UPSC CSE prelims on June 16: How many questions to attempt, how to control burnout; 10 important tips from 5 toppers

Jun 12, 2024 Divya Bharat

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UPSC Cse Prelims On June 16 Check 10 Toppers Tips By 5 UPSC Toppers

1 day agoAuthor: Utkarsha Tyagi

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The UPSC Civil Service preliminary exam will be held across the country on June 16. This exam is being conducted for recruitment to 1,056 posts of Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service and Indian Forest Service and other allied services. UPSC has also released its admit cards.

3 days before the exam, we are telling you 10 tips of 5 toppers of previous years’ UPSC Civil Service Exams-

1. Do look at the previous years’ papers, smart work will bring success
Aditya Srivastava, who secured AIR 1 in UPSC 2023, told that he used to start preparing for the prelims from February. In the prelims, one has to focus on the facts. You should know the exact words, exact names, because the options are the same.

Sharing his experience, Aditya says that in the first attempt of prelims, he covered all the books. He attempted 90-92 questions, but could score only 82 and missed selection by 2-3 marks. Then Aditya felt that maybe something was missing. He had acquired all the knowledge, but did not practice. Due to this, he could not understand what is the pattern of UPSC prelims and what is demanded from the candidates in it.

Then for the second attempt, he looked at the previous year questions properly. He looked at the papers of the last 10 years. He analysed the papers of the last 3 years thoroughly. How the statements were written, what kind of things were written wrong every time, what kind of statements were correct every time. He made such observations and from there he decided that for the questions that he did not know, where his knowledge would not support him, he could take help of these observations.

In this way Aditya was able to narrow down the number of options. By doing this his marks increased from 84 to 114.

This is how Aditya controlled burnout during preparation…

I did not stop using social media. Sometimes I also passed time by watching reels.
Aditya loved reading about dinosaurs since childhood. He continued this hobby even during his preparation.
I took a break from studies and focused on my fitness. Whenever I got time, I did morning walks or running.
During the preparation, attended many family functions like weddings, birthdays etc.
After completing the day’s target, I spent the remaining time on my hobbies.

2 – Work on reading, understanding, learn the art of skipping topics
Regarding prelims, Abhishek Verma says that this is a game of elimination. For this, you have to read all the topics objectively, that is, you have to acquire factual knowledge. You have four options in the prelims. For this, first of all, your reading and understanding skills should be good. Secondly, you should know how to eliminate the options.

Regarding preparation through coaching, Abhishek said that coaching is needed for those who have never studied the topics and do not know anything about them. But with the availability of online and other mediums, there are many mediums to study today. In such a situation, the relevance of coaching has reduced. Students coming from villages, rural areas or remote areas, who cannot afford Delhi or Mukherjee Nagar, have also got online medium to study. They are also now clearing exams through this.

Tips from IPS Abhishek Verma for the exam…

Along with knowing what to read, it is also very important to know what not to read.
The UPSC syllabus is vast, but time is limited. So, choose the topics that can be left out.
Don’t make the mistake of over-experimenting and reading everything you see.
Make sure to read such minimum number of topics which can help you in getting maximum marks.

3 – Understand the syllabus well, the basics should be clear
Anshuman Raj, who cleared UPSC in 2019, said that first of all, look at the syllabus thoroughly. The syllabus explains in great detail what the students have to study. One benefit in prelims is that the answer is right in front of you. There are four options, you have to choose one of them. For that, your concepts should be clear, because sometimes the options confuse you. Look at the question papers of previous years, you can also see their answer sheets. But it is not right to consider them as templates and prepare according to them. No one knows what UPSC is going to ask next time.

Apart from this, Anshuman said that it is very important to have clear basics for the prelims. This will also improve your understanding of current affairs. Many times in the exam, it happens that you have not studied the current affairs, but the basics of that topic are clear, then you can still answer it correctly.

Tips from IAS officer Anshuman Raj for UPSC prelims exam…

Never skip core sources like NCERT, Toppers Notes, Newspapers, Basic Books.
We can divide prelims into two parts- static and current affairs.
Our strategy should be such that there is a 65-35 balance between static and current affairs.
If the fundamentals are clear then it will be easy to understand current affairs.
For prelims, proceed only after clearing each topic one by one.

4 – Solve test papers, know where guesswork will work
Regarding exam preparation, Kartikeya Verma said that in the prelims, you are given four options and your answer is one of them. In such a situation, identifying the correct answer out of four is a challenge.

Karthikeya has given UPSC exam five times and cracked the prelims exam every time. This has been his strong area. For this, he used to solve about 60 test papers for every prelims. He used to bring all the question papers from any two coaching centers. He says that for prelims, the candidate should know that…..

Which questions to attempt.
In which the guesswork will work?
Where guesswork won’t work at all, and…
Which questions should be skipped?

Keep these things in mind for UPSC prelims…

Solve as many test papers as possible.
Factual knowledge is checked. In such a situation, your facts should be clear.
You should know which questions can be skipped.

5 – Do not change your study strategy again and again, consistency is very important
Kumar Sushant, who got selected in UPSC in 2022, says that while studying in college, he used to feel sleepy while attending lectures. In such a situation, he did not find it right to take coaching for UPSC preparation. Therefore, he did self study for UPSC.

Regarding preparation, Sushant says that reading skills are tested in the prelims. Along with that, your factual knowledge is also tested. For this, if you clear your basics and move ahead, you will never forget the facts.

Preparation based on these points will bring success….