteristic 8 legs. Many other insects belonging to other groups have 6 legs only. So once you read about the basic groups of the insects you might not commit that mistake. Similarly in Geography the concept of International Date line is there and if you have not read about it you might not be able to explain its significance. So in preliminary and interview the basic knowledge and awareness of the candidate is judged while in mains written one has to be thorough in the subjects he has opted.

Apart from that there are many good reference books and old question papers available which can be used to freshen up time to time. Joining a good coaching centre would also be helpful. The final point that I can suggest is that there are many books and reference material available in the market but what matters ultimately is how much hard work we can endeavour and how much time we can devote to the serious studies for this challenging examination. Much depends on that only.

First of all, let us agree to this point that there is no hard and fast rule to clear the UPSC other than patience and putting sustained efforts on the UPSC syllabus.
There are certain tips and on application of the same, we can achieve brilliant success in attaining our ultimate goal. A few tips are given below which can facilitate your ongoing preparation-
1) Use the positive thought during the entire course of studies.
2) Don't waste time in making enquiry from the different sources, colleagues etc so that the valuable time is lost in such queries. Rather allocate proper time in study - material selected for UPSC. Reading Yojna regularly for an hour can prove to be proactive in your ongoing preparations.
3) Stay motivated- Throughout the preparation, you need to have sustained motivation. Here the means are more important than the ends. Don't be over stressed during the course of preparation, you should focus on hundred percent effort from your side so as to achieve the best performance. Such clarity of thought would not create undue pressure on your mind.
4) Don't study hard but be a smart reader. Let me explain the same with an example. If you are reading second ARC report on right to information, make a note consisting of four to five pages in lieu of pages running from twenty to thirty pages. There can be a maximum one question in UPSC about RTI and for the same the length of the answer should not exceed more than 200 words for the effective time - management.
5) Solve maximum number of questions for Preliminary. The target should not be less than 10000 questions.
6) Good test series from the reputed publications are to be followed while preparing your subjects.
7) Best recourse would be to attend mock interviews being conducted by several coaching institutions just to assess your strength and weakness in your ongoing attempt.
8) Memorize the UPSC sylllabus so that you can have preparation in your targetted goal.
9) Start preparation from the NCERT books of your school level in the different subjects chosen by you so as to have a better conceptual clarity of the chosen subjects. Then for each subject follow the advice of the coaching institute such as Rao Study Circle, T.I.M.E etc for scoring impressive ranking.
10) Read current affairs regularly and make a precise note of it for the further revision.
11) Go through the previous year solved papers so as to be familiar with the latest patterns.

Concentration/Focus and hard work in a smart way is the mantra for success in the UPSC examination. In fact, this mantra is useful for success in any examination. It is not achievable in a day or two. A long term planning and preparation in that direction is very much essential for success in these examinations.

To start with you start reading NCERT books of X and XII standard books. Try and understand the subject well. Don't mug up. Understand the subject and solve various question papers that are available online. The old question papers solving will help you in practising the examination. It will help you to understand how to plan to answer the questions.

Be positive always. Never doubt your calibre. At the same time don't neglect studies. Never be overconfident. Be in touch with people who attended the written test earlier and qualified. Discuss with them the methodology they adopted and try to use the best options available for solving the problems.

Be reading general knowledge books and solving the general aptitude and reasoning questions. That will help you in making your brain active.

Don't go for too many suggestions from so many people. You will get confused. Just go on reading and learning. Follow the time table made and complete the time table as made without postponing.

Don't get tensed. Please get relaxed in between for some time. Don't go for negative thoughts.

UPSC conducts the civil services exam every year and the exam is one of the toughest exams in India. The vacant positions of IAS, IPS, IFS are filled by this exam.
First of all you need the downlod the full syllabus of the exam which is available on the government website. Second Important step is optional subject selection. One can select from a number of options varying from language to Science subjects like botany, zoology or arts subject like History, geography etc.
The exam is divided in three parts- Prelims, mains and interview. To start the preparation you should study the NCERT from class 6th to 12th of history, civics and geography. Apart from that you need to study polity of laxmikant. So many other standard books has yo be studies in addition. You also need to study current affairs on a regular basis for which any magzine can be followed. In these days so many online portal are also available which cater the coaching need of the students and you can study from the comfort of your own place. Previous years question papers collection can be purchased from any shop or online or from any book shop which will give exact idea of the question types. A good suggestion is to join any test series if you are doing the preparation by yourself without any coaching.

Civil services is a tough exam with very vast syllabus so time management with preparation becomes necessary. Lastly I will like to say that with consistent preparation and proper planning it is possible to crack the civil services examination and fulfil the dream of becoming an IAS/IPS officer.

CIVIL services exam is one of the toughest exams in India conducted by UPSC(Union Public Service Commission). This exam is conducted every year to recruit officers for various reputed government posts. There are three stages of UPSC examinations - Prelims, Mains and Interview then the final result. All of these stages are tough and challenging to qualify.

The very first stage - Prelims exams consist of 2 papers and both are objective types. You will have to apply planned and a dedicated approach to clear this stage to get qualify for the Mains exams.

Below are the syllabus for UPSC prelims examinations - 2 papers

1. General studies paper (General Awareness) - 1 (200 Marks, 100 Questions with negative marking and duration of exams 2 hours)
- Current events
- History of India and National movements
- Indian and world geography
- Indian polity and governance
- Economy and social developments
- Environmental ecology, climate change, and biodiversity
- General science

2. General studies/ CSAT paper - 2 (200 Marks, 80 Questions with negative marking and duration of exams 2 hours)
- Comprehension
- Communication and interpersonal skills
- Analytical ability and logical reasoning
- Decision making and problem-solving
- General mental ability
- Data interpretation
- Basic numeracy

This is very important to understand that the marks obtained in the GS-Paper 1 will only be considered in the ranking in UPSC prelims, however, marks obtained in GS-2 will not be calculated in the ranking. So, please do not get confused about this. In GS-2 paper, if you score at least 33% then you will be qualified for the next stage of examination that is the UPSC Mains Examination.

In order to qualify the UPSC prelims examinations, you will have to have a proper plan of study. Below are the tips that you can follow.

1. You should know when to start the preparation for the UPSC exam. You should start al least one year before the examination.

2. You should prepare a plan - follow the study plan sincerely. While preparing for the examination there will be a chance of distractions that may pull you away but you should be smart to handle this.

3. Not just facts and figures
UPSC exams check whether your concepts are clear or not. So there will be tricky questions that will only be solved when you have a brief knowledge and deep to concepts. This exam is also about checking your ability to analyze the topics properly. You will have less than a minute to answer a question aa there will be 200 questions and you will have 120 minutes to answer those.

4. Current affairs - this is the most important part of the UPSC examinations. If you see, every year a lot of questions are from current affairs directly or indirectly. You should relate the news to the related subjects. If any topics are hitting the headlines then you should be able to gather the relevant information pertaining to it and also be able to understand it properly by going back to the concept.

5. Preparation for CSAT - UPSC checks aptitude and logical reasoning. If you are from mathematics, science or engineering background then this would be easier for you. If you are from other backgrounds, you will need to work hard and practice more. You can solve the previous year's questions and do some mock tests. Focus more on understanding the concepts and practice more and more questions.

6. Practice mock test papers - UPSC prelims examination is all about solving maximum questions in very less time. This will require more practice. You can sit with a set of test papers and try to solve them within 120 minutes to check how are you scoring. This will help you analyze your weak areas and you can improve those areas.

7. Keep revising on regular intervals - This is very important to revise once what you studied in 1 week and before. Make a proper note of what you study this will help you cover the syllabus quickly with concepts.

8. Online test series - You can join an online test series that will increase your ability to solve the questions in less time.

Once you qualify UPSC prelims, you will have to prepare for UPSC mains examinations which are tougher as it contains subjective questions.

Syllabus for the UPSC Mains examination:
1. Paper A - Compulsory Indian language (for 300 marks, duration for exam - 3 hours)
2. Paper B - English (for 300 marks, duration for exam - 3 hours)
3. Paper 1 - Essay (for 250 marks, duration for exam - 3 hours)
4. Paper 2 - General Studies I – Indian Heritage & Culture, History & Geography of the World & Society (for 250 marks, duration for exam - 3 hours)
5. Paper 3 - General Studies II – Governance, Constitution, Welfare Initiatives, Social Justice & International Relations (for 250 marks, duration for exam - 3 hours)
6. Paper 4 - General Studies III – Technology, Economic Development, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Security & Disaster Management (for 250 marks, the duration for exam - 3 hours)
7. Paper 5 - General Studies IV – Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude (for 250 marks, the duration for exam - 3 hours)
8. Paper 6 - Optional Subject – Paper I (for 250 marks, the duration for exam - 3 hours)
9. Paper 7 - Optional Subject – Paper II (for 250 marks, the duration for exam - 3 hours)

Please refer below links to get more tips and suggestions from ISC experts on how to prepare for the UPSC CIVIL services examinations.

1. https://www.indiastudychannel.com/experts/46601-how-to-start-preparation-for-upsc-examination-during-graduation-period

2. https://www.indiastudychannel.com/experts/46634-what-books-should-be-preferred-to-prepare-for-upsc-examination

3. https://www.indiastudychannel.com/experts/45510-Which-are-the-best-preparation-books-for-UPSC-exams

4. https://www.indiastudychannel.com/experts/45581-Best-strategies-to-prepare-for-2019-UPSC-exams

5. https://www.indiastudychannel.com/experts/45223-How-to-crack-UPSC-in-my-first-attempt

Wish you all the very best for your examination.

Civil service is the game of belief.
Civil services is the name of respect and hard work.
To crack civil service examination we should follow these steps
1) be determined to achieve this
2) see the mental pictures of your success
3) imagine after every hour the happiness of your result time

After completing first three steps we should forward as
4) read your syllabus
5) plan for complete year
6) make your time table
7) select appropriate books
8) read some motivational books and success stories
9) read the NCERT books
10) now start the five of UPSC
11) prepare for mains examination deeply there is no requirement to prepare separately for prelims examination.
12) practice for answer writing
13) solve the past year question papers
14) study everyday 10-12 hours
15) read the facts clearly
16) join the habit of newspaper reading daily, note some important current affairs.
17) pass your prelims and mains examination
18) prepare for interview
19) give mock interview
20) give the final interview and get selection

Great congratulations if you are going to prepare for UPSC really.