Prelims OR Mains - How to Prepare for UPSC?

As per the UPSC 2023 calendar, the IAS Prelims and main exams are scheduled to take place on May 28, 2023 and September 15, 2023 respectively. Aspirants are looking for the right kind of strategy that can certainly help them ace this examination of uncertainty. Most of the candidates might have already acquainted themselves with the syllabus, for General Studies and Optional Subjects, as relevant for the preliminary and the main examination.

There is no denial of the fact that candidates are expected to develop awareness in an array of topics and issues along the lines of the prescribed syllabus of the UPSC IAS Exam.

To put it briefly, before we discuss the best strategy to ace this examination, the UPSC IAS Examination is conducted in three stages, namely Preliminary, Mains and Personality Test round. Each of those stages has its dynamics and specific focus, with converging lines of priorities, to select candidates for the subsequent stages.

In this article, we shall discuss a suitable strategy that will help aspirants cover all major aspects of the examination with confidence for success.

Please follow the linked pages for more updates on the examination Notification, Eligibility Criteria, examination pattern and more.

Preliminary or Main Examination, which one to prepare first?

Before arriving at a decision, we need to understand the fundamental difference between both levels. The notification and Syllabus of UPSC will be our guiding light.

• The Preliminary examination consists of two compulsory papers — General studies Paper-1 and General Studies Paper-2, 200 marks each, to be answered in two hours in two different sessions, on the same day.
• Both the question papers are of objective type (multiple choice questions) and each paper is of two hours duration.
• The General Studies Paper-II of the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination will be a qualifying paper with minimum qualifying marks fixed at 33%.

Paper one of General Studies (Prelims) deals with themes such as

• Current events of national and international importance.
• History of India and Indian National Movement.
• Indian and World Geography – Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.
• Indian Polity and Governance – Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
• Economic and Social Development – Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.
• General issues on Environmental ecology, Biodiversity and Climate Change
• General Science.

Paper 2 of the General Studies (CSAT) deals with

• Comprehension
• Interpersonal skills, including communication skills;
• Logical reasoning and analytical ability;
• Decision-making and problem-solving;
• General mental ability;
• Basic numeracy (numbers and their relations, orders of magnitude, etc.) (Class X level), Data interpretation (charts, graphs, tables, data sufficiency etc. — Class X level)

The questions are answered by darkening bubbles on an Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheet.

Learn about prelims and mains separately, from the linked articles below:

• UPSC Prelims
• UPSC Mains

What are the differences between the Main Examination and the Preliminary Examination?

• Candidates declared qualified in the preliminary examination are only eligible to write the UPSC Civil Service Examination.
• The Main Examination of the UPSC consists of  2 Compulsory Language papers, Essay, Four General studies Papers, and one Optional subject, having two papers.
• The answers to be written are subjective, testing the analytical ability, presentation, knowledge and subtle aspects reflected in Ethics and essay papers.
• The answers are to be  handwritten on the booklet provided by the UPSC
• The duration of each paper is 3 hours, conducted as per the schedule of the main examination released by the UPSC.

Have a broad look at the UPSC Exam Pattern from the linked article. 

UPSC Civil Service Main Examination Pattern

• Paper‐I Essay – 250 Marks
• Paper‐II General Studies – I (Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society). – 250 marks
• Paper‐III General Studies –II (Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International relations).-250 marks
• Paper‐IV General Studies –III (Technology, Economic Development, Biodiversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management).- 250 marks
• Paper‐V General Studies –IV. (Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude).- 250 marks
• Paper‐VI  Optional Subject – Paper 1 – 250 Marks
• Paper‐VII Optional Subject – Paper 2 – 250 Marks

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Some common themes and divergence in the syllabus of Prelims and Mains

• The syllabus of the examination at both levels converge in many areas. However, there are some themes and topics in the Main Examination syllabus, which are not prescribed in the syllabus for the Preliminary Examination.
• The following topics are featured exclusively in the Main Examination Syllabus of the UPSC Civil service Examination.
  • World History (GS Paper-I)
  • Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude (GS Paper -IV)

Topics like India Since Independence, Disaster Management, Internal Security, International Affairs, etc. are also largely a part of the UPSC Mains syllabus, but questions from these topics might get asked in Prelims given their relevance in current affairs. 

Get important topics of World History for UPSC Mains in the linked article. 

What should be the approach? Prelims First or Mains or Integrated

Assuming the notification for the UPSC examination is released in the month of February and March, and the preliminary exam is usually scheduled in the month of June, the Main exam in September, the strategy could cover as per the time a person starts his/her preparation.

Preliminary first approach

• Although prelims-first-approach logically seems like a ticket for the next round, the dynamics of preliminary and nature of information, facts and figures of the questions asked, require an analytical bent of mind to solve effectively.
• One can encounter questions that are generally not direct but could be implied from a general trend, close observation.
• Arriving at a solution to such a question requires a holistic understanding of the issues raised in the question, facts in the background.
• It helps a candidate eliminate wrong options, thus arriving at the right answer.
• Both GS Papers of the Preliminary examination must be given importance. As observed in recent years, persons scoring well above the prescribed cut-off in GS Paper-1 are unable to score 33% in GS paper 2 of the examination, thus getting disqualified in the overall assessment of the preliminary examination.
• Prelims preparation should not be a hindrance to the Main Examination orientation.
• One must plan, in such a case, to cover the Main Examination syllabus well in time, for the extra topics and Optional Subjects.
• Developing content and writing skills later should also be assigned high priority.

Preparing for Mains in first place

• Many learners follow this strategy and holistically cover the main topic under a broader spectrum of themes of the syllabus.
• It helps to develop good writing skills from the initial phase with a broader view and develop interlinkage among themes.
• However, this also needs practising good no. of Prelims oriented questions and test series, specially dedicated for the Preliminary Examination.
• Aspects of accuracy and speed to solve the questions are needed to be taken care of, to solve the preliminary questions effectively.

 How about an Integrated Approach? – Drawing Best from Both Approaches

• An integrated approach rests on the fact that the Preliminary and Main examinations are not exclusively different.
• There are many overlapping areas; the facts and figures learnt for the preliminary examination are handy as contents and statistics for the main examination.
• In mains the approach is to present the facts and figures with good arguments, analytical thinking, precisely keeping close to the theme of the question and the directive words.
• Optional Subject, Ethics and Essay should be assigned priority as the variations in total marks awarded are wide, and a well-prepared candidate can in general score more marks, giving them an edge in the competition.
• Effective techniques to solve the preliminary questions are necessary.
• Effective scheduling along with time-bound targets gives the optimum output in this approach.

Scheduling Completion of syllabus

• Ideally the last three to four months before the preliminary should be specifically dedicated to this stage of the examination along with preliminary oriented study, the practice of test questions, and revision.
• Ideally the Main Examination Syllabus, Optional Subjects should be covered in between the phases 10-4 months before the scheduled preliminary examination.
• Regular practice tests must be done for the Mains Oriented answer writing.
• A few left out topics, not featuring in the Preliminary but featuring in the main examination, can be covered in the phase after preliminary.

For IAS mains answer writing practice, click the link.

Personality Test

The personality test is the final round of the journey to becoming a public servant. It essentially is a test of the personality and suitability of the candidate for a role in the public service.

• The candidate is interviewed by an unbiased Board having a record of his career, asking questions on matters of general interest.
• The object of the interview is to assess the personal suitability of the candidate for a career in public service by a Board of competent and unbiased observers.
• The test is intended to judge the mental calibre of a candidate. This is an assessment of not only the intellectual qualities but also the social traits and interests of the candidate in current affairs.
• Qualities judged are mental alertness, critical powers of assimilation, clear and logical exposition, the balance of judgement, variety and depth of interest, ability for social cohesion and leadership, intellectual and moral integrity.
• The technique of the interview is not that of a strict cross-examination but of a natural, though directed and purposive conversation which is intended to reveal the mental qualities of the candidate.

Know more about the IAS interview in the linked article.

Conclusion

Candidates should take a broad overview, keep an open mind, be receptive to new updates of the surrounding events, in matters concerning public interest. At the time they can take the help of various programs, DAF analysis, Practice Personality Test by distinguished former members of the service, that will boost their confidence and do a world of good to prepare themselves for presenting the best version of themselves in front of the interview board.

The journey is integrated, so much so that from the beginning till the personality test, everything accrues to the overall personality of the individual. Personality is not something to be constructed or presented overnight after the main result. It is years and years of what a person has put into efforts, invested in himself or herself. So, one should look at the brighter side of the facts and figures, and this journey is surely one that changes the person altogether.

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