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Question : How To Write A Good Essay And Score Maximum In It?

Answer :

A good strategy for Essay paper has three parts. The first two parts (four hours out of six hours) are like sharpening the axe and the last part is performance during the essay paper.

Part 1: Reading from apt sources

  • One should read compilations of essays by eminent people to understand how to convey ideas and understand issues from different perspectives.
  • Quotes: Make a list of quotes topic wise. For example, Quotes on transparency, freedom, media, and value based education, etc.
  • Anecdotes: Stories that can provide good introduction.
  • Endings: Prepare forward looking conclusions that are short, multi-dimensional and optimistic.
  • Structure: Cover as many aspects as possible. Start analysing topics broadly.
  • Government Initiatives: Prepare schemes, policy, global indices, missions, programmes of the government in various fields. For example, in Tourism there is SwadeshDarshan, HRIDAY, PRASAD, Tourist circuits, e-Tourist visa, Project Tiger, and so on.

Part 2: Practice

  • Join a test series by any coaching institute(although not completely necessary)
  • Write essays regularly and get feedback from fellow aspirants and friends. If you can maintain the habit of writing regularly you don’t need a test series.
  • Don’t be shy to show your essays to non-aspirants. You might get some unique feedback from them.
  • Try practicing last 5 year’s essays of CSE. The themes are repeated.
  • Practice different types of topics like science &technology, polity, economy, sustainable development, women empowerment, philosophical, etc.
  • Practice current topics for every year like 10 years of RTI, 10 years of Police Reforms, 100 years of cinema, Water Disputes, Blue Economy, Mobility, Jobless Growth, etc. whatever is in the discourse for some time.

Part 3:D-day

  • Now the third and most important is the day of exam. Performance in the paper is all that matters.
  • Topic Selection:Select a topic that reflects your strength. If you are not good at writing philosophical essays then don’t attempt it. This step holds the key.
  • Brainstorming: Take 10–20 minutes brainstorming for various aspects and linking them together in a structure. Make sure you have enough time to write the essay.
  • Sticking to the topic: A very fatal mistake is writing what you know rather than what is asked. Since you have prepared well and practiced it does not mean you have to write those things even though it is irrelevant to the topic. Read the topic of the essay after every page you write to ensure that you are sticking to it.
  • Generalist Approach: Your essay should appeal to the examiner. It should have all the aspects but there should be some form of analysis so that it doesn’t look like a long GS answer. Quotes, anecdotes, examples help in it. One can also add flowchart, diagram, etc.
  • Finish on time: Make sure you manage time well and do not leave the essay half completed or without an ending.

Pay Attention to GS-4 Paper

1.Ethics paper is more scoring than the other General Studies papers

  • Many candidates think that rather than spending time on an easy paper and ethics, they should spend more time on the tough concepts of general studies paper 1, 2 and 3. But UPSC aspirants should remember that all the 4 papers are of 250 marks and the Ethics paper is the most scoring of all the 4 as it has a crisp syllabus and can be practised more. Aspirants should remember that it is the Ethics paper, the Essay Paper and Optional paper that can fetch them more marks apart from the other GS papers (I, II, and III).

2.Case studies form the core of the Ethics paper

  • Case studies are a classic way to test the candidate’s intrinsic decision making power and what is his/her way through logic in a crisis situation. That is why when a case study is taken; UPSC will always ask your opinion as an officer should do in the same situation. The answer should be based on both the factors that are from the point of view of morality and ethics. The action taken by you as mentioned in your answer should be morally correct for you and ethically to the others as well.

3.Ethics paper as the rank booster paper

  • Ethics paper is gaining popularity among the aspirants due to its small and crisp syllabus and easy availability of study material. It’s often mentioned by IAS Toppers that a good score in the ethics paper can shoot up your rank and can also determine the service that you might get. One and only technique to score well in this exam is writing practice as much as it becomes an art for the students. Unique expression and observation of each issue in this paper are the only two factors which can make your answer stand out.