How to Strategize, Prepare, Revise and Practise for CSE Prelims?

Limiting the number of reference books used during the prelims preparation phase, thoroughly revising the books chosen, and creating personal notes for each subject can all aid with speedy revision and be useful even during the mains preparation.

The final three months before to UPSC prelims are of the utmost importance and require a precise strategy that should be built on resolving the questions from the prior 10 UPSC prelims examinations and comprehending the exam's trend.

  • This should assist you in coming up with a precise approach that addresses your needs and focuses on your areas of weakness. Once a study plan is fixed, sticking to the time table at all costs should reflect the strength of your resolve and be a testament of your will.
  • No prelims preparation is complete without working through multiple choice exam questions from various renowned tutoring facilities.
  • Over time, the aspirants' clarity and confidence on the subject improve thanks to these examinations' aid in self-evaluation.
  • While preparing, students should keep in mind that there are plenty of books and study materials available.
  • Students should be aware of their limited time and avoid books and coaching centres that guarantee UPSC prelims success at the last minute. Chasing a particular book or study material during the last phases of prelims is a mistake in and of itself.

Finally, there can be no substitute to faith and confidence in oneself during the preparation phase. The mantra- "Self-trust is the first step towards success" rings true in this regard.

Should you worry about Cut-off in Prelims?

In reality, nobody can tell you with certainty the exact score at which you can consider yourself to be in a secure area. The Prelims exam cut-off marks are based on a variety of variables. The two papers' degrees of difficulty are the main determining factor.

  • Everyone will share their predictions for the cut-off score based on their individual knowledge and comprehension of the UPSC exam. That might or might not line up with the final official figures for the year.
  • Someone's conservative threshold prediction will give you a false sense of security, and you might even feel pleased with your preparation. The inflated threshold score forecast by someone, however, may worry you a lot and you might feel completely dissatisfied with your preparation. In both the scenarios, you are likely to lose the cool and that would affect your preparation adversely.
  • It’s a better scenario to not indulge in these rumour mill and rather focus on your studies. Because worrying unnecessarily will create stress and you may lose some precious time of your studies in these gossips with just few months away from Mains. Time is crucial and you need to make every minute count.
  • The best thing to do is to believe in 'Law of Karma', that is, do your job. Continue your study sincerely. Don't worry about threshold score and all. If your preparation is relatively better than the other candidates then definitely you will make it through.

IAS/PCS Preparation Tips/Tricks