How not to attempt UPSC

Now onto what i did specifically in this attempt that was missing in my previous attempts. I don't claim any of them necessarily contributed to the score, but perhaps there was a method in the madness

1) Rewrite the essay statement in black, boxing it

2) Start the essay with a poem, end with a poem- both generated on the spot at the time of brainstorming

3) Poem written in black to contrast with the writing in blue

4) Every sub heading in the essay is in black, in block letters, boxed

5) Deleting the "thesis statement" that i was told is a trope that good writing does not need. So i fully deleted in my final essay paragraphs like " this essay intends to ...."

6) Underlining not more than 4 words per page that I wanted the examiners attention to be drawn to

7) Picking topics which in my opinion were not as likely to be picked by others.

8) Giving equal due to both essays ( we don't know which of the two essays the examiner will evaluate first)

9) Thicker nib pen for easier reading because paper completion in essay is generally not a concern

10) Strict shift away from PESTLE approach in both essays. That is, even on thorough reading, evaluator would not have been able to see obvious headers such as political, economic etc.

11) Dimensions not usually explored by others given more significance.

For instance in my final essay i used the idea of infinity to elucidate how all ideas having large consequences are always simple. My premise was that infinity as a concept has large consequences in physics, computing etc but it's summation equals negative 1/12, which arguably is an overt simplification( please Google this to have your mind blown). Similarly my essay on the final day referenced Beethovens 5th symphony, Golden ratio and Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven".

12) Reduced the complexity of the vocabulary used, but increasing the use of similies, metaphors, allegories etc ( essentially literary devices)[ Refer to my Essay on Nature is no saint for how I use literary devices ]

I intended for my final essay to have been understood by a 10th grader in terms of how simple the sentence construction was.

13) My strengths are philosophical essays, so even when the theme arguably sounded GS like ( eg- forests precede civilisation and deserts follow), I've interpreted them in a philosophical context - emphasis on greed as mankind's unyielding trait, man's destructive tendencies etc

14) For the first time in all these years, I got my school teacher to evaluate my essay and give me feedback on call. I incorporated some of the advice she gave as well. Her critique was a lot more nuanced. I don't mean this to be a scathing belittling of what coaching institutes do, but unlike GS which has some objective parameters, I can't imagine essay can be evaluated in bulk the way coaching industry does it.

I've stated these explicitly because my writing capacity was not enhanced in any magical fashion in my last attempt that could account for sudden increase in scores; all re-arrangements made were largely cosmetic and have been documented above even if they appear to be trite.

My pick in Section A "Forests precede civilisation and deserts follow them" and in Section B " All ideas having large consequences are always simple"