UPSC : Paper pattern | Guidance tips | best coaching & many more

 

How to start UPSC preparation from Zero ?

Introduction to UPSC :

Union Public Service Commission abbreviated as UPSC is a government body that is set up to make recruitment of candidates to Civil Services such as IAS, IPS, IFS and others. The UPSC is a very well  known exam in our country as well as the entire world. It is famously stated to be the world’s second toughest exam due to its vast syllabus, excessive competition, less availability of seats and the responsibilities that one candidate is vested after qualifying the exam.

UPSC Paper Pattern

When a candidate wonders "How to prepare for UPSC CSE exam from zero" it is very important to remember the pattern of the paper and prepare accordingly, a brief detail of the paper pattern is provided ahead in the article. UPSC CSE is an exam conducted in offline mode and it comprises of three rounds for selection. The first round is Prelims exam, second being Mains exam and lastly candidates need to appear for a personal interview.

The Prelims exam:

Nature : Prelims exam is objective exam which consists of two paper- general studies and CSAT, both papers being objective in nature.

Marks  allotted for each paper : General studies and CSAT both papers consists of 200 marks each accounting to a total of 400 marks. The qualifying marks to appear for mains are subjective to relative marks obtained by candidates in both the papers. UPSC selects around 10,000 candidates which can appear in Mains exam. The cutoff declared are according to the categories of candidates as allotted by Government of INDIA.

Time Duration : Students appearing for the both the papers are allotted 120 minutes each to complete the paper. General studies paper consists a total of 100 questions while the CSAT paper consists of 80 questions each. CSAT and GS both the exams are conducted in a single day for each candidate.

Marking Scheme : When a candidate selects a correct answer he/she is awarded a +2 score for questions of GS paper and a +2.5 marks for questions of CSAT paper whereas if the chosen option is wrong a -1/3rd marks are deducted.  

The MAINS exam :

Nature : The Mains exam is a descriptive based exam and consists of 9 papers all containing descriptive questions each.

Marks allotted for each paper : The 9 papers constitute a total of 1750 marks and candidates are selected for the Interview rounds on the basis of scores obtained in mains exam, around 3000 candidates screened from the mains exam are allowed to appear for the interview round. The details of the 9 papers are provided below :

1. Paper A : Any Indian language ( Compulsory ) (300 marks)
2. Paper B : English ( 300 marks )
3. Paper 1: Essay (250 marks)
4. Paper 2 : General studies 1 (250 marks)
5. Paper 3 : General studies 2 (250 marks)
6. Paper 4 : General studies 3 (250 marks)
7. Paper 5 : General studies 4 (250 marks)
8. Paper 6 : Optional paper 1 (250 marks)
9. Paper 7 : Optional paper 2 (250 marks)

UPSC provides a vast range of optional subjects for candidates to appear for and covers almost all Undergraduate courses subjects that are present in our country.

Time Duration : The UPSC mains paper are held in a range of 5 days. The time duration allotted for each paper is 3 hours each. The mains papers consists of approximately 20 questions per paper except the Essay Paper in which a candidate needs to write two essays of approximately 1000- 1500 words.

Marking Scheme : The Mains exam being a subjective exam is free from negative marking and the marks allotted for each questions are also variable. Paper A and Paper B are qualifying papers and candidates needs 25% (75 marks) to qualify those papers.

Personal Interview

Nature : After qualifying both the mains and prelims a candidate needs to appear for personal interview round wherein a panel of interviewers ask question based on the candidates personal details, educational background, current affairs and social and political events.

Total marks : The interview comprises of total of 275 marks.

After passing all the three rounds candidates are selected in available vacancies and are allotted services according to their allocated ranks. The candidates are then sent to LBSNAA (Lal Bahadur Shastri National Administrative Academy to complete their training for their respective service training.

What is the best time to start UPSC preparation ?

UPSC candidates can start their exam preparation from the very first year of their graduation, or even later. A candidate becomes eligible to appear for the exam only after completion of their undergrad degree. Early starters have a advantage of time over others who begin their preparation late but it doesn’t mean that a candidate who has started his/her preparation late or on a later period cannot Qualify the exam. The clearing of this exam depends on the sheer will, dedication, efforts one puts in within the year of their preparation. The grasping and learning ability of an individual is also an important factor that is taken into account when one calculates the time one needs to prepare for the exam.

Number of attempts and age limit

The number of attempts that a candidate has to take a shot at the UPSC CSE exam and the maximum age limit that one candidates gets to appear for the UPSC varies according to their category. The minimum age to appear for the exam is 21 years.

The category wise maximum age limit and number of attempts are provided below :

• General category and EWS : 32 years | 6 attempts

• OBC category : 35 years | 9 attempts

• SC/ST category : 37 years | unlimited attempts

Tips to prepare for UPSC exam :

Some tips and guidance to prepare for UPSC exams are provided below, a candidate must keep in mind these points while preparing for the exam :

1. Know the UPSC CSE syllabus
2. Build a study plan and stick to it
3. Start with NCERTs
4. Reading Newspaper and current affairs
5. Choose optional subjects wisely and carefully
6. Join a coaching institute if one feels they need the guidance of a mentor
7. Timely revise previously read concept
8. Appear for test series and revision towards the end of your preparation
9. Always remember to stay motivated
10. Follow a healthy lifestyle to avoid falling sick which might affect your preparation

Top 5 coaching to prepare for UPSC exam

“A great warrior like ARJUN needed the guidance of Guru Dronacharya to achieve the stature of great warrior” similarly to ace the UPSC exams the presence of a guide during preparation is extremely important for a candidate. The guidance can come in the form of coaching institutes or from anyone who has an experience in teaching UPSC candidates. Top coachings which aid students in their preparation for UPSC exams are listed below, Note : The list provided is subjective and can vary according to ones personal preferences:

1. Drishti IAS coaching
2. RAU’s IAS coaching
3. First IAS institute
4. VISION IAS institute
5. VAJIRAM and RAVI coaching

Queries solved in this article :

• UPSC mains syllabus
• What is UPSC job salary
• What is UPSC exam given for
• UPSC admit card
• UPSC full form
• UPSC paper pattern