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Question : How To Practice Answer Writing For Civil Services Mains?

Answer :

  • Answer writing is an important aspect of UPSC civil services exam. While Prelims is only the qualifying exam which separates the grain from the chaff i.e. serious candidates from non-serious candidates, its marks are not added for creating the merit list. Mains exams is worth 1750 marks spanning over 7 papers (4 papers of GS, Two papers of Optional, and 1 paper of Essay). Also, there are two qualifying papers of languages which one must write nonetheless even though their marks are not counted in the final list. Since success in Mains evidently depends on one’s ability to write close to 100 questions and some 24000 words in all the papers, it is of absolute necessity that one develops the articulation necessary for writing meaningful, to the point and concise answers.
  • In the previous era of UPSC exam (read before pattern change in 2013), UPSC used to ask lower no of questions and lesser words to write. There was comfortable time pressure and hence it was possible to try and frame answers in the exam hall itself. But after the pattern change, UPSC asks 20-25 questions with 200-250 words to write in each answer.
  • Sure, they emphasise that the content of the answer is more important than its length in the instructions, still you have to think on the spot and create a mental framework for 20-25 questions then and there in the exam hall. And if you don’t practice beforehand and that too intensively, you might spend 1-2 minutes on creating a framework on each question. That means anywhere between 25-50 mins only on answer framing! So, you are left with very less amount of time to actually write the answer. This is the biggest issue as far as not writing an answer is concerned.
  • Writing answers also helps in organizing and prioritising your thought process. You learn to put forward what exactly is asked and not what you know. You learn to write meat of the argument and not beat around the bush. Last but not the least writing helps in internalising information and in better retention than only reading.
  • So, for the process part, one should begin by writing answers of previous year question papers. In addition to giving you adequate answer practice they also help you in understanding the exam pattern and the demand of the exam very well. After finishing with previous years’ papers one should move on to writing answers on websites and other sources. As the Mains exam approaches one should start
  • taking mock tests and get them evaluated.

So, a tentative timeline could be:

  • Every day: Write 1-2 questions and analyse them yourself. If possible show them to seniors and get comments.
  • Immediately after Prelims: Write 4-5 questions/day; Start taking weekly topical mock tests
  • 2 months before Mains: Start taking Full Length Tests(FLTS)
  • A week before Mains: Take 3-4 FLTs at the same time when the Mains exam is conducted just to simulate exam
  • conditions.