How to clear the UPSC exam? To answer this question, one must be aware of the Syllabus and age limit of UPSC Exam. The UPSC exam syllabus includes subjects such as: General Studies, Quantitative Aptitude, General English, General Intelligence and Reasoning, General Knowledge and Current Affairs and Essay writing on any topic or subject. UPSC exam has an age limit of 23 years in all categories as on January 1st every year.
1) Get your basics clear
While each aspirant has his/her own priority list of things that they want to do to prepare for Civil Services, there are some things that are really important and absolutely vital. So if you haven’t done these till now, please get them done before you start your preparation. First, download the UPSC syllabus from their website – upsconline.nic.in (just click on Recruitment for IAS and IPS officers). This should be self-explanatory and is a must read before you do anything else because it will tell you what exactly is being tested in which exam/s so that you can plan your preparation accordingly.
2) Prepare well in advance
Make it a point to start preparing well in advance. Exams are highly competitive and you’ll need to be on top of your game. Studying smart, especially if you’re aiming for one of India’s IAS exam, is more important than studying hard. Don’t panic over syllabus—you can figure that out later by getting a guidebook or reading up online. Your goal is to put together a plan that works for you without too much stress or drama. Starting early will also give you time to adjust your approach as needed along the way: If you don’t have time for X task or Y class, it doesn’t hurt to move them around until they fit into your schedule.
3) Take extra coaching classes
The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is a gateway to become an IAS (Indian Administrative Services), IPS (Indian Police Services), or IFS (Indian Foreign Services) Officer. As a result, coaching classes have mushroomed over past few years in and around Delhi and NCR area, in order to provide assistance to all those people who are willing to give it a shot. So what should you do if you’re willing to take coaching classes? The first step would be check out different websites that offer your desired coaching class and find out which one meets your requirements.
4) Improve English
The UPSC exam is a very important exam in India and people start preparing for it at very early age. As one might have to wait for more than 8–9 years before getting a chance to appear for it, it is suggested that all aspirants should learn English Grammar rules and spellings of words, especially those appearing in past papers so that they can practice them during exams. It is also advised to revise from last year’s question papers so that aspirants are familiar with paper pattern and time management skills. One should keep practicing writing essays as well as preparing for mock tests which will help boost confidence levels.
5) Motivate yourself everyday
For a student preparing for an exam, nothing matters more than achieving that goal. Make sure you’re motivated every day to study for your exam by making it a habit to remind yourself of what you want, why you want it and how far you’ve come in achieving it. If your ultimate goal is scoring well on an entrance exam like Civil Services, tell yourself that each time you open your book or get ready to study: I am studying because I want to clear Civil Services exam and I can do it if I put my mind to it. This will help keep things in perspective and motivate you further.
6) Update your resume and cover letter
It’s important to take your resume and cover letter seriously, even if you think they aren’t likely to get used. One of your primary points of contact with potential employers will be through a hiring manager, who may initially receive hundreds of applications for any given position. The hiring manager is going to weed through those candidates quickly and make decisions about applicants based on whether or not their skills match what’s needed for a particular job; as such, it’s really important that you make sure yours are top-notch before you apply. Update them consistently—don’t fall into a rut where your resume or cover letter have hardly changed in several years. It makes you look stagnant, which isn’t exactly inviting from an employer standpoint.
7) Maintain good health
One of these tips will be no surprise—maintaining good health and being fit are key to performing well on any exam. Exercise is not just about performing better on test day; it’s about performing better in your day-to-day life. When you keep your body healthy, you can stay focused and alert for longer periods of time and manage stress more effectively. Plus, having a strong body helps keep you from getting sick or injured during an exam cycle. These things can easily derail your studies if they get out of hand, so do what you can to maintain good health throughout your life! If you’re in school, find ways to exercise regularly—and be sure to take care of yourself even when exams aren’t on your radar.
8) Check UPSC syllabus frequently
One of easiest way to get clear in UPSC exam is to check syllabus frequently. Do not waste your time on useless stuffs. As per experience, most of candidates preparing for government jobs tends to put all their efforts into scoring high marks in each and every chapter but fail miserably because they don’t know what’s expected from them in actual examination. So do not waste your time by memorizing each and every concept for a particular subject but instead focus on solving mock papers which helps you thoroughly understand whether you are going in right direction or not. Do it as early as possible because it will give more time for you to cover important topics.
9) Know your strengths and weaknesses
Your own self-assessment will help you know where to invest your time and effort. For example, if you know that you’re weak in a particular subject like history or geography, then it makes sense to devote more study time to these areas. It’s not enough to concentrate on X subject only, but you should also pay attention to topics other than what is given in syllabus. There are many additional points for general awareness and current affairs that come up in questions. One can easily score good marks if he/she studies GK comprehensively along with other relevant subjects.
10) See what others have done
See Above 1, 2, 3 and 4.