The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), conducts the UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) once every year to recruit qualified candidates in India’s Civil Services, such as IAS, IPS, IFS, and other associated services. It is a curriculum-intensive assessment and is regarded as one of the most challenging written exams in India. It is extremely common for students to forget what they have studied and make errors during the exam. Therefore, we will spectate some of the frequent pitfalls that candidates should avoid when preparing for the UPSC in all three stages.
Preliminary exam or prelims
Before students begin studying for one of India’s most difficult competitive exams, they must have a solid study strategy in place. One cannot realistically cover the full syllabus, which is a demanding and lengthy syllabus, in a restricted amount of time without a suitable study plan. Planning ahead and making an effort to choose the right kind of books and how much time should they be spending on them is highly beneficial. Nowadays, knowledge can be found almost everywhere, especially on the internet there is an overload of information, therefore having a sustainable study plan and most importantly sticking to it is crucial.
UPSC candidates should attempt to complete the entire syllabus and related test papers before they sit for the exam. Offline mock tests are particularly important since they teach them how to fill out an OMR form and put their time management skills on display. Students should also not overload themselves with current affairs, reading up to 12 months of current affairs will more than suffice. However, one must make a habit of reading at least one newspaper every day to have a critical awareness of what is going on in our country and throughout the world. Many applicants rely on numerous web portals or other magazines for current events rather than newspapers. This is something that should be avoided.
In addition, Previous Year’s Questions (PYQs) will assist them in identifying relevant exam topics. PYQs have become a verbatim repeating pattern, especially in static disciplines such as politics and history, which will almost certainly be revisited. However, administering a test is only half the battle, students must also do a post-test performance analysis of themselves. Knowing one’s accuracy rate can help them achieve better results by revealing areas where they are weak or lagging behind.
Students should not begin their preparation by imagining what questions they will face during the interview at an early stage. Everything is integrated when you look at it from a stage-wise perspective. One can start preparing for the personality test once they clear their prelims and mains and not get ahead of themselves. In consequence, they should not let their continuity slip. Understanding the fact that there are no shortcuts to doing this, they will have to put in a lot of effort, time and patience is of utmost importance.
Mains paper
Avoid breaking the continuity. It is essential to take a rest following the prelims, however, students must prepare themselves for another 3 to 4 months of intense preparation if they want to crack the mains. Allowing themselves a few days of physical and mental rest while dedicating at least an hour each day to practising answering questions can help them have a better sense of where they stand. Consider it an opportunity to learn about the answer-writing process and to compose short, and crisp responses to the extensive questions.
Due to the descriptive nature of the mains paper, it is critical that students include answer writing in their UPSC mains preparation approach. Mock tests are vital at this stage as well since they provide an exam-like experience and train students to write their best answers in a competitive and difficult exam circumstance such as the UPSC.
Reading too many books to study a single subject or topic will only lead to confusion and mayhem. This is yet another typical mistake made by UPSC candidates. We have already established that the UPSC syllabus is extensive, but that doesn’t mean that students have to study every book available. Due to peer pressure and market pressure, students read fresh sources before the exams, which is a fatal mistake because it causes nothing but confusion. Students should consolidate and revise what they’ve already read, and avoid reading new material until 10-15 days before the exam.
Interview
In the final interview or personality test, the candidate is evaluated based on their intelligence, personality, attentiveness, presentation, communication skills, body language toward various subjects, answering technique, judgment, honesty, and leadership. As a result, preparation for the interview necessitates extremely careful planning. Here are a few tips to prepare for the interview.
• It is common knowledge that rehearsals aid in the avoidance of common errors, therefore, candidates should conduct at least 2-3 mock interviews prior to the actual interview to boost their confidence and consistency.
• Have a positive body language.
• Maintain eye contact and a cheerful disposition at all times. Maintaining eye contact demonstrates that you are paying attention.
• Avoid using phrases like ‘I am sorry,’ ‘you know,’ ‘that’s correct,’ ‘of course,’ ‘indeed,’ ‘obviously,’ and so on.
• First impressions are crucial, they will provide the interviewer with a wealth of information that cannot be delivered solely through spoken words.
• Students must avoid making gestures that are obnoxious or rude.
• If the interviewer is asking tricky questions, no attempt should be made by the candidate to assert themselves in a negative manner.
• Answer every question clearly and confidently.
• Students must take the Detailed Application Form (DAF) form seriously because it is the basis for the majority of the questions in the final interview.
• They should also make a list of their hobbies and pastime as the interviewer sometimes tend to gauge and question the students’ area of interest.
• Language shouldn’t be a barrier, students should choose the language that they are comfortable with and speak with confidence and sincerity.
If students can avoid making these mistakes, they will be able to approach the CSE from a better perspective and achieve the desired outcomes on the UPSC tests.
— The author is Deepanshu Goyal, Co-Founder and CEO at PrepLadder.
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