The Civil Services Exam conducted by UPSC is not an exam that can be cracked without a proper study plan and strategy. A minimum of dedicated six months is required for the beginners or those who give their nth attempt.
Given the vast nature of the UPSC Syllabus, the aspirants should have the right strategy to crack the preliminary stage of the exam.
The UPSC 2023 Prelims has been scheduled for May 28th 2023. The candidates can check the linked article to know more about the exam.
Significance of Having a Right Approach
- The marks obtained in the prelims stage is not taken into consideration while preparing the final merit list. This is an obvious fact.
- But, if the candidate is unable to clear the first level of the UPSC Exam, i.e., Prelims, then he/she cannot go forward with the preparation and there are no Mains and Interview stages.
- Hence, it is very important to have the right strategy in place to crack UPSC Prelims.
- Irrespective of the number of attempts given by the candidate, it is a must to have the right approach and preparation plan in hand to crack the prelims exam.
- The aspirants do not have the luxury of wasting time without having the right plan and strategy. If the candidate is not guided with a proper strategy, then the results might not be favourable.
- By having a proper plan, the aspirants can complete the syllabus and also allocate time for revision, which will increase the chances of clearing the preliminary exam.
- Also, the candidate can give equal attention to all the subjects and work on weaker subjects once the other subjects are covered.
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6 Months Plan to Crack IAS Prelims
When the given period is six months, the aspirants have to allocate equal time for all the subjects in the GS Paper I and, importantly, shouldn’t forget to include the CSAT paper in the preparation plan. Check the table below for a six months plan on how to cover all the subjects in the time period.
| 6 Months Plan to Crack UPSC Prelims | |
| Month |
Subjects/Topics to be covered |
| 1st Month | History (Ancient, Medieval and Modern)
Art and culture |
| 2nd Month | Indian Polity
Economics |
| 3rd Month | Science and Technology
Environment |
| 4th Month | Geography
Economic Survey CSAT Practice Mock Tests |
| 5th Month | India Year Book – Important Facts
Indian Budget Highlights Revision Practise Mock Tests CSAT |
| 6th Month | Revision
Practise Mock Tests CSAT |
Note:
- This is only a sample plan and can be modified accordingly by the candidates.
- This plan will require at least 6-8 hours of dedicated preparation hours and when the exam is nearby the candidates are expected to extend their study hours for 12-14 hours per day.
- Always start preparing history from ancient history and then move forward with medieval and modern history. This way, the aspirants can understand the flow of events in history and might increase the chances of understanding and remembering the facts better.
- First, cover the basic books of these subjects and then refer to other standard books to get a better understanding of the subject.
- If the aspirants feel more time is needed to prepare for the CSAT paper, then the candidates can start the preparation much earlier. To know more about the CSAT Syllabus And Strategy, check the linked article.
- Along with all the static subjects, monthly current affairs along with magazines like Yojana and Kurukshetra have to be covered by the aspirants. Check UPSC Monthly Current Affairs Magazine for the monthly compilation of current affairs.
Read the gist of these two magazines from the links below:
Subject Weightage in UPSC Prelims
As per the analysis of UPSC Prelims paper 2021, the number of questions asked in each subject is tabled below:
| Subject-wise Weightage in UPSC Prelims 2021 | |
| Subject | No of questions |
| Polity | 21 |
| History | 18 |
| Current Affairs | 11 |
| Science and Technology | 8 |
| Environment and Ecology | 18 |
| Geography | 10 |
| Economy | 14 |
This is the analysis of the number of questions asked in the UPSC Prelims 2021, and it is entirely different from the year 2020. Even though the range matches, the uncertainty of the number of questions in each subject still remains, and it varies year to year. Therefore, the candidates have to be prepared to face anything on the D-Day of the exam. Surprisingly, the 2021 paper had 3 questions from the Sports section, which was not the trend in the recent years of UPSC history. Therefore, the aspirants should plan to give attention and equal focus to all the subjects in the prelims syllabus.
Read about UPSC Prelims Syllabus in detail, from the linked article.
Other related links:
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