How to prepare for Philosophical essay topics for the UPSC Exam?

The UPSC Mains Exam consists of nine papers, one of which is an essay. The Essay Paper in the IAS Mains Exam is divided into two parts A and B, each containing four themes of 125 marks, for a total of 250 marks. Candidates must choose a topic from each area and write about it in 1,000 to 2,000 words in three hours. The essay paper is regarded as critical in deciding the ultimate outcome of a candidate’s selection and ranking.

Writing helps you to explore your own ideas, thoughts, and beliefs. What you put on paper will reveal to the reader how you argue, think, and defend your point of view. However, many candidates find essay writing to be a difficult task. Though one segment is relatively simple to tackle, with topics ranging from social, political, environmental, and economic aspects, writing an essay on philosophical topics is a huge challenge. In this article we will share some tips and tricks to approach a philosophical essay.

Selecting the topic for UPSC Essay

A good essay will undoubtedly have a variety of dimensions and components. There are certainly numerous fundamental guidelines for essay writing that should be followed when looking for these aspects and dimensions. The first and most important step is to choose a topic, particularly a philosophical one.

While choosing a topic, choose a topic on which you have sufficient knowledge and you can express yourself in 10-12 pages. If you are unfamiliar with a topic or do not have many dimensions to write upon, your ideas will be exhausted in 2-3 pages, and you will wind up repeating yourself. Unlike the GS topics or the current affair topics in the philosophical essay, marks will not be assigned purely based on the content of your essay but also, to its language, consistency, and organisation of your thoughts. Hence, select a topic on which you have sufficient information and on which you can express yourself really well. There are several concerns associated with how to address the philosophical topic in an effective and safe manner. This is what we are going to discuss in the next section.

Note– Read about How to Write an Essay for the UPSC Exam, in the linked article.

Tips to write a Philosophical Essay for UPSC Exam

The idea of a philosophical essay for UPSC is not to use flowery language, use story-telling tactics, or surprise the examiner. The brilliance of a philosophical essay is found in your well-organised thoughts; the language you employ is just a powerful tool for communicating these ideas to the examiner. The subtle art lies in proving one’s points in a clear and concise manner.

Approaching the topic- the first thing after selecting the topic is deciphering or decoding the topic. Decoding the topic means drawing an outline of the essay before writing it. Outlining an essay entails determining what to say in the introduction/conclusion, which ideas come where, and even which quote to utilise for the essay, among other things. The knowledge of GS Paper-4 Ethics, can be used in writing this type of essay.

Defining essential concepts and connecting them will expand the scope of the essay. Furthermore, quotes, instances, reports, and stories greatly contribute to the attraction of philosophical works. Otherwise, simply writing philosophical thoughts becomes uninteresting in essays. For instance in the topic- “Courage to accept and dedication to improve are two keys to success”, one must have a firm grasp of the concepts of bravery, devotion, and achievement. And use these concepts to interlink with each other.

Adding dimensions to your essay- To make your essay comprehensive, it is important to cover more and more dimensions related to the subject. You can use the “PESTLEE” Approach (Political – Economic – Sociological – Technological – Legal – Environmental –Ethics Analysis). However, explaining each of these dimensions one should be extremely cautious about his/her ideological beliefs. The essay should not represent your viewpoint; instead, the topic should be written with a more rational approach. Keep the following points in mind when writing on the above dimensions-

• While writing an essay it is important to maintain the ideological balance that is required. When dealing with issues, one must also be democratic. When proposing remedies or analysing events or issues, the values of ‘freedom and equality’ should be the driving principles.
• Always adhere to and preserve Constitutional ideals throughout your essay. It is critical for a philosophical essay that the ideals contained in our Constitution are reflected in whatever topic, issue, or answer we explore. The viewpoint can be extra constitutional but not unconstitutional.
• Do not call into question the issue itself, which is to say, do not contradict yourself. Choose a stance (preferably, the middle approach) and stick to it throughout the essay.
• In general, one should avoid idealist or non compromising viewpoints. In reality, finding the middle ground is the greatest method to deal with difficult challenges. It is likewise important not to draw broad generalisations about any specific problem. Instead, while addressing or debating any specific issue, there should be suggestions of tolerance, fairness, and understanding.
• Never describe something as positive that is commonly perceived or used negatively, and vice versa.

Concluding your essay– For an effective conclusion, a ‘cyclic return‘ strategy is required. To put it another way, end concepts with the introducing ideas at the starting of your essay. It is critical to remember that a solid finish is just as vital as a strong start. Both are necessary for better scores, as is a fair amount of brainstorming.

Philosophical themes are more difficult to write about than others since they relate to so many complex concepts. This implies that, even if you address the core concept of the essay question in the UPSC exam, there may be essential components of it that you overlooked. Thus, using the PESTLEE approach will help you go over all the rewired dimensions, making your essay a comprehensive one.

Hopefully, the preceding article was informative, and it helps you to tackle the philosophical essays, ratio of which are increasing year by year in the UPSC exam. While essay writing takes time, with the above points reading the question attentively, analysing it, and writing it should be completed in a reasonable length of time.

Download UPSC Mains 2021 Essay Paper from the linked article.

Download UPSC Mains 2020 Essay Paper from the linked article.

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